Austria 2015 (#2)

Part 2: September 11th – 15th

By Watracz Is Traveling

Day 5: Kitzsteinhorn, Seisenberg Gorge, Lamprecht’s Cave

September 11th, 2015

View day 5 route on Google Maps

Early in the morning I consider going to the Grossglockner pass, but the weather forecast says tomorrow should be nicer, so I quickly adjust my plans and set the sat nav.

Kitzsteinhorn

I start the day by riding to the top of Kitzsteinhorn, at 3,029 m. a.s.l. The ticket is about EUR 40, and you need to take no less than three different cable cars. Apart from a panoramic view of the surrounding areas, the tourists can watch a multimedia presentation showcasing the beauty of the region.

I then go north, passing Zell am See, and I reach the Seisenberg Gorge; I buy my ticket for the three nearby attractions: 2 gorges and a cave.

Seisenberg Gorge

The route is about a kilometer long, and once you reach the end of the gorge, you go back the same way. The gorge was opened to the public in 1831, but was subsequently impassable for some time; in 1916 a flood damaged it seriously, followed by a disastrous storm in 1940.

Lamprecht’s Cave

The cave is over 55 kilometers long, and is one of Europe’s largest. In 1993 Polish spelunkers found a new entrance to the cave, which turned it into the world’s largest multiple-entrance cave.

Just a small part of it, naturally, is a show cave for visitors (about 600 m into the cave), but the underground corridors, paths, tunnels, and steps make it very much worth visiting.

Vorderkaser Gorge

This gorge is 400 meters long and 80 meters deep. There are 51 footbridges and 35 staircases along it, for a total of 375 steps. At its narrowest, it’s only 80 cm wide. It formed about 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age.

It’s also the last attraction for today. Right after 6 p.m. I start to look for a camp site. I pick Panorama Camp in Zell am See, which seems a good base for a trip to the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. On the way, I stop to get some shopping and get away from the storm that’s looming in the North. At the camp site, the owner tells me the weather is indeed supposed to be good, so all signs point to it being a great day.

Day 6: Grossglockner High Alpine Road

September 12th, 2015

View day 6 route on Google Maps

Wake-up’s at 4:30 a.m. It’s cold and dark. I pack my tent, put on all the warm clothes I have, and about an hour later I wake up everyone at the camp site when I start up my bike.

Grossglockner High Alpine Road

The ticket for the route is 25 euros. That’s a bit steep for an opportunity to ride on a bit of asphalt, but I hope it’s going to be worth it. I get to the parking lot by Edelweiss Hütte around 6:40 a.m., and it’s slowly getting brighter. Time to watch the sunrise.

Around 8 it gets warmer and I’m no longer shaking. I begin to ride up and down, recording videos. A few of these trips later, and I head towards the Pasterze glacier, with a brief stop to have my second breakfast.

From the viewpoint, you can see the glacier in all its glory. I walk down the steep slope, following a trail that leads directly to the glacier. The route has signs showing the level of ice recorded in previous years. They clearly show that the glacier is melting frighteningly fast, and just a few years from now, maybe a dozen, there might be nothing left of it.

On my way back I buy a cable car ticket and ride up to the parking lot, where there’s a gathering of Tesla cars underway. There are several dozen cars, TV crews, and crowds of people. There are also a lot of bikers, who set their machines in rows on both sides of the road.

Around 3 p.m. I bid the glacier farewell and go further south. I’m tired, so I don’t plan on doing anything else today, other than finding a camp site and a grocery store. A few kilometers south of the town of Döllach I find the Lindlerhof camp site, I agree on a price with the owner, and as soon as I begin to set up my tent, one of the poles cracks… I try to fix it with tape, but it’s not exactly easy. I tape the poles so the structure can even hold the night, and go to sleep. I’ll fix it for real tomorrow.

Day 7: Rest

September 13th, 2015

Today’s a rest day. I wake up early, do my laundry, fix the tent (with little luck), recharge before the next leg of the trip, and sort my photos.

Day 8: Staniskabach Waterfall, High Tauern National Park

September 14th, 2015

View day 8 route on Google Maps

The weather’s poor; it’s raining all morning. I leave the camp site in my rain coat. Riding south, I pass Lienz, turn north-west, and reach the Staniskabach Waterfall, just a dozen meters off the main road.

Later, further north, I reach the town of Lesach, and a bit later to the Lucknerhaus bed and breakfast, a good base to get to the Grossglockner pass from the south.

High Tauern National Park

I get to the High Tauern National Park around 12:30 p.m., and I start my hike towards the Umbal waterfalls. The weather is still uninspiring, and I need to stop several times to wait out the rain — under a tree, or under some roof. Because of the weather (and photo stops), the route takes me about 4 hours.

Afterwards, I ride further north, pass the town of Mittersill, turn west, and reach Krimml. I try to set up my tent, which keeps falling apart, at the camp site. The outer tent barely stays on the poles, which are so cracked there’s no point in sticking them together with tape. I’ll need to look for a new “house” tomorrow.

Day 9: Krimml Waterfalls, Lake Schlegeis

September 15th, 2015

View day 9 route on Google Maps

Krimml Waterfalls

The camp site is close to the waterfalls, so I decide to just walk there. The waterfall has 3 parts, with a total height of 380 meters or so. It’s Austria’s tallest waterfall, and one of Europe’s largest in terms of water flow. The upper and lower parts are each 140 meters, while the middle one is 100 meters tall. It’s a popular tourist spot, especially in comparison to the gorges and caves I visited a few days ago.

I go back to the camp site, pack my tent, and head out. In pouring rain I pass by Durlassboden lake, and in Zell am Ziller I turn back south. An hour later I’m by Lake Schlegeis. And it stopped raining!

Lake Schlegeis

It’s one of the five artificial lakes of the Zillertal valley. On its opposite side, you can see the peak of Olperer (3,476 m. a.s.l.), partially obscured by fog.

From there, I turn north, reach Jenbach, and go west, towards Innsbruck. On the way I manage to find a sports store, where I hope to fix my tent or buy a new one. I didn’t manage to fix mine at the camp site, after all. Unfortunately, the prices are staggering. The cheapest tent costs five times as much as the one I got, and I can definitely forget trying to fix it. A few dozen kilometers later I find a sports super market, where a store assistant finds me something within my budget. The last piece of a small single-skin tent… But the size looks similar to mine, so maybe I can use the outer tent I already have. After a quick test in the super market’s parking lot, everything seems to fit, so i dump the old tent. I end my day at Ötztal Bahnhof, at the Camping Center Oberland site.