Highest point in the Wienerwald: Schoepfl Hike

Here's a short account of my (hopefully temporary) farewell hike in the Wienerwald, source of so many blog entries and pleasant hikes over the lifetime of this blog! It had been years since I last climbed to the highest peak in the Wienerwald, the Schoepfl. It isn't too hard to reach with public transport but you do need to go rather early and on a Saturday via bus. Saturday is often ignored for hiking due to the fact that it's the only day off where the shops are open!

Nonetheless I managed to collect together a couple of companions and we set off on a perfect hiking day, warm and intermittently sunny but with plenty of clouds, breezes and fresh dew on the ground to ensure we weren't going to overheat. The hike heads pretty much immediately upward, past some very rural scenery. There are lots of farms in this area and something about it reminds me of Buckinghamshire, perhaps just that there is a lot of grass compared to other parts of the Wienerwald.

The Schoepfl itself however is steep and wooded, projecting up several hundred meters above the surrounding hills. As part of a large single ridge (of hard sandstone, geo-fans!) it really seems to catch the wind very well and it got a lot cooler and windier on the way up. For a few magical seconds we were in a thin misty cloud and the sun and shadows created a crazy barred effect just like on Stuhleck that one time. But this was a lot more short lived and reaching the top of the stepp part we were greeted by a sunny overgrown meadow. We trekked up to the lookout tower for great views and really fierce winds, then dropped down to the shelter of the (closed for the holidays) gasthaus garden for lunch, accompanied by the loud baa-ing of a sheep herd who apparently had learned to beg for attention as if they were dogs...

The weather held as we completed the rest of the walk, crossing broad fields, teeming meadows, and shady woods, everywhere summer in obvious full swing. Towards the end we were greeted with the spectacle of a faraway rain shower, colouring the sky dark and moody. Dry ourselves, we dallied briefly picking raspberries before heading to the true and much longed-for destination of our hike: the village ice cream parlour! Nothing like tea and a massive ice cream bowl to round off a summer hike :-)

Foe-toes can be accessed by clicking on the green link!!

Bis bald,

Der Tom

Quick rainy trip up the Schneealpe in July

It has been a relatively cool summer in Austria, something for which I am of course extremely thankful. It has actually rained a fair amount, and in combination with my own obsession for swing dancing and general social demands, I really haven't managed to do much hiking this year. Still, after it became clear (spoiler alert!) that I would be moving to Duesseldorf in August (where I am writing this), I did want to go check out some Alps before I moved. Luck would have it that one friend was in possession of that most rare of commodities, a car. Even more luck would have it that he really wanted to go hiking! I chose the Schneealpe as our destination, a beautiful limestone plateau right next to the Rax but considerably more difficult to access via public transport.

We picked the day for the hike many weeks in advance so we weren't able to be picky about the weather... The forecast was for rain early on, clearing up throughout the day. We shrugged our shoulders and decided to make the best of it. The ascent starts in a well-sheltered valley and zigzags sharply up the steep side of the plateau. For most of the way we were sheltered from the wind and comparatively warm even though we were getting drenched by the constant rain. As we climbed higher the dramatic rise of the Rax was visible in the distance, completely capped by streaming white clouds.

Just a little bit higher and the protection of the mountainside started to become less. The addition of the wind made everything a lot colder and we fled towards a nearby limestone outcrop. Esconcing ourselves in a deep and narrow crack in the rock we had an early lunch, hoping that the rain might pass. Indeed it did, though the wind remained, and we headed up to the plateau. All thoughts of travelling to the 1800m peak were gone, but we did enjoy the view from a small rise on the rim of the massif. The entire forest below us began steaming with woodsmoke as water evaporated after the rain, sending cloud columns rising into the air to be caught by the fierce wind across the plateau and curled into dramtic fingers.

After half an hour of buffeting by the winds, and seeing fog-like clouds closing on us fast, we decided to head down the quick way, back the way we had come. A very shortened hike but one with some incredible cloud forms over the nearby peaks and from the woodsmoke, and truly exhilarating with all the high winds. As usual, please click on the link to see a small collection of pictures from our small adventure!

Bis bald,

Der Tom