Tutto a piedi - Von den Wiener Hausbergen an die Riviera

We, my hiking friend Berthold Hanschitz and I, started in the summer of 1993 at Vienna's Schneeberg and only arrived in Ventimiglia in July 2019. Actually, we had planned that we would be at our destination by the time we retired. But going a long way also means encountering obstacles. Bad weather slumps, illnesses, foot ailments, family obligations, longing for the bed at home ... all this can thwart a plan. In total, we completed the whole route in eighteen smaller or larger sections from a few days to fourteen days.

From east to west in Austria we could often stay on top for days, which means that valley descents were not necessary, except when the tour was cancelled or interrupted. They spent the night there mainly in Alpine Club huts.

In Switzerland and especially in Italy, at the GTA, this changed fundamentally. Up in the morning, down in the afternoon, became a daily challenge and a special strain on the joints, which we mastered well, because with increasing age and experience our weight in the backpack decreased significantly. In Vienna's local mountains we believed we still had a lot of food and in addition to plenty of change of clothes, we also had to take a heavy down sleeping bag with us. So we came to over twenty kilograms.

This soon changed. On the GTA, it was a maximum of twelve kilograms with the drinks, which we carried up and down. In addition to the required one and a half to two liters of drinks, a handful of nuts was enough for us throughout the day. In the evening an opulent, tasty meal, accompanied by a good Vino rosso, in a Posto Tappa or Albergo, in the morning (often after a night in a twin room) usually a not too varied Italian breakfast, gave again enough strength for the challenges of valley hopping.

To describe all the experience on these numerous daily stages from the Schneeberg to the Riviera would clearly go beyond the scope and so I limit myself to a few special experiences with people and the respective landscape.

Experiences, which we do not want to imagine our lives without except for a tiny part at the start of the tour. An innkeeper on a Viennese local mountain greeted us like this: "What do you want here? You gscherten Deitschen, hast's kane Berg daham that you come here?"

This not too friendly welcome, was really an absolute exception, open arms, good conversations and food - simply hospitality - accompanied us on the long way forward.

Austria offered us:

Only guests in storm and fog in the Graf Meran House. Soldiers arrive early in the morning to catch schnapps at the Voisthaler Hütte. Turn back in the Frauenmauerhöhle (we didn't want to cross the mountain, but only had a flashlight). With Elisabeth on the Lugauer, the Styrian Matterhorn. Three times fresh cakes at the Mödlinger Hütte. Our longest daily stage on the whole tour in the Rottenmanner Tauern: 28 km, 2810 m up and 2900 m down from the Edelrautehütte to the Plannerhütte (descent to the Schwabergerhütte after two thirds of the way possible). Be careful on the ascent to Gr. Geierkogel, steep grass and grass terrain. Fresh trout in the Breitlahnhütte. Basti and Tobias climb the Hochgolling. A guitar player who played his instrument on his back in the Osnabrücker Hütte. Two times fog and rain on the Ankogel, the third attempt worked. Bearded vultures below us on the steep descent from Schareck to Sport Gastein. Thunderstorm bivouac in the Lasörling Group. Sunny days on the south side of the Zillertal Alps with ascent of the Hochfeiler (3509 m). Beautiful times in the northern Stubai Alps. Highest overnight stop in the Brandenburger Haus (3274 m) in the middle of the huge Gepatschferner.

Good companions on some stages at the beginning were: Our sons Basti and Tobias, Berthold's wife Christel, my friend Andreas and Elisabeth from Salzburg.

Swiss experiences:

Hustle and bustle in Samnaun. Total solitude from the Heidelberger Hütte via the Furcola da Tasna to the Chamanna Tuoi at the foot of Piz Buin. Wine and Grisons meat in Guarda. Quiet days from Dürrboden past Piz Kesch to Bergün to the hotel town of Savognin. Contrast program to Savognin - pathless to Ausserferrera with coffee break with a German dropout on an alp. Soaking wet to the hotel in Vals after the way out of the Safien Valley. Sleepless night in the crowded Terri hut on the Greina plain. Birthday wine on the way to Airolo with Elisabeth and Ursula. Capricorn path from Capanna Cristallina to Capanna Corno Gries.

Grande Traversata delle Alpi (GTA):

And these last 65 daily stages far exceeded the previous ones in terms of experience value.

This was not due to more beautiful mountain shapes, but rather the GTA impressed with its landscape, the flora, which differs significantly from that of the Eastern Alps and not least from some very lonely paths and the good food. By the way, a little knowledge of the Italian language is an advantage on some sections of the GTA.

So in a nutshell:

Right at the beginning of winter at the Griespass with a rest day, alone with the innkeeper, table tennis games and cake baking. On Walserwegen towards Alagna at the foot of Monte Rosa. A wet end of the day in Zwischbergen with Lukas Escher. Fantastic evening alone at Bivacco Marigonda with moonlight over Domodossola. Ibex and edelweiss meadows on the Passo della Preia, only we in a wide corridor. Alpe Colma homemade bread and concert from the hut host. Brotherly shared dinner with Jean Luis at the Bivacco Alpe del Lago and as a contrast program at the Albergo Fontana in Rimella incredible 23 courses, all at its finest and homemade. Pizza dinner with Kurt and Michael, the Northern Lights from Bremen, in Varallo.

More beautiful paths past Monte Rosa towards Valle d'Aosta. Quincinetto - lowest point on the route. Towards Gran Paradiso in constant ups and downs past high alpine pastures, crumbling villages. A week on the road - all alone. Steep paths, wild valleys, heavy downpours and thunderstorms accompanied by Mike and Anja from Holland from Pialpetta to Susa.

Places, passes, valleys with the impressive history of the Waldensians. Drink once from the Po spring at Monviso. Test Grappa in the evening with Verona and Wolfgang. Valle Maira, a valley with fascinating churches, popular with us Germans. From Vinadio to Tenda Pass. Nice days and good conversations with Petra and Hans, who also made sure that we got new hiking boots. On wolf tracks through the Maritime Alps. Last section from Tenda Pass to Ventmiglia. Over carpets of flowers, barren mountains and through lonely villages, increasing warmth, the scent of lavender, over Monte Saccarello and alpinisteige towards the Mediterranean, with a detour to Dolceacqua (Ponte Vecchio, Monet).

Three days of "Dolce Vita" in Ventimiglia, with the obligatory bath with mountain boots in the sea waves, this was a worthy conclusion to our long walk along the entire Alpine arc from Vienna to Ventimiglia, which we celebrated together with Michael from Holland, who had accompanied us in the last section.

On and along the route there are some peaks that you can take with you. We have climbed, among others: Den Lugauer (2217m) in the Ennstal Alps; the Hochtor (2369m) in the Gesäuse; the Ankogel (3246m), the Schareck (3122m) and the Sonnblick (3105m) in the Hohe Tauern; the Hochfeiler (3509m) in the Zillertal Alps; the Piz Sesvenna (3204m) in the Sesvenna Group and the Piz Buin (3312m) in the Silvretta.

We could not climb the Rocciamelone (3538m) near Susa because of bad weather.

Attention: Due to the length of the path, individual sections may be closed again and again. Then the locked section must be bypassed!

Route:

We planned the hiking route through Austria and Switzerland ourselves. From the Nufenen Pass we followed the GTA (Grande Traversata delle Alpi) to the Mediterranean Sea.

Our path led through the following mountain groups in Austria: From Schneeberg, Schneealpe, HoheVeitsch, Hochschwab, Gesäuse to the Niedere Tauern (Rottenmanner Tauern, Wölzer Tauern, Schladminger Tauern and Radstädter Tauern) and then to the Hohe Tauern (Ankogel Group, Goldberg Group, Glockner Group). In order to avoid crossing glaciers, we planned the hiking route further south and changed via Matrei in East Tyrol to the Lasörling Group. We also avoided the heavily glaciated northern part of the Zillertal Alps. Over the Klamml Joch we reached Sand in Taufers and from there south of the Hochfeiler via the Pfitscher Joch to the Brenner.

The Stubai Alps could be easily crossed on the northern side up to the Dresdner Hütte. We then reached Sölden via the Hildesheimer Hütte. Vent and the Brandenburger Haus was the next destination. After crossing the Gepatschferner we reached the Weißkugelhütte. The Ötztal Alps were behind us. Via Nauders on the Reschen Pass we went into the Inn Valley, from there to Samnaun in Switzerland. The next destination was the Heidelberger Hütte in the Silvretta Group. Via the Furcola da Tasna the next destinations were the Chamanna Tuoi, Guarda, Susch and over the Dürrboden into the Upper Engadine. Past Piz Kesch, our way continued to Bergün, Savognin, Ausserferrera, Sufers and from there to the Safien Valley and on to Vals. Plaun la Greina, Campo, Lukmanier Pass, Airolo, Passo di Cristallina followed, and from there we reached the starting point of the Grande Traversata delle Alpi (GTA), the Capanna Corno Gries at the Nufenen Pass.

65 more stages were still ahead of us until the finish in Ventimiglia. On Walser trails we went to Alagna at the foot of Monte Rosa, then to the lowest point of the route to Quincinetto in the Aosta Valley. Lonely paths led us past the Gran Paradiso National Park into the Lanzo valleys to Susa at the foot of the Rocciamelone. The further way led through the Waldensian valleys, past the Monviso with Po spring into the Maira Valley, then to Vinadio in the Valle Stura.

Through the Maritime Alps we came to the Tenda Pass and so to the Ligurian Alps, which accompanied us to Ventimiglia on the Mediterranean.