Hohe Tauern, Austria
Day 8 Friday 22nd June 2018
Bergersee Lake and Traverse
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A long but varied day with exceptional views. Plenty of wildlife spotting opportunities on sections less trodden. It also features two unique mountain huts, each serving delicious cuisine.
Grade: Hard
Distance: 17 km (10.5 miles)
Ascent/Descent: 1000m
Time: 5-6 hours
Distance to Start: 20 minutes
Getting There: walk starts in Prägraten am Großvenediger. From Matrei, take the Virgental road to Prägraten near the head of the valley. Park opposite the tourist information office.
Terrain: Well-marked forestry tracks and mountain footpaths.
Map ref: goo.gl/maps/Ta18F7Atep22 |
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| Day |
To |
Distance |
Time |
Elevation in meters |
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|
Km |
Elapsed
Hrs-Mins |
Moving
Hrs-Mins |
Gain |
Loss |
Min |
Max |
| 8 |
Bergersee Lake and traverse |
19.34 |
7H30 |
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1,172 |
1,172 |
1,290 |
2,345 |
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| We parked near the tennis courts in Prägraten am Großvenediger and walked back to the bridge which we had just crossed. The road goes off to the right, uphill, and this was the effective start of our walk. It is well sign posted, and we followed the yellow markers for Bergerseehütte. |
The road soon became a gravel forestry track, and after a short while we took a path to the left,
rising steeply, along route 312.
We continued through the trees and rejoined the forestry track after 15 minutes. The path offers
excellent views across the Virgental valley and the peaks beyond.
Campanulaceae - Bellflower family
| The next 30 minutes or so were through the forest, rising steeply, but cool in the shade. We passed a small hut built into the rocks on the right, presumably someone's hideaway; we dropped down to cross a stream but found that the path was blocked with snow. Iain took the direct route over a rather dodgy looking snow bridge; Jo and I opted to go down hill slightly and cross on more substantial snow. |
| We continued to climb, this time on an agreeable gradient along switchbacks that made their way up the hill. Eventually we came to a large waterfall cascading at full power down the hill from the lake. Here we rested before crossing a wooden bridge and making our way up the short stretch of path leading to Bergerseehütte and the lake. |
Our first glimpse of Bergerseehütte
| Two hut keepers had arrived before us on scrambles bikes to open up the hut. Although we were able to go inside and use the facilities, we were not able to buy a coffee or any other drinks. No matter, we sat on the upper decking area of the hut and soaked in the sun and the fantastic view of the lake and the cirque. |
Monty the Marmot
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The Whistling Marmot
by
Hamlin Garland
On mountains cold and bold and high,
Where only golden eagles fly,
He builds his home against the sky.
Above the clouds he sits and whines,
The morning sun about him shines,
Rivers loop below in shining lines.
No wolf nor cat may find him there,
That winged corsair of the air,
The eagle, is his only care.
He sees the pink snows slide away,
He sees his little ones at play,
And peace fills out each summer day.
In winter, safe within his nest,
He eats his winter store with zest,
And takes his young ones to his breast. |
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Looking down on the zigzag path we used to climb to Bergerseehütte
A helicopter flies in just below us
The traverse into the next valley
Ranunculaceae - Buttercup family
Looking back over the traverse
| We eventually retraced our footsteps for a short while before taking a trail to the left which climbed up hill and eventually followed the contours. This was the aptly named "Panoramaweg" and was the 312, sign posted for Laschnitzenhütte. We contoured round for quite a while, gaining height all the time, until we came to a small wooden farmers hut just before the high point. Here we rested on a small seat aptly positioned on the lee side, out of the wind, and enjoyed the sun. We were soon back on the path and reached the high point near what appears to be a trig point. Here the wind was quite cold and we had to don jackets. |
Kraftplatz Muhspyramide
A really cold wind at this point; time to wrap up!
| Continuing towards Laschnitzenhütte we passed the sign for Musköpfl to the left, a possible extension to the walk. This adds one hour thirty minutes to the walk and an extra 300 meters of climbing. We decided to save this for another day!We were soon able to see the Austrian flag fluttering on the hut way below us, a good sign as it indicated that it was open. We had to go ay beyond the hut to loose height, and then we turned back on ourselves to head back to the hut. The snow was quite extensive here and we had to either cross the snow field or try to walk down the edge. Neither was easy, but we made good progress and reached the hut. |
Jo
| A cup of coffee and a huge helping of apple strudel raised my spirits, and we looked anxiously at the clouds forming overhead indicating that we might be hit by rain before we reached the bottom. Fortunately the rain held off. You can leave the hut either by the vehicle track, or by a path to the left of the hut which joins the vehicle track lower down. We opted for the latter, and were soon confronted by a huge snow field and an interesting snow tunnel. Ian check it out and found that it was easy to pass through the snow tunnel, so Jo and I followed. We soon rejoined the vehicle track, and in about an hour we were back down by the car. |
Leaving the hut on the way down
Iain approaching a snow tunnel
You can just see Iain emerging from the other side and giving the all clear.
Jo about to enter
Looking back up the valley
A really enjoyable day out in the mountains with fantastic views!
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