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Stubai Alps 2010 A personal diary .... |
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Stubai Alps 2010 A personal diary .... |
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Travel to Munich
Mark and I left home at 1.30pm, picked up Allan H and then James along the way. We arrived at Edinburgh Airport car park, ‘Green C’ at 2.20pm, where Di, Gordon, Allan B and Bob were waiting. Not long afterwards Ian, Iris and Richard arrived so with everyone present, we headed to the airport terminal. The flight was due at 5.50pm but was delayed until 6.05, and eventually took off at 6.20pm. The airport food was as expected .. grim but palatable, but we were all in high spirits so it didn’t matter, and the beer washed it down nicely .. good old Abbott! Fed and watered we had some time to kill. We saw a commotion at the duty free and lo and behold they were dishing out free whisky, and guess who was at the front of the queue?... yes you guessed right ...Ian and Bob! Di and I followed, and after a few tastings bought a bottle to pick up on the way home! ‘Glenfiddich Oak’ for me and a nice bottle of bubbly for Di!
The flight made up some time and we arrived in Munich at 9.00pm. We then had a short train journey to the centre of Munich and after a quick consultation of the street map, we were at the Wombat Hostel, our first stop of the trip. On arrival I had to leave a 10 euro note as a down payment for a room key and part with my passport for a couple of minutes while a photo copy was taken but in return I was handed 11 free drinks vouchers for the in-house Bar .. a fair swap I think! We headed upstairs to dump our stuff. People were sleeping, so after fumbling with our stuff in the dark, we managed to organise our bed by torchlight. Thoughts of free drink added to our already high spirits so we were full of the giggles but not too loud. At the Bar we redeemed our vouchers and the beer went down very nicely. The intention was to have a quick drink and get to bed at a reasonable hour, but the bar was licensed ‘till the last man standing. Three and a half pints, wine and shots (courtesy of the Wombat) later, we left the bar at 1.00am .. well some of us did but there were a few stragglers who will remain nameless. We had a great evening and it was quite entertaining especially when Allan was offered a free shot of schnapps from a fit young damsel, but Allan in his wisdom held strong. She eventually caved in and brought him a pint of beer instead. The rest of us knocked back the schnapps.
Di, Iris and I headed for our room again which slept 6 .. 3 up 3 down with one toilet in the corner. The room was very hot so I found a window I could open which made a difference. Breakfast was from 6.45 – 10.00 in the morning, so we decided to meet at 7.30am.
Travel to Innsbruck and the Starkenburger Hütte
I awoke around 7.00am feeling like I had been hit with a sledge hammer. Nausea followed but the bathroom was engaged. Two of the inmates were backpackers working in Munich so this was their semi-permanent abode. Each of them took ½ an hour in the toilet, and there were no other toilets apart from those in the bar. Didn’t quite make it, but good old Sainsbury, I knew she would come in handy. Felt ropey for a while and didn’t each much breakfast, but made up some rolls for the journey. The train station was a mile away but it felt like 10 .. lessons were learned from this!!
We arrived at the Tram Station in Innsbruck to discover that the tram was not operable due to track maintenance. Typical of our Alpine trips to encounter such obstacles but this time a bus station was next door and a bus was just leaving for Fulpmes where the gondola would take us into the mountains. The bus journey to Fulpmes was thrilling to say the least .. hair pin bends and narrow passages. Testimony to the driver’s aptitude, but risky just the same! After alighting from the bus we had about a mile uphill to the Gondola station. Mark, Di and I and baggage shared a Gondola .. not much room for anyone else. Di and Mark were discussing their escape route should we encounter a problem. At one point we were 30ft from the ground when the gondola came to an abrupt halt. Escape talk resumed, and tying sleep sheets together was debated but the gradient of the hill was about 1:9 so earlier talk proved fruitless.
The walk from the gondola was a steep uphill which left every one sweating buckets in the blazing sun. The total expected time was 2 hours but it ended up taking only 1½. Mark and I were at the back and it was nice to take our time and enjoy the sunshine and the first glimpse of the Stubai. The Starkenburger Hütte was comfortable but the rooms were toaty. Dinner was pretty meagre for 17 Euros. Tomato soup followed by Spag Bog which was filling but tasteless .. and no apple strudel!!! It was lights out at 10.00pm .. hostel policy? This pretty much set the standard for every other Hütte on the circuit. Just as well as no-one was really feeling like overindulging after the antics of the previous night.
Mark had a beer and I had ½ and we went to take in the moonlight as the moon was just rising over a peak. Gordon and Allan H joined us as we marvelled at the view and took some interesting photos after ducking and weaving to get in the frame. The scenery was incredible as twilight fell and darkness unveiled an unending blanket of stars. I picked a daisy here. We went back indoors for coffee to hear that Di had been propositioned by Horst, a German Stubai traveller. He was part of a group of 5 who were all, or nearly all retired. No sooner had Iris the words out when Horst was at my back declaring his passion for the English language and asked could he walk with us to the next Hütte so we could share sentences and have English/German lessons along the way. I know a party animal when I see one... !
We headed upstairs at 9.30pm. Iris, Di and I were sharing a cupboard. Di made funny comments about Horst that I couldn’t repeat and we split our sides laughing. Didn’t sleep too well, coffee before bed...not a good idea!
The Starkenburger to the Franz Senn Hütte
Couldn’t believe it was time to get up again! It must have been around 4.00 am when I finally got to sleep and now Iris’s alarm was telling us it was 6.45am. Breakfast was at 7.00am but it was 7.25am before I arrived down. There wasn’t much left to eat but Mark had saved me a few morsels! With a few a minutes to spare I made a sandwich for lunch. It was a fair old distance to the next Hütte with an estimated walking time of 8 hrs.
We gathered outside ready for the off and assessed the steep 374m ascent as it loomed in front of us. Strangely, the climb didn’t feel as bad as it looked and it wasn’t long before the path soon flattened out. It was a pretty easy traverse for the first part and contrary to the weather forecast, it was quite pleasant with a good bit of sun. On route there was the opportunity to take in a peak .. Marchsäule (2598m) which involved an additional 121m ascent! I wasn’t feeling like climbing again and neither were most of the others. Only Bob and James were keen and so we parted company at 2477m as they set off uphill. The rest of us were happy to contour .. well it was the first full day’s walking and it was going to be a long day! Both routes converged further up the track and it seemed like a long time before the guys caught up, but Bob assured me that they had been tagging at the back for some time.
Soon we were at the half way Hütte and I had never felt so hungry. The Hütte was small and could sleep only 8 on a Matrazenlager. The proprietor was also the sole employee and looked aged between 60-70. He could have been in his late 40’s though and just had a hard life shepherding his flock. He had fantastic noodle and ham soup on the go .. hunger is great kitchen (as my old granny used to say .. Ed)! It was simmering in what looked like a billy can 10" in diameter and was only about half full, so there wasn’t really a whole lot to go round. For some of us, it didn’t touch the sides while some of the others ate their sandwiches from breakfast. It was a basic Hütte and the tiny square in which the soup was served was the guy’s own kitchen. He had problems with the language but when it came to counting Euros he was all there! He pulled out a wad of notes about 2½" deep to give me change of 20. He was a very humble man though and was so pleased we enjoyed his soup .. or was he pleased at the imminent 7½ Euros from each of us?! Only applesaft for drinks .. a bit watered down but a refreshing change from beer .. no apple strudel!
We had a 2 hour walk from here to the Franz Senn Hütte (2147m) where we were staying for one night. No sooner had we started walking when the rain came on. It was forecast to come on from early morning so we were lucky to have escaped it so far. A drizzle for the first half hour but it got heavier by the minute so we all got kitted up with our waterproofs .. except for Di that is, who didn’t like the feel of damp shorts inside her waterproofs. She carried on regardless with only her jacket for protection. The rain was torrential at times and never let up and it dripped from her jacket to her shorts, to her socks, to her wee boots and she was absolutely drookit! .. wee lamb! As luck would have it though, as soon as we reached our destination, the sun came out. I have never seen so many shelves packed with boots. The place was steaming as there were wet things everywhere. In the dining room, Mark had a huge apple strudel waiting for me .. bless!
I went to the bar for a coffee to complement and top up my strudel with cream when I spied some bottles of Merlot on the shelf. I ordered a large one for me and Di .. to aid digestion of course! Dinner was at 6.30pm and we had scotch broth followed by a square of lasagne which was tasty but a bit stodgy. The Germans arrived 3 hours after us and were sat at the table next to us. They had waited up at the half way Hütte to shelter from the rain. After dinner and a few more schnapps, Horst wanted to learn more English and Bob was happy to oblige .. much to the relief of Di and I. We had some good laughs over dinner and Di came out with a classic. She had overheard Allan H say to James “I got a great service in the 2nd floor gents” and we all split our sides with laughter. He was referring to the satellite signal that allowed him to phone home. Before the night was out, Horst moved on to Iris and said he would see her at the next hut for a dance .. Ian didn’t seem to mind at all! 10.00pm lights out .. don’t think I slept all night!
The Franz Senn to the Neue Regensburger Hütte
Breakfast at 7.00am. Fruit salad, yogurt, muesli, cold meat and cheese followed by coffee. I made a roll to take with me even although it was only 4 hours to the next hut. Left at 8.20am after the usual group photo and the rain had started already. It didn’t let up for the whole journey and I was soaked through. Everything that is except for my boots as my feet were bone dry! The walk itself was a 600m climb but it felt a whole lot more because of the driving rain and the boggy ground underfoot. In some places it was a continual boulder field. En route a goat commandeered the track just at the point where it narrowed to allow only one person to pass at a time. It was a bit sheltered there and the goat wasn’t budging, so we had to shimmy round it. Bob and Allan B said it was looking for titbits. I laughed at this! The goat followed us and soon it was accompanied by a few others. Bob had stopped to slip on his waterproof trousers and by the time he set off again, he had a whole line of goats following him. Allan B took a photo of the shepherd and his flock.
The talk of the day from early morning was of Bob falling from his top bunk during the night. It happened not long after lights out. Mark and I were sharing a room with Ian and Iris (two up two down bunk arrangement) so were oblivious to the whole incident. Di, Bob, Allan H and Gordon were sharing a room and Richard, James and Allan B slept on a matrazenlager in the attic which they had all to themselves. Di’s account was that about 10.30pm she heard an almighty thud. Bob had fallen from his top bunk to the floor! On his way down he grabbed the conduit that ran along the ceiling in an attempt to break his fall. The conduit housed the light flex so the whole flex and supporting conduit came away from the ceiling as it was no support for Bob’s weight. Bob was trying to get out of bed when the ladder gave way! One of the bolts that secure the ladder to the bed had given way, so it swung like a pendulum when Bob stepped on to it. The conduit was his only available life line. Gordon, being really worried, jumped out to aid Bob who was a bit dazed by it all. After settling Bob in the gents he returned to the room and attempted to return the flex to its original state. The strange thing was that Bob had no recollection of this the following day ..! With Gordon’s constant ribbing and banter though, it all came flooding back, but perhaps he heard it recounted so many times that he actually believed it. We were soon settled in at the Neue Regensburger Hütte over a beer, and from the time we sat down until the time we went to bed, Gordon didn’t let up. It was really funny though, and you would have to have been there. Bob took it well though and has much broader shoulders than I gave him credit for.
When we arrived at the Neue Regensburger Hütte, Di and I were greeted with gruff comments from a butch fräulein in the drying room who wasn’t one bit happy with our clothes line. Di tried to explain but she was so nasty. It turned out that the dragon lady we had encountered earlier in the boot room, was also our waitress for the evening. Dinner was at 6.00pm but we were instructed to be seated by 5.30pm by the fräulein and we daren’t disappoint. As dinner was served, the angry fro...fräulein had turned into a princess and was now as sweet as pie .. and was for the whole evening. Perhaps she knew she was outnumbered. The soup was carrot and ginger and was superb. This was followed by a substantial slice of pork with mashed potatoes and salad from the buffet .. then chocolate and whipped cream. Our waitress had obviously mellowed even further as she approached our table and presented us with 11 glasses of sparkling wine .. on the house!! .. or on the Hütte! We were split into two tables over dinner. In the one compartment, Bob, Allan B, James and Ian, and the rest of us in the other. After dinner we all squeezed around the one table and the pilot jokes began again .. poor Bob!
Iris was somewhat disappointed as the Germans never made it to this Hütte, so no dancing for Iris. Curfew was 10:00 pm and not a minute later, or the wolf would nip your bottom! There were posters of a dog gnashing its teeth to forewarn us! I saw the brute and it was fearsome so I was in bed on the dot.
The Neue Regensburger to the Dresdner Hütte
Breakfast at 7.00 am. No fruit this time just muesli, yogurt, milk and cheese, ham, salami. The weather was foul .. cold and misty. Iris, Di, Richard and I decided we would head down to the valley as we couldn’t face another day like yesterday. The others headed off up the hill around 8.15am .. brave sods! We descended shortly after. No sooner had we left when we felt a definite break in the weather .. little patches of blue and a few glimpses of the sun here and there. The path down was pretty steep to begin with but it soon levelled out. Before too long we were on the flat and at the little hamlet which had become visible to us half way down. On looking back up we had a tremendous view of the glinting white Regensburger Hütte against the solid blue sky and snow capped mountains. It appeared to look slightly off kilter .. an optical illusion perhaps!
The rest of the journey down was steeped in sunshine. Some children were playing in a mound of sand in the little hamlet. It was so picturesque against the Alpine backdrop, but this was only half way down for us. The next part of our journey was through the forest on a land rover track which was much easier going. As we neared civilisation, Richard spotted a sign saying 45 minutes to a cafe if we stayed on the track, and 10 minutes down through the forest. Guess which route we took? As usual the timings were out as we didn’t hang about but it still took us 25 minutes to get there! The cafe turned out to be part of a 4* hotel and was situated close to the road and right beside the luggage chairlift, which we had the option of benefitting from but decided against. Richard ordered up 4 coffees in his best German but didn’t order cake! I soon remedied that when spotting a apple custard slice huge enough for all 4 of us .. yes I gave everyone a crumb! We kicked off our boots and basked in the sunshine for a wee while.
The bus to the cable car was picked up a few yards from the hotel so we parked ourselves there for 15 minutes till it arrived. There was a cold nip in the air but it was positively glorious. Richard started telling us about how in his youth he sped down this road in one of his Porsches at 140 km per hour. He’s a lot more restrained now! A 10 minute journey and we were there. The driver was typical of the region, cornering like a rally driver .. or Richard in his youth.
The cable car station was huge with an enormous car park for the skiing. The cable car ride was long and steep and we parted with 5 Euros for the passage .. Iris and Di in one gondola and Richard and I in another. Richard suddenly remembered that he had never mentioned to Iris and Di at which station they should get off. We waved frantically and the gondola even swayed, but as we approached the Hütte it was impossible to miss as the huge "Dresdner Hütte" sign was visible from ½ a mile away! We entered the Hütte and could not believe our luck as it was more like a 4* Hotel. Our first impression was of the drying room, which was mountain technology at its best! "State of the Art" as Iris put it. The room was split into two sections .. one for wet boots and another for garments and poles. The boot section on all 4 walls had racks of stainless steel rods (heated) set out in pairs for each set of boots with two long benches to sit in comfort while de-booting. The other section had rails of coat hangers for wet things and a centre rack for poles. Richard proceeded to reception and conversed in German to establish the room set up, but the guy could speak perfect English. We were split between two rooms .. one for 5 and one for 6. Iris, Di and I decided we would have the room for 5, which included Mark and Ian of course, with the rest in the room for 6. The room had two sets of bunks for the two couples and Di had her own little single bed. The room was reasonably spacious with its own WHB and 2 huge wardrobes for storing clothes and rucksacks. We prepared our beds and headed downstairs for a pint. We were pretty peckish by that time, so Di and I had gulaschsuppe and Iris had frankfurters. Richard appeared not long after and he too had the goulash and a pint.
All finished, Di and Iris had some washing to do so Richard and I went off up the hill around 2.35pm to meet the others coming the other way. It was still glorious albeit with a little glacier nip in the air but perfect for walking. It took us about 20-25 minutes to reach the col where we could see for miles up the valley in the direction of where the others would be walking from. We hung around for an hour and they still hadn’t arrived. We were feeling the cold so we headed up from the col to a vantage point in the crags. The views were tremendous. We saw a party of 7 approach and at first we thought it could be our guys, but as they neared we could tell it wasn’t them. We didn’t want to miss them passing over the col as they could have information about our crew, so Richard hurriedly descended to the col and I followed. When the group approached they said that our guys were way in front and if they hadn’t passed by now they could have stopped at a little Hütte further back that they didn’t bother stopping at. We were getting colder and hungry so decided we would head back down to get warmer clothes and some food and head back up again. I ran all the way down from the col and as we arrived at the Hütte, Allan was in the boot room. The others had arrived 20 minutes after Richard and I left and so had been back for around 2 hours! We must have passed them when the path diverged for little bit!! Everyone safe, we headed back into the bar.
After showering we all headed in for dinner. Soup was a consomme with about 100 little floating balls of batter swimming on top. To my delight the main dish was a schnitzel pork covered in batter with French fries. Gordon ate 1/3rd of my pork as I couldn’t quite manage it .. but I did have room for dessert! Apple and plum pudding with a teaspoon of custard .. not quite enough for me but it was absolutely scrumptious. Gordon went to the bar arrived back with a carafe of wine and two glasses. Bob enquired as to who the other glass was for and he said "I’m keeping my options open" shortly followed by "chance would be a fine thing". Everyone fell about laughing at this. Gordon is an unconscious comedian at times .. he should be on the stage! Di and Iris were sharing a ½ litre of wine but the jugs looked more like ¾ of a bottle. Bob and Allan H shared another jug and then another .. this was the state of play for most of the night as there was not much else to do between dinner and bed. Everyone was full of merriment .. just enough food, wine and beer before 10:00pm and lights out. The bed was the most comfortable yet, but it creaked like hell every time I moved so not only did it impair my sleep but the sleep of the others. Di and Ian seemed to be sleeping though as I could hear little purrs and snorts coming from the direction of both their beds! I did sit up and claim "for the record, I’m not the one snoring!" which may have disturbed the dormice .. sorry! Not long after, I was disturbed by what I thought was sobbing from Iris? She had visited the loo and on returning got quite disorientated and ended up falling in the wardrobe which she mistook for her bed. I jumped out of bed to see if she was alright, but it turned out she was laughing and not crying and was trying to suppress her laughter so as not to disturb the rest of us. Well everyone was wide awake by this time as her laugh was infectious and we couldn’t stop. With no bones broken we all settled down.
Around the Dresdner Hütte
This day was planned as a rest day, but no long lie if one wanted breakfast! Breakfast was at 7.30am and consisted of cereal, fruit, yogurt, salami, ham and cheese and ...boiled eggs...yey!! The weather wasn’t the best, as it had been snowing through the night, and it was grey and misty outside. After breakfast, Di, Iris and I decided we would go back to catch up on some sleep and hoped the weather would improve. I couldn’t sleep so ended up writing my diary. Mark and Allan B read a book in the lounge downstairs. I'm not sure what the others did but Iris couldn’t sleep either (my creaky bed!) so she too went downstairs to read. At 9.30am, Allan B knocked on the door to say that a few of them were taking the cable car up the mountain and if we wanted to join them, we had ½hr to get ready. Di and I were in the drying room within 15 minutes and were first to get booted up! Everyone opted to take the trip except for Richard who planned to join us later.
It was 17.4 Euros for the ride and worth every penny. On the ascent we changed cable at Eisgrat 2900m and continued up to Schaufeljoch 3170m where we alighted. There was the option to climb even further to the Gipfelplattform 3210m, an observation platform at the Top of Tyrol, that jutted 9 meters out into fresh air. To get there, we had to climb 40 metres of open metal grilled steps and there must have been about 100 to the top. It was long and steep and the snow was whipping straight through the grill at about 70mph! The total height gain from the Dresdner Hütte was 900 metres and my legs felt like they had climbed all 900 in the last 40. About half way up, I heard Di say "I can’t go any further!". I shared her sentiments but tried to offer some encouragement. I said "Just take rests and catch your breath, but whatever you do hold on!!". Finally we reached the top and what a relief it was to be out of the hail and wind. But it was well worth the effort as were now above the bad weather and rewarded with incredible views. It was still bitingly cold, so I didn’t hang about for long.
The descent didn’t feel all that bad as the weather had definitely improved. Some of the more hardy souls stayed up to take a few more photos and soak in the scenery .. namely, James, Mark, Ian, Iris, Gordon and the two Allans. Back inside the gondola station there was a sign for a restaurant but its location wasn’t obvious and we couldn’t see anywhere for eating inside. I approached the guy who operated the gondola and pointed to the knife and fork sign on the information board. His English was as good as my German .. zilch!! He pointed to a building 300m down a track and we got quite excited at the prospect of coffee and cake! We could see some of the others on the high platform so signalled to let them know where we were headed. Bob, Di and I headed off in knee-deep virgin snow to the restaurant Jochdohle 3150m. As we neared, it looked none too open but we couldn’t mistake the smell of strudel as we reached the front door!
We ordered latte and a huge portion of strudel and gazed out of the panoramic window to witness our very own King on a throne! The gigantic chair was made of wood and regally trimmed with red and gold upholstery. It was fun to watch Iris paying homage to Gordon as she bowed on one knee while Ian took a photo. Allan couldn’t resist and he too had his photo taken on the throne. I bought some chips but had to eat them quickly as the chef announced that the gondola station was closing due to the high winds. Unfortunately this meant that Richard didn’t get to the observatory and didn’t get a refund for his ticket either which was a real shame. On arriving back at the Hütte, Mark and I walked to the viewpoint that looked down the valley to Mutterberg to take in some views of the Habicht. We then sat on the bench outside with a beer while the others .. except for Iris that is, who stayed and read her book .. climbed the route that Richard and I had taken the day before, only this time they were headed right to the top of the Egesengrat 2506m. The sun was out but it was a bit nippy. After about 45 mins my feet were itching to move, so I climbed a peak to the left of where the others had gone. On looking across I could see them at the huge Egesengrat cairn and then again like little ants on the skyline.
We arrived back at the Dresdner Hütte and Ian, Allan H, Allan B, Mark, Iris and Di were already in the bar! Iris bought me a pint and it didn’t touch the sides. Di commented on my red face .. well, I had just ran all the way downhill! After my beer it was time for a shower. I had no shower gel as I had left 2 shower gels in the previous 2 Hüttes, but I had some shampoo. The shower cost 1 Euro for 4 minutes and so I decided on 8 minutes. I was all ready to step in when I realised it didn’t take a 2 Euro piece, so it was back to the room for some euro coins but had none. Iris was there but she had none either, so she went downstairs to get some. How nice was that! Dinner was salad, followed by chicken noodle soup, followed by steak, broccoli and carrots. Dessert was a semi-circle of Neapolitan ice cream with a triangular fan shape wafer on the top .. mmm! A few beers later, I fancied some wine. Mark didn’t fancy any so I had the jug all to myself. It was nearing time for lights out so we all headed up to bed. I think it was 4am before I finally got any shut eye. (Creaky bed!)
Unseasonal weather at the Dresdner Hütte
I was awakened by Iris saying, "It’s a ‘white-out’ out there!!". During the night, 14 inches of snow had fallen making the journey to the next Hütte impossible. Over breakfast we debated the alternatives:-
1. We could stop at the Dresdner Hütte another night and have a quiet day in.
2. We could stop at the Dresdner Hütte another night and take the bus to Innsbruck for the day.
3. We could carry on to the Sulzenau Hütte as planned by taking the gondola down to Mutterberg, and a short walk along the road to the ascent for the Sulzenau Hütte.
4. Miss out the Sulzenau Hütte completely .. go down on the gondola to Mutterberg, take the bus along the road and ascend to the Nurnberger Hütte which would get us back on track.
We all opted for a day in Innsbruck as there was no telling what the next Hütte was like and in this weather we needed our comforts, and we all agreed that we couldn’t get stuck in a better Hütte than the Dresdner as it was so well equipped. The gondola took us to Mutterberg where we mounted the bus for Innsbruck.
The journey down was 1hr 15mins of snow covered pine trees in blizzardous conditions. It felt more like we were on a Christmas shopping trip or a visit to see Santa Claus. The weather in Innsbruck was not good as the snow had turned to sleet the further we descended, and on reaching Innsbruck it had turned to driving rain. On arriving in Innsbruck we went our separate ways. Allan B was on a mission to find some new boots as his current ones had suffered a gash and were letting in badly. The rain was relentless and I was absolutely soaked, and we could look forward to 3½ hours of it. Mark and I took refuge in a little coffee shop on the main strip just in front of the famous gold plated roof. It was a quaint little place with every instrument you would find in a kitchen, suspended above the counter. The music was funky too. 2 lattes, a strudel and a doughnut later, Mark and I were on the move again. We bumped into Allan B who still hadn’t found the right boots, so we pointed him in the direction of a sport shop that we had passed on the way. On passing a coffee shop, my eye caught frantic arm movements coming from within. On peering through the rain and steam filled window I saw Ian perched on a high chair. Iris was there too of course and so was Di. Less than 5 minutes later we bumped into all 3 again in the street.
They too were looking for a sport shop as Di needed some new laces and fancied a new pair of red boots. They were headed for a shopping mall to take cover and Mark and I did the same. It was unfortunate the weather was so bad as the quaint little cobbled side streets were full of character and little gifty shops, but they lost their lustre in the driving rain. Mark and I finally found a mall with only designer stores inside. Van Lack was one of them, and the cheapest shirts were 350 Euros. I always wondered where the brand came from as I had bought one in TKMaxx years ago for £12, and that shirt still looks as good now as it did then. Affording nothing in this mall we crossed the plaza into another. This one had 4 floors and as we were ascending the escalator Di and Iris were descending so we waved to them on the passing. We ate some salami pizza and beer for lunch which we purchased from the food court in the basement. Also in the basement was a supermarket were we bought some emergency provisions .. nuts, chocolate and some cake and juice for the bus. We saw the beer that we had been served in some of the Hüttes at 3.70 a bottle for 79c. We thought about buying some but decided against it .. too heavy! We made our way to the bus station as the bus was due to leave at 2pm and we had agreed to meet there at 1:30pm. James, Allan H, Gordon and Bob were hanging around .. they too had eaten pizza for lunch. Allan B arrived showing off his new boots. Ian and Iris arrived with Di who had found her new laces, and Richard and James each bought a new rain cover for their rucksacks. All aboard the bus for the 1hr:15 min journey back to Mutterberg .. and just in time too to catch the gondola to the Dresdner Hütte before the station closed at 3:45!
We stopped in at the bar and I had a few sips of Mark’s beer and went for a shower. Dinner was at 6pm .. well, salad was as the soup wasn’t served until 6.30pm. Soup was a beef consomme with a floating dumpling of sorts. It was extremely tasty though. This was followed by schnitzel topped with a slice of ham and cheese and tomato .. leftovers from breakfast I think, but it tasted superb! Dessert was chocolate cake and cream. It was too dry for Diane, so I had hers and also half of Iris’s and Allan B had her other half. Iris and I shared a jug of wine over dinner and so did James and Di. Gordon had his own wine and Bob wasn’t drinking, just a medicinal amaretto. Richard, Allan, Mark and Ian stuck to beer. A few more amaretti and off to bed. Mark and I switched bunks as he doesn’t fidget like me and so everyone had a better sleep.
The Dresdner to the Sulzenau Hütte
The next day the track still hadn’t cleared enough to go over the pass as originally planned. None of us wanted to spend yet another night at the Dresdner Hütte so we headed down to Mutterberg on the gondola and walked along the road for a bit before ascending to the Sulzenau Hütte. The climb was 600m. About half way up we arrived at Sulzenaualm, where we stopped for a coffee. It was the best coffee yet according to Iris and great value for money. There was a larger than life size mechanical figure carved out of wood that leaned back and forth turning a grinder. It was clad in Austrian bib and braces and pointy hat. I think it was meant to be an Austrian woodcutter? The consensus was that it looked like Willie .. no way! If Willie was 3 feet taller perhaps, had a giant head, eyes like saucers and a beard to his navel then maybe! Almost every piece of wood in sight had a carving on it .. the backs of chairs, the walls of the Hütte and even the surrounding trees. It was quite remarkable. We basked in the sun for 25 minutes before ascending the final 300m.
Allan was first to get going and the rest of us followed. It was a good track and a really gradual ascent which took us just under an hour. The sun was out and it was fairly warm. Pea and ham, noodle and sausage, or a consomme was on the menu. Mark and I had pea and ham, Allan H had noodle and sausage, Allan B had pea and ham with frankfurters which was novel. This started a trend as Ian and Iris followed suit. This also came with bread and looked so much more wholesome than ours. I bought a beer for Di and I and we took it out into the sun. There was the usual nip in the air but it was so nice. A few of the lads decided they would like to climb the Grosser Trogler as this was the peak they missed by not taking the high route earlier. The snow had now melted considerably and so it could be do-able. Bob and James set out to attempt this. Ian, Allan B, Allan H and Mark set off about 20 minutes later to walk up to the col. Both routes shared the one path to begin with which later split. James at this point decided he would walk to the col instead but Bob kept on going for the T. Ian and Gordon headed to the col as first intended and caught up with James on the way. Mark and the two Allans decided they would have a bash at the Trogler instead and soon caught up with Bob. Neither party fulfilled their objectives as they both had to retreat due to inclement weather. On the Trogler route, the higher they went the steeper it got. The temperature was falling and it was getting icy and no-one had any crampons or ice axes. On the col route they almost reached it but time wasn’t on their side and so decided to come back down.
Iris and I were looking out for the guys but it was almost impossible due to their changing plans. It was getting cooler so I had an apple strudel and vanilla sauce (custard to us) to heat me up but it was too much so Allan and Mark finished it when they got back (yes it was cold!). The showers were not great and so I had a wash down at the sink. Dinner began with salad, then came chicken curry with pears ..! I ate so much I was fit to burst so after dinner and before dessert?!, I got booted up and went for a stroll.
I walked part way up the hill that Bob, Mark, and the 2 Allans had climbed earlier. It was nice to look down on the Hütte at dusk as this was a view you don’t normally get. Mark came out to meet me as I approached the Hütte as I was 15 minutes longer than I said I would be. I went upstairs to write my diary and arrived back down at 9.00 and headed straight for the bar. I felt like a hot chocolate since I missed dessert and the host talked me in to slinging a rum in it. Iris joined me at the bar and was looking to buy some schnapps. She was looking for a particular one and struggling with the menu as she forgot to bring her specs. It was literally the blind leading the blind as I tried to point it out to her. Di joined us and insisted on buying my hot chocolate. I don’t think she realised it had a rum in it! 'What good timing' I thought to myself as I took up my original seat at the dining table.
Allan B, James, Ian and Iris were on rounds of schnapps. I think they were going through the whole list. Gordon was on beer and Bob couldn’t make up his mind as he was feeling a bit off. Di and I stayed on the rum and hot chocolate and Allan H and Richard had disappeared ..! Off to bed perhaps? I bought myself a beer and Richard suddenly appeared and carried it back to the table as I had my hands full with a hot chocolate for Mark and Di. After we finished our chocolate Mark and I headed for bed. The room had 4 beds two up two down but there was no gap between them so you could touch the feet of the person who was on the same level. Iris, Di and I shared room 14. I was half asleep when they came to bed. I was just getting off to sleep when Di and Iris came in. I was laughing at the antics of them as Di said "What room are the lads in?" Iris replied, "They’re in rooms 12 and 13 .. 13 is next door but I don’t know where room 12 is". I piped up from the below the covers and said “"It’s the one next to that again!". I’m not sure if was the element of surprise to find me still awake, or the fact that Iris failed to spot the obvious, but her laugh was infectious and we howled with laughter for the next half an hour.
The Sulzenau to the Nürnberger Hütte
The Nürnberger to the Bremer Hütte
To be continued .....
Miriam Murphy