since i was a child, i always loved the mountains. i often went climbing or mountaineering or just enjoyed walking through these wonderful landscapes in and around our country. luckily we have a lot of possibilities .. the Alps are quite near and there are a couple of lakes not far from here. so about one year ago i started climbing via ferratas because i just wanted to try it .. and what shall i say .. i loved it and i still do. it is more exciting than `just´ mountaineering and you can make a high altitude difference in a shorter time .. this is quite fun !! so my first via ferrata was the `Grünstein Klettersteig´ right at lake `Königssee´ .. a great but not very difficult tour and just perfect for beginners. you walk about one hour up to the via ferrata entrance and then climb more or less three hours to the top from where you have an amazing view all over the lake !! the difficulty never gets higher than C except the final wall but you can bypass this spot by an easy path leading to the top. well as i already mentioned it was my first one .. good to get a feeling for it but not the best one in my opinion. so here are my 4 fav via ferratas:
1. Drachenwand Klettersteig: this via ferrata is located near the lake `Mondsee´ in Austria. it takes about 30 minutes to get to the starting point and then about two hours to the top. The route even contains a rope bridge and several spots with difficulty D .. which is still quite easy to handle. when reaching the top you are rewarded by an amazing view all over the beautiful `Mondsee´ where you can take a short dip in after reaching the starting point again.
2. Mahdlgupf Klettersteig: this one is already a bit harder than the `Drachenwand Klettersteig´ because of its length. all in one you have to go about four hours up and one and a half down .. so you should have quite a good endurance. anyway this via ferrata right beside the `Attersee´ is really really nice to climb and even has a few places to rest and take a break.
3. Hochthron Klettersteig: i climbed this via ferrata last monday and was really surprised by this one !! the ropes are completely new and the path up is in a super good condition. furthermore, there are almost no people when you climb it during working week. after about 4 to 5 hours, you reach the top of the `Untersberg´ where you have the possibility to stop for a bite to eat in the `Stöhrhaus´.
4. last but not least the most difficult via ferrata of whole Austria: Königsjodler Klettersteig: this via ferrata leads all up to the peak of the `Hochkönig´ Mountain with almost 3000 meters hight. the way up to the entrance of the via ferrata already takes about two and a half hours and offers a fantastic view !! the via ferrata itself takes about 5 fu**ing hours and is pretty hard especially because of its length. another difficulty is the permanent up and down all the way over the small peaks named `Teufelshörner´ .. this is quite exhausting and takes time. when finally reaching the top there are still 30 minutes to walk to the `Matrashaus´ where you should stay for a night because the way down takes about 3 more hours. by the way it is absolutely worth it standing up at 5 o’clock in the morning to watch the sun rising !!
well that’s it so far .. the next via ferratas on my list are the `Pidinger Klettersteig´ up to the `Hochstaufen´ and the `Postalmklamm Klettersteig´ in Austria .. i will keep you posted !!
