Week 195: Alberfeldkogel Via Ferrata
This is turning out to be a very adventurous, via Ferrata-kind-of-summer.
We tackled our third climb of the summer this weekend on our local mountain–the Feuerkogel–the mountain Eric broke his finger in week 11 while skiing. Our end goal was to reach the summit cross of the Alberfeldkogel. A summit we have stood at three times before this weekend. Twice by hiking and once on snowshoes. This time, we climbed up the ridge along the Alberfeldkogel Via Ferrata.
Once we got off the cable car, we walked passed a cluster of cows and down to the start of the Ferrata. The descent was a bit treacherous. Very loose rocks and not the best signage to direct you to the start. I had also played two softball games the day before in Vienna, so my legs were a bit tired to begin with.
Cows on the Feuerkogel
But, after 25 minutes, we were hooking into the harness and mounting the wall.
The Alberfeldkogel Via Ferrata
Closeup of the Alberfeldkogel Via Ferrata
Typically, sections of the mountain level out a little, but the entire hour we were scaling the wall, we were extremely vertical. This made it a little more difficult to document.
Eric Via Ferrata-ing
Closeup of my carabiners
Eric through a narrow crack
The Traunstein from the Alberfeldkogel Via Ferrata
We never lost sight of the Traunstein, a mountain we summited in week 94.
Onlookers
We noticed a group of people watching us as we were nearing the end of the cables. There were also several butterflies swarming us. I had a few even land on me.
Eric on the mountain
One of several butterflies accompanying me on the climb
Views from the top of Alberfeldkogel Via Ferrata
We signed the book, unhooked from the iron cables, and admired the views before we made our way to the mountain hut for lunch.
Next weekend we head to Vorarlberg, Austria’s most western state, for more outdoorsy fun!
