Hiking route Stage 19 From Glacier to Wine North Route Schneealm - Rax Karl Ludwig Haus - Touren-Impression #1 | © (c) Steiermark Tourismus/Manfred Polansky Hiking route Stage 19 From Glacier to Wine North Route Schneealm - Rax Karl Ludwig Haus - Touren-Impression #1 | © (c) Steiermark Tourismus/Manfred Polansky

Stage 19 From Glacier to Wine North Route Schneealm - Rax Karl Ludwig Haus

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This stage of the hiking route From Glacier to Wine leads from one to the next beautifully situated alpine plateau of the Mürzer Oberland Nature Park, which is surrounded by the limestone massifs of the Hohe Veitsch, the Schneealm and the Rax. This alpine and sure-footed tour is certainly one of the most beautiful in the northeast of Styria due to its scenic attractions and panoramic views.

When mountaineers talk about alpine tours in Styria, they usually think of the Dachstein, Gesäuse or Hochschwab. The fact that here, on the northeastern edge of the Alps, you can still expect such alpine sections that require experience and surefootedness has perhaps been somewhat forgotten. Historically, however, it was precisely this region that attracted the first alpinists to the mountains, who came from cities such as Vienna and Graz in the 19th century. Due to the proximity to the cities, especially to Vienna, and the connection through the railroad, the city dwellers flocked to the mountains, which unfortunately also brought unwanted outcomes. For example, an avalanche accident on the Rax on March 8, 1896 was the triggering event for the founding of the world's first mountain rescue stations in Mürzzuschlag and Reichenau.

Here we are also on a stage of the BergZeitReise circular tour, which leads through the wildly romantic mountain landscape of Hochsteiermark.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness
Experience
Scenery

Best season

January
February
March
April
November
December

The tour in numbers

medium
Level of difficulty
12,9 km
Route
6:00 h
Time
920 hm
Uphill
900 hm
Downhill
2003 m
Highest point
1210 m
Lowest point

Map & downloads

More information

Detaillierte Informationen zur Anreise finden Sie hier.

We start on this stage of the hiking route "From glacier to wine" in the middle of the Schneealm (tourist information Tel. +43 3857 8321) and hike first without major descents or ascents over the high plateau in the direction of the Lurgbauerhütte (Tel. +43 676 6335456). Afterwards we follow the Nordalpenweg 01 for about 1 km in order to branch off to the left onto trail 442 in the direction of Karlalm before descending to the Naßwand. Note: the Naßwand lives up to its name, because the descent is so washed out that bypassing this short piece is highly recommended!

At the Karlalm with its small hunting lodge we branch off to the right to get back to our 01 path. Over the so-called Naßkamm with a beautiful view into the Altenberg valley we reach the unmanaged Zimmermannhütte and the private Gamseckhütte to the Gamsecksteig at the foot of the highest elevation of the Rax, the Heukuppe. First through mountain pines and over scree, the well-secured ascent over short ladders and passages equipped with wire ropes soon begins in order to enter the plateau of the Raxalpe at an altitude of about 1,850 m above sea level. Another tip: The ropes are passed a few times only through the anchorages, which results in a strong yielding of the rope after each anchorage. Please keep your distance, otherwise one will pull on the other!

We leave this short and rather easy via ferrata behind us to continue hiking to the summit of the Rax, with 2,007 m above sea level a real two-thousand-meter peak! Enjoying the view of the surrounding mountains and back to Schneealm, Veitsch and Hochschwab, we then descend to our stage destination, the Karl Ludwig Haus (Tel. +43 2665 380 or +43 699 11888972), which was not only completely renovated a few years ago, but was also certified as an organic farm. While enjoying an excellent snack, you can already plan the next day: this stage takes you to Mürzzuschlag, a small town beautifully situated in the nodes of Hochsteiermark on the UNESCO World Heritage Semmering Railway.

Important note: A tenant is currently being sought for the Karl Ludwig Haus. Alternatively, you can stay at the Waxriegelhaus, which is around 1.5 km away.

Detailed information about arriving by ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) can be found at www.oebb.at or on the Verbundlinie Steiermark website www.busbahnbim.at

With Verbundlinie’s BusBahnBim route planner app, planning your journey has never been easier: simply enter towns and/or addresses, stop names or points of interest to check all bus, train and tram connections in Austria. The app is available free of charge for smartphones – on Google Play and in the App Store

It is possible to drive to the foot of the Schneealm via a toll road by car to the parking lot Kohlebnerstand and after a hike of about 1 hour you reach the Schneealpenhaus. The access to the toll road is between the villages of Kapellen and Neuberg an der Mürz directly at the bathing lake Urani.

Steiermark Tourismus

Tel. +43 316 4003

info@steiermark.com

www.steiermark.com/en

If you would like to hire a  tour operator, simply book with Steiermark Touristik, the official travel agency of Steiermark Tourismus:

Tel. +43 316 4003 450, 

www.steiermark-touristik.com

The Steiermark Touren app, available free of charge on Google Play and the App Store  (Android, iOS), offers detailed first-hand information: brief facts (length, duration, difficulty, ascent and descent/elevation gain, ratings), map, route descriptions, altimeter, compass, peak finder, navigation along the tour. You can also create your own personal lists of favourite tours and sites, store tours and destinations offline, use social media channels, and much more.

Gallery

What the weather will be like

Mariazell (860m)

Morning
cloudy
5°C
55%
0 km/h
Noon
sunny
11°C
10%
10 km/h
Night
foggy
6°C
75%
5 km/h
Rather dry after morning showers die away. Light rain will start again in the afternoon.
Morning
sunny
3°C
0%
0 km/h
Noon
slightly cloudy
15°C
0%
10 km/h
Night
slightly cloudy
12°C
0%
10 km/h
Dry and partly sunny throughout the day, with cloudy periods from time to time.
30.03.2024
sunny
5°C 19°C
31.03.2024
slightly cloudy
5°C 19°C
01.04.2024
slightly cloudy
5°C 17°C

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