Trekking in Austria's Hohe Tauern. Allan Hartley

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СКАЧАТЬ routes described follow recognised paths and tracks corresponding to those indicted on maps and signposts.

      However, to aid route-finding across unfamiliar ground, each daily tour itinerary is fully described and illustrated with a sketch map indicating the main topographical features that will be observed en route.

      Route grading

      The route described is for people who are already involved in some sort of mountain activity on a regular basis. It goes without saying that the tours are moderately strenuous and require the ability to carry a full pack for an average of six hours a day. In terms of alpine grading, the majority of the routes fall into the mountaineering grade of easy to moderate, comprising sustained mountain walking, requiring the ability to negotiate steep ground, scramble over rocks, cross late summer snow, make use of fixed wire ropes and have a good head for heights.

      MOUNTAIN GRADES

      Alpine ascents are often given a descriptive mountaineering grade:

       F Facile – easy

       PD Peu Difficile – a little bit difficult

       AD Assez Difficile – quite difficult

      Plus or minus signs are often added to these grades to signify that they are at the higher or lower end of the grade respectively.

      Technical climbing ascents are also sometimes given a UIAA (International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation) technical grade:

       I British grade of moderate

       II British grade of difficult

       III British grade of very difficult/mild severe

      Standard times

      At the beginning of each route description a standard time in hours (stunden) is quoted as an estimate of time required from hut to hut. This standard time generally equates to that given in the Austrian Alpine Club’s green Hut Book. The standard time stated is for hours spent moving and does not include lunch stops and other breaks. Most British parties find some difficulty in meeting standard times indicated by signposts outside huts. Do not worry. A lot of these standard times are unattainable or seem to have been set by Olympic athletes. With this in mind, the route descriptions in this book give the actual time required when carrying a heavy rucksack.

      If you undertake any of the tours with children you are advised to add at least one hour to the given time to allow for frequent picnic stops. Similarly, aspirant alpinists should make due allowance to the standard time while they learn the rudiments of glacier travel and the very time-consuming activities of roping up and putting crampons on and taking them off.

      MOUNTAIN TERMINOLOGY

      The following German words may be useful in route-finding and getting about.

Maps and Guidebooks

      The following are available from the UK Section of the Austrian Alpine Club.

      Also useful and available from major map retailers are:

       Freytag & Berndt Wanderkarte sheet 152 scale 1:50,000 (Mayrhofen-Zillertaler Alpen-Gerlos-Krimml).

       Rudolf Rother Wanderkarte 1:50,000 scale (Glockner, Granatspitz and Venediger groups).

      For guidebooks, see Appendix C (Further Reading).

Alpine Walking Skills

      So how do the skills you need for walking in the Hohe Tauern differ from those needed for walking elsewhere?

      Boots

      It really is essential that you have a relatively stiff boot with good ankle support and a stout Vibram-type rubber sole. Many of the walks involve sustained hard walking over rocky slopes and glacial debris plus encounters with patches of old hard snow. It is important to think of your boots as tools that can be used to kick steps and to jam into rocky cracks without causing damage to your feet. While bendy boots may be a tad lighter and more comfortable they are no match for a good pair of four-season mountaineering boots when it comes to dealing with difficult ground.

      Some basic Alpine walking kit

      Instep Crampons or Microspikes

      While crampons are normally associated with climbing, a pair of these little tools (pictured) comes in very handy when the weather decides to dump some unseasonable snow in August and they may just help provide that little bit of extra security when you get up close to some old hard-packed snow.

      Improvised Harness

      Many of the routes are equipped with fixed wire ropes to aid some support over bits of difficult terrain. While these maybe relatively easy to cross, the consequences of a fall could be serious. Also not everyone is vertigo free and the use of an improvised harness will help provide confidence and security of passage. Constructed from a 2m long x 10mm wide Dyneema sling, three or four overhand knots and a large screw gate karabiner (see picture above), it will allow you to clip into those fixed wires whenever the need arises and arrest a fall when you least expect it!

      Improvised harness

      A Tape joint at your back

      B Overhand knot tied around the waist

      C Overhand knot tied slightly above the knee

      D Tightoverhand knot at the end of the sling to hold the karabiner captive

      Trekking Poles

      Poles are almost a standard accessory for most folk these days but in the Alps they come into their own, being very handy when crossing glacial steams and for traversing those steep patches of old snow.

      Glacier travel

      The glaciers of the Hohe Tauern are in the heartland of the Tyrol and the Eastern Alps, with the Gross Venediger’s glaciers covering the greatest area, while the Pasterzen Kees glacier adjacent to the Gross Glockner remains the longest single glacier in the Eastern Alps. Quite a few of the mountaineering routes described in this guide involve crossing or negotiating glaciers that can be heavily crevassed, depending on the time of year and varying from season to season.

      Crevasses (spalten) will be encountered but they should not create a serious problem for the mountain traveller and most will be easily bypassed. As is common to most glaciers, the main crevasse zone will be on the steep sections, at the edges and where the ice breaks away from the underlying rocks to form bergschrunds, randkluft. If difficulties do arise it will be in negotiating bergschrunds such as those below the Romariswandkopf on the Fruschnitz Kees glacier.

      Orientation on the glacier is described as being in the direction of flow along the right or left-hand bank. This means that in СКАЧАТЬ