Cragging and Pidinger Klettersteig

Published on 2013-6-5 by Michael Stanton

Date is approximate

Hannes and I got an early start only to meet a soaking wet Williwand. So we went to the Weissbach Klettergarten near Lofer. We climbed about 6 pitches at the main wall, then moved to a steep wall hidden in the forest to lead and top-rope some 6+-7 routes. Really fun!

Before going home I thought I'd hike up Hochstaufen for some more exercise. Seeing signs for a klettersteig (via ferrata), I decided to follow that to the summit, as there was still plenty of light. The Pidinger Klettersteig is quite steep right off the bat, hiving up into many cliffs of the north face. There was surprisingly little snow, given recent precip, just big cones in gullies which were easily avoided or mitigated with good steps already in place. But the route was quite long. Eventually I saw a sign for an "emergency exit," and since I was losing the light I decided to take it. The exit trail avoided one crag, but circled back to the base of the next-highest cliff. "What the hell," I thought, and got back on the route at this point, quite enjoying the acrobatic moves. Pink alpen-glow was on the rocks, and the flat-lands of Salzburg and nearby towns stretched out beneath me, beginning to glow with street lamps. Soon I'll be at the summit!

Uh...not really. I topped out on a sub-peak, then began a long traverse left and down. As I descended ladders to cross a snowfield, I was glad I'd brought a headlamp because I'd need it very soon! This traverse and descent lengthens the route by quite a lot. I began to climb back up, but then squeezed into a crack to get my headlamp out and firmly affixed for the night climb to come. Steeply for many minutes, then in light rain another half hour of increasingly careful work in the dark. On the summit, it rained steadily. I was pleased to discover the hut was open, and stomped inside at about 10:30 pm for a Radler. Delicious!

Hoping to get down before the rain worsened, I hiked out and down the regular way to the Steiner Alm. This was steeper than I expected (for a while I was afraid I was reversing an emergency exit of the klettersteig!), and great care had to be taken on the mossy, slippery logs sometimes lashed to the rock as an artificial ledge. Finally I reached the meadows and spent a tricky half hour navigating ankle deep mud churned up by inconsiderate cows. Then I took a wrong turn on the long string of forest roads back to the car, but the GPS in my phone saved me. It's quite a feeling to be thrashing in head-high brush at 1 am, going on pure faith that the straight line you are travelling will reach the parking lot! Worked perfectly.

My adventures weren't over...the highway was closed due to flooding, etc. It was a long night!

Thanks to Hannes for fun climbing!