All the summer 22 I longed for heights. Thinking about what to do, where to go, studyings maps, I watched my plans fall apart, one by one. Sick kids, busy friends falling into fresh love affairs, useless weather... you name it.
And so, right at the end of September I simply had to go, at least for a single day, up there, to the mountains. No matter what kind of weather they have prepared for us.
I had another reason too, namely to try a rather peculiar camera in such environment; and perhaps a peculiar lens. A fifty. On a digital rangefinder.
I picked Michael up before the night breaked into dawn. It rained, the mood was pensive: some fears, some expectations, a feel of sleep deprivation permeated every drowsy gasp of the waking mind. Some blues.
Raindrops lashed the windshield, but the western horizon was revealing first signs of the daylight, turning the logic of the dawn on it's head. It was a good sign of correct weather forecast. After we turned southwards, passing Vienna, the rain steadily weakened as we entered the awakening Alpine foothills, turning towards Gloggnitz and then the charming Reichenau.
Here the magic happens. A beautiful valley opens before one's eyes, a taste of the immesurable scope of gorges, vales and dales scattered by the force of ice, water and time between countless ridges from here to the Provencal coast. Opposite, on the other side the walls of Raxalpe rise steeply, closing the valley, disappearing into low-hanging clouds. Somewhere up there our destination hides behind the clouds, on top of the plateau.
We turn left and follow a winding mountain road to the parking lot at the Preiner Gscheid pass, gaining altitude.
Soon the drenched forest devours us. Imprinting our footprints into it's soaked soil we are rapidly ascending the mountainside, planning to get to a short klettersteig surmounting the rock face above us and leading to the plateau near the peak of Heukuppe.
We originally wanted to climb the rock by an scrambling / facile climbing route but due to the weather and devoid of proper equipment we decide to exploit the trivial ferrata up there. At least the views should make up for it, right?
Look's like those clouds are not fast enough for us. We caught up with them far before the finish line.
Such a morning ascent proves to be a rather deplorably hard work. Warming up more than properly, cooling above the tree line again, soon we reach the bottom of the klettersteig where even the dwarf mountain pine is diminishing, pushed out by steep gradients. Half overcooked, half shivering, we climb straight up the rock. It's time to test manual focusing while hanging over the abyss on a dubious wire rope. Time for some fun.
Such a sign leaves little room rof an intepretation.
In a mood for a bit of verticality?
Upon the plateau the weather turns sour...
And sourer.
But we do enjoy the circular view looking round some 2007 meters above Adriatic Sea! And, standing on the top: from now on, it can only go downhill...
I mean...
Sigh...
Let's have a lunch, shall we? There should be Karl-Ludwig-Haus around here somewhere. Close. Nearby. Please.
Ok. There is no point in returning straight to our car after having a lunch, is it? Such weakness would be most foolish. But how do we deal with the rest of the day?
We are going to tackle another set of wet wire ropes, aren't we?
Ok. Lichtensternhöhe and Predigtstuhl. Ten minutes to the top. The easy way. But I wonder what may be found down there at the feet of those crags?
Making the "Rax in fog" postcard.
Now I see. That's what's down there, deep under those crags. Deep under those rocky walls and under these fools hanging like a bird - two birds - on a wire.
You played us well, my dear Raxalpe. You played us well.
Nice little traverse. Now, let's take a look up there. First enjoying views from Predigstuhl, then walking the winding path through the gently undulating limestone meadows of Trinksteinboden we slowly approach the shelter above Trinksteinsattel, caressing scatterred bushes of Pinus mugo - the dwarf mountain pine - all along the way.
Views of the commanding Preiner Wand unfold directly in front of us, the rocky face covering itself again and again in a cloak of rushing clouds, suggesting the leitmotiff theme for the rest of our day's journey.
The Overseer...
An Alpenverein emergency hut on the plateau. We seek a shelter here for a moment or two, before descending the ridge towards Neue Seehütte and Waxriegelhaus in Preintal, then to the car, duly leaving the sublime Raxalpe behind.
Views towards Höllental
The walls we traversed a few hours earlier.
Visiting the plateau for the second time, I definitely fell in love with the calm dignity of eroded peaks covered with grass and the dramatic walls falling sharply into the embracing forrest. Raxalpe is easily accessible and yet it's a hilly wonderland with a hint of the mountains.
Today it revealed it's charms timidly at first, bit by bit, to finally reward patience and perseverance with it's overwhelming vistas. I look forward to the prospect of the next rendezvous.
(Planar 50 ZM and C-Biogon 35 ZM.)