As mentioned in my previous post, Mr A and I did a fair bit of walking during our recent holiday at Achensee.
Our hikes of choice – which all turned out to be amazing – were the following:
Hochiss
We took the cable car Rofanseilbahn and started towards beautiful Dalfazalm (45mins). From there we turned right and upwards, passing Steinernes Tor to our left towards Streichkopf (2243m), reaching the peak of Hochiss at 2299m after approximately XX hours in the blistering heat.
In fact, it was so hot that the black dots we saw in a snow field below turned out to be chamois cooling off – no kidding!
From there we followed the footpath back to the cable car. Because I was really tired (maybe lacking sugar?) we omitted our initial idea of returning via via ferrata Spieljoch and just walked back to Rofanseilbahn – via a cold (alcohol-free) and well-deserved beer at Erfurter Hütte.
Feilalm
From our apartment in Pertisau we followed the roadsign “Karwendeltäler” past the toll booth and then some more before turning left onto a footpath that took us all the way up to Feilalm hut in just over an hour. After a cold drink and plenty of photos we walked the same way back down.
Via ferrata Haidachstellwand
Once more we took Rofanbahn up, this time starting off in a north-easterly direction, planning to take Haidachstellwand in a clock-wise direction.
Below the first wall we geared up – and soon realised that the B/C grading offered by the tourism bureau was optimistic at best. In the Dolomites, this via ferrata would be classified as C with some areas D for sure! It was a lot more strenuous than expected with two small overhangs and I silently thanked Kayla for her workouts that provided me with the necessary strength and stamina. Just before the end of this via ferrata was a rope bridge and I felt very brave after having completed it.
The view from the top was breathtaking and more than made up for the arduous climb. We had lunch, took in the vista and were soon on our way back towards Rofanseilbahn, which consisted of two small climbing sections only before we reached the footpath again.
Lake loop
From the door of our apartment we walked down to the lake from where we simply followed the footpath around the lake until we were back at our apartment. The western edge was first an easy walk until Gaisalm, then turned into an easy climb before becoming a gravel, then a paved path on the way back south.
The whole loop is just over 21km and while technically easy still quite a walk. It rarely get boring due to the ever-changing nature of the track along with plenty of distractions from the water – wind- and kite-surfers, sailing boats and the Achensee ferry.
For kids there is an exciting “Wuselweg” between Achenkirch and Maurach with many different stops where children can complete a task such as climb, play in the sand or roll dices.
Pasillalm
Once more we did not need our car but simply walked towards Karwendeltäler, past the turnoff for Feilalm and towards Pletzachalm.
It was a rather steep climb up to Pasill saddle, then a gradual decline to Pasillalm. From there, a gravel road took us to Seekaralm where we had lunch before finding our way down to Achenkirch where we boarded a boat to Pertisau.
On this day I was especially glad I had brought my walking poles. They really did make both ascent and descent a whole lot easier.
Falzthurnalm
On our last day we took it very easy as the long hikes were starting to take a toll on our overall strength and we wanted to avoid sore muscles on our long drive to Vienna the next day.
For the morning, Mr A had booked a tandem paragliding flight, something he’s done before and so utterly enjoyed that he couldn’t miss out on the perfect flying conditions at Pertisau that day.
One last time we walked towards Karwendeltäler and took the first left just after the toll both. Following the paved road (pedestrians and cyclists only) we arrived at Falzthurnalm after maybe an hour. After a quick break we lazily made our way back, taking in the beauty and quietude once more to bring some of it to Vienna with us.
Overall, I can whole-heartedly recommend hiking the Achensee region. There are numerous trails for every age, physical condition and mental disposition.
Please be aware that you are in the mountains and the weather can change quickly even on a bright day. Bring the necessary equipment and stay safe!
