Three Peaks

     Our experience in Austria has been shaped by many things, but one of the few constants has been the presence of the mountains. Innsbruck is a city defined by the Nordkette, which forms a 1000m wall between the city and the wilderness, and we can lay in our bed and look up to summits yet to be climbed (by us at least). Most of our free time is spent in the mountains, hiking, climbing, skiing, or drinking coffee at a mountain hut because that's just better than drinking in the city. Even what we eat is touched by the mountains, as Austrians believe any food from the alpine is better, so we have mountain-butter, mountain-milk, and mountain herb tea in our kitchen.

     For a change of pace in this blog, we're just going to relate the tales of three peaks that we visited in the last few weeks, three great days enjoying the mountains. Incidentally, we never reached the summit of any of the three peaks, more on that below.

Der Rax, 2008m

     The Rax is more a big plateau than a single peak, with an impressive south facing wall above the village where Omi lives. We hiked there in the fall, but returned recently with Christi's mom, Gerda, to walk the ridge, look at alpine flowers, and enjoy treats from the huts along the way. This is a very special mountain in the history of Christi's family, both her mom and grandma having spent many many days up there in earlier years. As we approached the first hut on our route for the day, we saw an older fellow digging a drainage ditch alongside the trail. Sure enough, he was a neighbour when Gerda was younger, and we stopped to catch up on the last 30 years. For the rest of the hike we saw places significant to Gerda's childhood, or stories she knew from Omi, or places that Christi had been taken when she was younger. We climbed a boulder that three generations of kids have posed for photos on top of. We looked down into the valley and saw different villages tucked into little valleys, heard the stories of their significance, all in the shadow of the Rax. We didn't go to the summit that day, because there was too much to see more interesting than a high point, and apple strudel awaited us at the next hut.....

-Harry

The three intrepid hikers.

Gerda and Christi with the Preinerwand behind.

Gerda and Harry with Karl Ludwig Haus behind, and the summit off to the right.

Gerda and Christi on the Waxriegelhaus boulder.

Huggin on a hill.

Alpine meadow on the Rax.

Frau Hitt, 2269m

     Days off line up rarely for Christi and I these days, so we sometimes try and pack a lot into the days we do have. A few weeks ago, we decided to hike from Innsbruck over the Nordkette and north towards the German border, to a town called Scharnitz. There are a few ways over, but one of them passes right under Frau Hitt, a prominent spire on the ridge that has been on our hit list for a while. Not only was this going to be an extra possible few hours on our trip, but there is little consensus on how difficult it is to climb or how well protected the climbing is,  so we set out with backpacks for a day of hiking, and rope, harness, helmets, and a bunch of other gear as well. To our disappointment, by the time we were on the trail making our way to Frau Hitt, clouds had moved in and it had started raining on us. We made the deal we would only try to climb it if there was blue sky above us and the rock was dry by the time we got there. Needless to say, we said hi to the Frau as we passed by in miserable conditions and continued on our way to Scharntiz with overly heavy packs (training weight I say).

     As we scrambled down the north side of the ridge, we slowly left the clouds and mist behind at higher elevation. Soon we were walking a forest path, surrounded by pines, cows and their giant clanging bells. A hearty lunch at an alm chased our blues away, and we continued northwards. The rest of the hike was very beautiful, as we detoured through a narrow canyon with a bright blue river flowing through it. Down low below the clouds, this was a beauty we could enjoy while the summits were inaccessible, and reminded us that there's more to the mountains than just their tippy-tops.

-Harry

Looking up to the misty summit of Frau Hitt.

Down the backside of the Nordkette, heading north.

In the Gleierschklamm.

Hey down there!

Habicht, 3277m 

     Most recently, we did our first hike that involved a night spent in a mountain hut. Some rare time off for me and a desire to spend a night in the mountains, combined with Harry's ever-lengthy list of summits and his keen sense of adventure, we were off to stay at the Innsbrucker Hütte, in the shadow of Habicht.
     Our journey started by taking the gondola up Elfer Berg (a smart idea for saving our legs, I'd say), and hiking over Elfer Berg into the end of the Pinnistal, where Habicht looms over the end of the valley. Though not the tallest mountain in the Stubaital, Habicht is characteristically the largest, most intimidating mass of stone. We hiked up the left side of the valley and over the lowest point of the ridge to where Innsbrucker Hütte is nestled into a lower ridge of the Habicht, seeming to barely have a solid foundation, but a lovely site, as the fog was getting thicker just after we arrived, followed soon after by deep, long rolls of thunder. The bad weather made for a cozy evening with good food, beer, card games and an even cozier sleep. Unfortunately, though, the bad weather was still hanging around in the morning. Waking up at 6am to get an early start up Habicht, one look out the window at the still dense fog, and another roll of thunder, quickly sent us back to bed, knowing there'd be no chance of summiting Habicht that day. Nevertheless, we set out early, but down the mountain, to the Gschnitz, in the next valley over and headed home for a nice, rainy, evening at home.
    And, though we didn't get to summit, we did still accomplish our goal of spending a night on the Alps in a hut-- an experience I'd highly recommend to anyone who has the chance. The rest that comes with being in nature, a good sleep, and a warm meal after hiking to get it were so needed and so satisfying.

-Christi

Hiking into the Pinnistal.

Habicht at the head of the valley, our trail heads up the left side and on to the ridge covered in cloud.

Hanging out by the creek before the weather came in. 

Innsbrucker Hütte, below the mighty Habicht.

Very thankful to arrive the hut with the promise of hot food, good beer, and cozy beds inside.