Alpine hut hiking in the Salzkammergut

We arrived in Abersee am Wolfgangsee and were greeted warmly at the Hotel Aberseehof. The course of the week was explained to us, and we were really excited, after all, this would be our first alpine hut hike in the beautiful Salzkammergut.

In the evening we enjoyed a three-course meal in the hotel, it was delicious. The night was peaceful and after a great breakfast we set off. We took a round trip around the Sparberkopf on the first day and returned to the hotel.

With bus tickets we headed to Strobl, where the tour began, and found our thick welcome package, which included our tour book, maps and all travel documents.

The Sparberkopf round trip made us want more. After about 15 kilometres and 500 metres up and down we made it back to the hotel after 8 hours.

After another night in the Aberseehof we packed up our things on the third day of our 7 nights. Our daypack with sufficient food was carried on our backs, and we left our suitcases at the front desk. These were transported to the first hut, a wonderful luggage service from Eurohike.

We used another voucher, which was within our travel documents, to take the bus to St. Gilgen and hopped onto the Zwölferhorn mountain cable car. Yes, it’s a crazy feeling to look down onto St. Gilgen and the Wolfgangsee from high above. Even with a borderline fear of heights, Anita decided to brave it. The view was breath taking.

At the top, we looked around in peace, the views over the Alps and down to the Wolfgangsee were just fantastic!

Immediately we made our way to the Pillstein, the Pillsteinsattel, over forest roads and trails, cattle pastures and finally to the climb to Genneralm – the day’s destination - the Poschn hut.

The hike was about 17 kilometres long, with the final ascent to the Genneralm the most strenuous section. Within 2 kilometres we climbed from 930 to 1280 metres. This wasn’t so tough for us Tyroleans!

But what we do have to say: after this week in the Salzkammergut with daily hikes and many vertical metres, we felt fit and the climbs more than adequate.
When we arrived in the Poschn hut we received a friendly greeting by the alpine hosts. And we drank our first Radler (beer with lemonade)!

We ate delicious local dishes such as Kasnockerln (small dumplings with cheese), Pofesen (similar to French toast, but with jam inside) and a hearty Brotzeitteller (cold meat and cheese plate). Our room was cosy but without electricity.

We should get used to it, as it seems to happen quite often in alpine huts.

The night was quiet, the wakeup was rather loud! We didn’t know cows would run around the house, with their loud bells around their necks. A great alarm clock, we felt like Heidi.

On the 4th day we stayed at the Poschn hut so did not change accommodation. We decided to take a trip to the neighbouring Moosangeralm. A nice tour. The next morning it was time to say goodbye.

On the 5th day we went to the Postalm. And we chose the trek over the two peaks from our tour book.

We climbed the Hohen Zinken and Pitschenberg in the best weather. Altogether we climbed 720 metres and went down 640 metres. In total 12 kilometres, a great tour.

We received another friendly welcome on the Huberalm. The food was great and the landlady provided us with some specialities.

For example, we ate delicious ‘Semmelknödel’ (bread dumplings), bacon, Flädlesuppe (pancake soup) and Kaiserschmarrn (broken up pancakes with jam). The food was really delicious up here in the huts.

We slept well and went on a circular walk on the Postalm on day 6.

We looked at the Postalm Chapel, which had been built in honour of the beloved Austrian Empress Sissi, we also visited the historic Postalm and Almblimenweg.

The next morning we prepared ourselves for our return to civilisation. If we had our way, time would have stopped. We missed neither internet nor TV. We really enjoyed the peace in the mountains.

So we hiked back to Abersee on the 7th day. We walked 11.5 kilometres, and travelled downhill just under 1000 metres. That was exhausting for the knees. Our bags were transported again, we only carried our day packs with us. After about 5 hours we were back down at the Wolfgangsee. We stayed the night in Pension Carossa, before we made our way home the next day.

We really enjoyed our alpine hut hike in the Salzkammergut. We could have gone on hiking in the mountains much longer, that’s how much we enjoyed it. The huts we visited had a special flair and we felt welcome everywhere.

The Almjausen (meals) were super delicious, the nature indescribably beautiful and the hikes were high quality. We had no problems organising the trip through Eurohike – the best thing that can happen.

Everything worked, we did not need help, everything was well organised.

Many thanks for that, Anita and Claudia from aktiv-durch-das-leben.de