my travel blog: Austria - Klettersteig Heaven

In Nepal I fell in love with the mountains. Once back in Europe, I realized that there are some big and scary ones just around the doorstep - in Austria. So I got my introduction of the so called 'Klettersteig'. I have to admit - don't laugh please - I have never heard nor seen of such thing. In principle it is a fixed steel cable on a steep mountain wall which you can take as a safety line while climbing up in order to avoid taking the much longer (and less scary) hiking path up to the summit. Austria's mountains are filled with these extended lightening protection cables and they are available in all kinds of grades ranging from A = easy to E = professional. For ease of access there some fixed metal rods and the safety net is a double karabiner on a piece of rope around your hip.

My ambitious Austrian friend thought that Nepal would have been training enough so I ended up on my first attempt on a grade D which kept me busy for more than 4 hours locked to the cable and my muscles sore for the following days. Once convinced that I am not scared of heights the mountains around the Dachstein - one of Austria's highest - were the next destination. In heights of just under 3000m the cold and wind are not forgotten but are made up by views onto the ski fields and the glacier. Another vertical face of Klettersteig 'Irg' going hundreds of height meters up in the air kept my heartbeat up, my thoughts of the 'what if...' spinning in my head, my body sore for days after and my fellow Austrian smiling. This country is Klettersteig Heaven.