recommended route
Stage 19
Stage 19 From Glacier to Wine North Route Schneealm - Rax Karl Ludwig Haus
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Am Weg Richtung RaxPhoto: Manfred Polansky, CC BY-ND, (c) Steiermark Tourismus/Manfred Polansky
When mountaineers talk about alpine tours in Styria, they usually think of the Dachstein, Gesäuse or Hochschwab. The fact that here, on the northeastern edge of the Alps, you can still expect such alpine sections that require experience and surefootedness has perhaps been somewhat forgotten. Historically, however, it was precisely this region that attracted the first alpinists to the mountains, who came from cities such as Vienna and Graz in the 19th century. Due to the proximity to the cities, especially to Vienna, and the connection through the railroad, the city dwellers flocked to the mountains, which unfortunately also brought unwanted outcomes. For example, an avalanche accident on the Rax on March 8, 1896 was the triggering event for the founding of the world's first mountain rescue stations in Mürzzuschlag and Reichenau.
Here we are also on a stage of the BergZeitReise circular tour, which leads through the wildly romantic mountain landscape of Hochsteiermark.
Author’s recommendation
In the spring of 2018, a jury and the readers of a major Austrian daily newspaper selected Martina Traisch from the Enns Valley and Manfred Polansky from the Mürz Valley as two "super hikers" who hiked the north and south routes in the summer. You can read about their experiences and adventures at www.steiermark.com/superwanderer: From ideal photo spots to hidden wine cellars in mountain huts. Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Martina and Manfred and also become a "super hiker"? It's very easy: Register at www.steiermark.com/superwanderer and then post your experiences, videos and comments along the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine" - regardless of whether you hike the entire route or just one section. Every 5 stages also beckons a small reward!
Track types
Show elevation profileRest stops
LurgbauerhütteMichlbauerhütte
Waxriegelhaus
Schneealpenhaus
Karl-Ludwig-Haus
Safety information
Emergency call mountain rescue: 140
Tips when reporting an emergency – Answer these six WH questions: What happened? How many people are injured? Where did the accident happen (are there GPS coordinates)? Who is reporting the incident (callback number)? When did the accident happen? What is the weather like at the site of the incident?
Tips and hints
Steiermark Tourismus
Tel. +43 316 4003
If you would like to hire a tour operator, simply book with Steiermark Touristik, the official travel agency of Steiermark Tourismus:
Tel. +43 316 4003 450,
The Steiermark Touren app, available free of charge on Google Play and the App Store (Android, iOS), offers detailed first-hand information: brief facts (length, duration, difficulty, ascent and descent/elevation gain, ratings), map, route descriptions, altimeter, compass, peak finder, navigation along the tour. You can also create your own personal lists of favourite tours and sites, store tours and destinations offline, use social media channels, and much more.
Start
Destination
Turn-by-turn directions
We start on this stage of the hiking route "From glacier to wine" in the middle of the Schneealm (tourist information Tel. +43 3857 8321) and hike first without major descents or ascents over the high plateau in the direction of the Lurgbauerhütte (Tel. +43 676 6335456). Afterwards we follow the Nordalpenweg 01 for about 1 km in order to branch off to the left onto trail 442 in the direction of Karlalm before descending to the Naßwand. Note: the Naßwand lives up to its name, because the descent is so washed out that bypassing this short piece is highly recommended!
At the Karlalm with its small hunting lodge we branch off to the right to get back to our 01 path. Over the so-called Naßkamm with a beautiful view into the Altenberg valley we reach the unmanaged Zimmermannhütte and the private Gamseckhütte to the Gamsecksteig at the foot of the highest elevation of the Rax, the Heukuppe. First through mountain pines and over scree, the well-secured ascent over short ladders and passages equipped with wire ropes soon begins in order to enter the plateau of the Raxalpe at an altitude of about 1,850 m above sea level. Another tip: The ropes are passed a few times only through the anchorages, which results in a strong yielding of the rope after each anchorage. Please keep your distance, otherwise one will pull on the other!
We leave this short and rather easy via ferrata behind us to continue hiking to the summit of the Rax, with 2,007 m above sea level a real two-thousand-meter peak! Enjoying the view of the surrounding mountains and back to Schneealm, Veitsch and Hochschwab, we then descend to our stage destination, the Karl Ludwig Haus (Tel. +43 2665 380 or +43 699 11888972), which was not only completely renovated a few years ago, but was also certified as an organic farm. While enjoying an excellent snack, you can already plan the next day: this stage takes you to Mürzzuschlag, a small town beautifully situated in the nodes of Hochsteiermark on the UNESCO World Heritage Semmering Railway.
Note
Public transport
Detailed information about arriving by ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) can be found at www.oebb.at or on the Verbundlinie Steiermark website www.busbahnbim.at
With Verbundlinie’s BusBahnBim route planner app, planning your journey has never been easier: simply enter towns and/or addresses, stop names or points of interest to check all bus, train and tram connections in Austria. The app is available free of charge for smartphones – on Google Play and in the App Store
Getting there
Detaillierte Informationen zur Anreise finden Sie hier.
Parking
It is possible to drive to the foot of the Schneealm via a toll road by car to the parking lot Kohlebnerstand and after a hike of about 1 hour you reach the Schneealpenhaus. The access to the toll road is between the villages of Kapellen and Neuberg an der Mürz directly at the bathing lake Urani.Coordinates
Book recommendation by the author
Rother Wanderführer "Vom Gletscher zum Wein": auf 160 Seiten mit 80 Farbabbildungen 60 Höhenprofile, 60 Wanderkärtchen im Maßstab 1:75.000, zwei Übersichtskarten, GPS-Tracks zum Download, Format 11,5 x 16,5 cm, kartoniert mit Polytex-Laminierung, ISBN 978-3-7633-4550-2, www.rother.de
Wanderführer BergZeitReise des TRV Hochsteiermark www.hochsteiermark.at
Author’s map recommendations
Gratis Pocket Card Wanderroute "Vom Gletscher zum Wein" finden Sie auf www.steiermark.com
Wanderkarte BergZeitReise durch die Hochsteiermark finden Sie auf www.hochsteiermark.at
Kompass WK210 Wiener Hausberge, Schneeberg-Rax-Semmering-Bucklige Welt-Mürztal www.kompass.at
Freytag & Berndt WK22 Semmering · Rax · Schneeberg · Schneealpe www.freytagberndt.at
Equipment
Proper backpack packing makes many things easier: Pack heavy things first. The water bottle should always be within reach in a side pocket. All the things that are often needed, such as sunglasses, camera or hiking map, belong on top. An emergency kit, including blister plasters, belongs in every rucksack and it is always advisable to dress in layers.Statistics
- 6 Waypoints
- 6 Waypoints
Questions and answers
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