DACHSTEIN

I’m so fortunate that there is time for another short mountain trip before the end of my holidays; this time it’s to explore the mountain plateau of Dachstein.

• DACHSTEIN – DAY 00

  Travel day to / stayover at Attnang Puchheim

  ^22-07-27

  The trip starts with a stayover at querky Höckner Plaza Hotel in Attnang-Punchheim. Very friendly staff, good breakfast and unexpected detail to interior ‘design’.

  

  Otherwise Attnang-Puchheim seems to be a rather nondescript little town, little more than a local transport node. But it works well for the night, and to be able to catch an early morning train into Salzkammergut and to Obertraun.

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• DACHSTEIN – DAY 01

  From Obertraun to Simonyhütte

  ^22-07-28

  After a short hour’s walk from the train station Obertraun Dachsteinhöhlen to the cable car station, and a bit of a wait for tickets and to get onto a cable car, the day starts with a quick and easy lift up to Krippenstein.

  From the cable car we get a beautiful view back onto Obertraun, the Hallstätter See, and famous Hallstatt with its Salzberg on the other side of the lake.

  

  After two sections of cable cars we arrive at Krippenstein, and get a first view of the landscape that we will hike through the next couple of days. We also get a first glimps of Dachstein glacier in the distance – and get quite excited about what’s ahead.

  

  We hop on the third section of the cable car, which brings us further towards the glacier, and exit it near Gjaidalm at 1780m asl.

  From there we start hiking; first past the military barracks of Oberfeld, on a nice enough gravel road.

  

  But very quickly the path (no. 615/657 – ‘Trägersteig’) turns into a narrow path that gets more and more rocky; and soon we need ‘all four’ to scramble up the mountain.

  

  We have a lunch break on a little local top, and enjoy the view. It’s -almost- too hot again; luckily there is a bit of a breeze.

  Then we press on, along the mountainside under the steep cliffs of Taubenkogl and further towards the glacier.

  

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  —- more to come! —-

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