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Das ist bildmäßig längste Wanderbericht, den ich je geschrieben habe. Dafür gibt es vom dritten Tag dann wieder weniger Fotos.
Key facts:
Day two of our three-day hike. The distance and elevation gain weren’t particularly demanding on paper, but the terrain told a different story. We moved across a classic karst plateau — a constant up and down over uneven ground, riddled with cracks, deep dolines, and lingering snowfields. Shade was scarce, and the wind remained calm for most of the day. In such a harsh and exposed environment, reaching the next stop safely requires solid preparation and some experience — especially with no spring or well along the way to refill water supplies.
I slept well this night although it has been my first night at an alpine hut for several years. The open window and the pleasent breeze of cold air contributed to a deep night sleep. The Welser Hütte offered a small and a large breakfast buffet. I chose the small one as my stomach cannot tolerate fatty cheese and sausage so early in the morning. Jam and a strong coffee were sufficient for me. We were positively surprised by the good coffee and a companion who lived in Germany for some time filled the others in on the term "Blümchenkaffee" - the opposite of a strong coffee when it's so watery that you can literally see the porcelain decoration at the bottom of the cup.
Bild 1: Upper Hetzau valley, Traunstein in the center far back.
Bild 2: A few minutes after leaving the Welser Hütte, we encountered the first of several short fixed cable sections (central part).
Here it was a tilted crack to climb the next terrace. Background: Sauzahn to the left, Schermberg, then Almtaler Köpfl with the Tassilo via ferrata.
Bild 3: Looking back to the Welser Hütte, with Kreuz (2174m) behind.
Bild 4: Gentle part of the trail for a few minutes before the next terrace.
Bild 5: So-called "Teicheln", small water ponds originating from melting snowfields.
This time, all ponds have already dried out. The trail continued crossing the big rocks and then under the great rock wall on the left side to the reddish rocks.
Bild 6: Next scarp with stirrups and cabled sections.
Bild 7: We entered the big shadow and this was important because of ...
Bild 8: .... a large sloped snowfield reaching to the next terrace.
Only one participant brought (light) climbing iron along with as the guide said we wouldn't need them for this tour, probably referring to the hutkeeper's statement. However, the snowfield was completely shadowed and rather hard and icy. I tried it with my hiking sticks but couldn't stand safely, let alone think about walking on it. The guys in the foreground were smart and attached spikes to their shoes. I avoided this tricky part by evading into the block terrain to the right. It turned out that I reached the end of the snowfield much faster than climbing up the snowfield itself.
Bild 9: Looking at my companions..
North-facing crossings in the Totes Gebirge may still be covered with old snowfields as late as the end of June. I would encourage hiking guides to always take spikes along this time of the year.
Bild 10: Next terrace ahead.
Two chamois eyed from the top of the "Fleischbänke" wall towards the climbing mountaineers.
Bild 11: Close-up view of the crucial part of this ascent:
A short ladder, then a big step to reach a foothold (I would classify it as B) and crossing the exposed wall without secured cables. I could imagine this section is rather challenging under wet or icy conditions. I made life unnecessarily difficult for myself by trying to take too big a step to reach the next foothold, when a shorter step with less effort would have been enough.
Bild 12: Snowfield from the top.
Bild 13: A more sloped snowfield, with a guy struggling to cross it.
One of our more experienced hiking companions didn't want to deal with the snowfield at all and instead chose to bypass it by going off-trail over easy rocky terrain. It saved both concentration and energy. The others continued over the snowfield, considering it as training. I followed my companion since our journey would be still long enough and I didn't want to waste my resources too early.
Bild 14: Snowfield from above.
Not really dangerous in terms of falling down but slipping could still lead to unnecessary injuries.
Bild 15: Next terrace where the normal route to the Schermberg diverged.
The hutkeeper had initially proposed this route to climb the Schermberg instead of Großer Priel and then proceed over the normal route to the Pühringer Hütte. We would have had about 300hm extra.
Bild 16: Moos-Leimkraut (Silene acaulis).
Bild 17: Another snowfield but with soft snow (more grip).
It could be bypassed close to the rocks.
Bild 18: Then we finally reached the so-called Fleischbanksattel (2124m) where a stunning panorama of the karst plateau awaited us.
The dominant rock pillar to the left is the Temlberg (2331m) and the Dachstein mountain (2995m) to the right.
Bild 19: Close-up of Dachstein, with retreating Hallstätter Gletscher (right) and Schladminger Gletscher (left).
The trapeziform mountain in the foreground with grass on it is the Elm (2128m), the nearest mountain to the Pühringer Hütte. So we needed to pass the foot of the Elm to reach our destination, and I think this underlines the extent of the karst plateau we had to cross this day.
Bild 20: Western Dachstein mountains and Hohe Tauern surfacing in the background.
From the left to the right: Hosskogel (2366m) behind Elm, then Großer Bärenkopf (3396m), Hohe Hosswand (2247m) and the white peak is the Großes Wiesbachhorn (3564m,115km) behind. Famous Bischofsmütze (2458m), with Schneespitze (3317m) behind.
We had a short break (too short for me) until we started heading towards the Großer Priel without our backpack. We just took a bottle of water, some snacks or a stick with us.
Key facts:
- Routing: Welser Hütte (1726m, 8.15) - Fleischbanksattel (2126m, 10.00) - Großer Priel Gipfelgrat (2472m, 10.50, Abbruch) - Fleischbanksattel (12.00-12.30) - Rotkogelsattel (2000m, 16.00) - Elmzageln (17.00) - Pühringer Hütte (17.30)
- Distance: 11,6km
- Height metres: ca. 930 hm
- Net Walking time: 8 hours (estimated)
- Animals: Chamois (4), Snail
Day two of our three-day hike. The distance and elevation gain weren’t particularly demanding on paper, but the terrain told a different story. We moved across a classic karst plateau — a constant up and down over uneven ground, riddled with cracks, deep dolines, and lingering snowfields. Shade was scarce, and the wind remained calm for most of the day. In such a harsh and exposed environment, reaching the next stop safely requires solid preparation and some experience — especially with no spring or well along the way to refill water supplies.
I slept well this night although it has been my first night at an alpine hut for several years. The open window and the pleasent breeze of cold air contributed to a deep night sleep. The Welser Hütte offered a small and a large breakfast buffet. I chose the small one as my stomach cannot tolerate fatty cheese and sausage so early in the morning. Jam and a strong coffee were sufficient for me. We were positively surprised by the good coffee and a companion who lived in Germany for some time filled the others in on the term "Blümchenkaffee" - the opposite of a strong coffee when it's so watery that you can literally see the porcelain decoration at the bottom of the cup.
Bild 1: Upper Hetzau valley, Traunstein in the center far back.
Bild 2: A few minutes after leaving the Welser Hütte, we encountered the first of several short fixed cable sections (central part).
Here it was a tilted crack to climb the next terrace. Background: Sauzahn to the left, Schermberg, then Almtaler Köpfl with the Tassilo via ferrata.
Bild 3: Looking back to the Welser Hütte, with Kreuz (2174m) behind.
Bild 4: Gentle part of the trail for a few minutes before the next terrace.
Bild 5: So-called "Teicheln", small water ponds originating from melting snowfields.
This time, all ponds have already dried out. The trail continued crossing the big rocks and then under the great rock wall on the left side to the reddish rocks.
Bild 6: Next scarp with stirrups and cabled sections.
Bild 7: We entered the big shadow and this was important because of ...
Bild 8: .... a large sloped snowfield reaching to the next terrace.
Only one participant brought (light) climbing iron along with as the guide said we wouldn't need them for this tour, probably referring to the hutkeeper's statement. However, the snowfield was completely shadowed and rather hard and icy. I tried it with my hiking sticks but couldn't stand safely, let alone think about walking on it. The guys in the foreground were smart and attached spikes to their shoes. I avoided this tricky part by evading into the block terrain to the right. It turned out that I reached the end of the snowfield much faster than climbing up the snowfield itself.
Bild 9: Looking at my companions..
North-facing crossings in the Totes Gebirge may still be covered with old snowfields as late as the end of June. I would encourage hiking guides to always take spikes along this time of the year.
Bild 10: Next terrace ahead.
Two chamois eyed from the top of the "Fleischbänke" wall towards the climbing mountaineers.
Bild 11: Close-up view of the crucial part of this ascent:
A short ladder, then a big step to reach a foothold (I would classify it as B) and crossing the exposed wall without secured cables. I could imagine this section is rather challenging under wet or icy conditions. I made life unnecessarily difficult for myself by trying to take too big a step to reach the next foothold, when a shorter step with less effort would have been enough.
Bild 12: Snowfield from the top.
Bild 13: A more sloped snowfield, with a guy struggling to cross it.
One of our more experienced hiking companions didn't want to deal with the snowfield at all and instead chose to bypass it by going off-trail over easy rocky terrain. It saved both concentration and energy. The others continued over the snowfield, considering it as training. I followed my companion since our journey would be still long enough and I didn't want to waste my resources too early.
Bild 14: Snowfield from above.
Not really dangerous in terms of falling down but slipping could still lead to unnecessary injuries.
Bild 15: Next terrace where the normal route to the Schermberg diverged.
The hutkeeper had initially proposed this route to climb the Schermberg instead of Großer Priel and then proceed over the normal route to the Pühringer Hütte. We would have had about 300hm extra.
Bild 16: Moos-Leimkraut (Silene acaulis).
Bild 17: Another snowfield but with soft snow (more grip).
It could be bypassed close to the rocks.
Bild 18: Then we finally reached the so-called Fleischbanksattel (2124m) where a stunning panorama of the karst plateau awaited us.
The dominant rock pillar to the left is the Temlberg (2331m) and the Dachstein mountain (2995m) to the right.
Bild 19: Close-up of Dachstein, with retreating Hallstätter Gletscher (right) and Schladminger Gletscher (left).
The trapeziform mountain in the foreground with grass on it is the Elm (2128m), the nearest mountain to the Pühringer Hütte. So we needed to pass the foot of the Elm to reach our destination, and I think this underlines the extent of the karst plateau we had to cross this day.
Bild 20: Western Dachstein mountains and Hohe Tauern surfacing in the background.
From the left to the right: Hosskogel (2366m) behind Elm, then Großer Bärenkopf (3396m), Hohe Hosswand (2247m) and the white peak is the Großes Wiesbachhorn (3564m,115km) behind. Famous Bischofsmütze (2458m), with Schneespitze (3317m) behind.
We had a short break (too short for me) until we started heading towards the Großer Priel without our backpack. We just took a bottle of water, some snacks or a stick with us.
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