What a beautiful winter this… July

I wanted to escape from the summer heat in the city so joined by a group of friends we went to Austrian Alps. As it later turned out this part worked extremely well  For me and Marcin it was supposed to be our second attempt at Grossvenediger

On Friday afternoon we reached the parking in valley. Last check of our packs and off we went! Despite the rain we were moving up in a good mood. In the evening in fog and pouring rain we were tired and soaked. Shortly before nightfall we finally reached the mountain hut Kursinger Hutte. Due to our misinterpretation of the accommodation booking site we did not know that it is not possible to rent glacier equipment up in the mountains. It is only possible in Neukirchen am Grossvenediger village. Taking into consideration the weather we were not overly disappointed. We changed our plans and could enjoy sleeping till late – which was 78 AM.

Saturday morning did not look much better. Scattered showers, snow and low hanging clouds prevented us from admiring surrounding peaks. We decided to attempt a lower peak – Keerskogel. Sorrounded by fog it was literally a journey into the unknown. Battered by wind and falling snow we trudged on upwards. As we neared teh summit the ridge got very narrow and slippery due to ice. Less than a 100 m before teh summit we turned back – it would be too dangerous to continue in these condtions. 

After a short refreshment in the hut we went to the edge of Venediger glacier to scout ahead for our next visit.

Some day we will be back – the mountains will wait.