gifelbesiegung (173/365b)

next stop: the styrian anthem

The tune for the styrian national anthem starts with the words, "From the top of the Dachstein ... to the wherever wherever i forgot the words" ... The first few notes are the ones that the bus in Graz uses to announce the next stop. The Dachstein is however the highest mountain in Styria, and to the top of this great magnificent crag on the south side of a glacier we intrepid explorers wanted to arrive.
Ingrid and I hadn't slept very well. Up all night and it was dry. I looked at the stars at 3am. I finally got to sleep at 6am. Breakfast at 7. I was very worried about headache from a)sleep deprivation b)altitude sickness c)dehydration d)stress or e)all of the above. I was pleasantly surprised and rewarded with a headache free day.

We met Rene ready right at 7:45 on the dot, he brought us from the beautiful sunny morning up the cable car to the top of the glacier dotted with clouds and sun. gorgeous light. he helped us put on our crampons so we didn't slip around so much. we wanted to stop everywhere and take pictures but he warned us the weather wouldn't wait around for us.

"he who wants to look has to stand still" (and we were being asked to remain in motion)

first glacier steps... no more stopping for pictures

we'll need crampons. rene will tie them for me.

we're going to that mountain in the cloud

The walk along the path through the glacier was easy. Off the path the crevasses look white and where we step is dark... for now. We do not stray from the path. the scenery is just gorgeous, and the idea of bad weather seems ridiculous. We are worried we will be too warm. We have a lot of climbing ahead of us.

crevasses

gorgous sky still

That little crag going straight up is the first part of our climb. I have to put my camera away so i can climb the cable. We cross, go across a little tiny bridge and start our klettersteig or via ferrata - the cable that takes us up and over to the top.

across the glacier

On the way up some drizzling rain started. We were told if it continues for very long we would have to go down without getting to the summit. I was ahead the entire time and got to the top a good 20minutes before and got a chance to take a deep breath and sit there and watch the rain change to snow. Right when they were ready to accept the rain and head down they called up to see where I was. At the peak! That gave them the motivation to finish, and finish we did. "Berg heil" was said at the top. At no point did we find the wherewithall to unpack even a granola bar or a handful of nuts or the schnapps i had packed or the bread or the cheese. I had a sip of water and no more. Crampons were put back on and climbing down started right away. We didn't have time for more than a quick snapshot of us. Poor Ingrid had to wring out her gloves they were so wet. I had so much extra stuff with me, but nothing that was helpful to her. Mittens weren't ok to climb with and other than her fingers she wasn't cold.

Rene took some pictures of us climbing:

Frosty haired.

Ingrid and mama

Me

we made it!

climbing down
(that little white square is one of a few different plaques commemorating a place where so and so fell to his death)

The climb down was a bit nerve-wracking. The cable was covered in ice, the wind was blowing from changeable directions. My hands would freeze to the cable if i waited very long, and the others were a bit slower than I would have liked. Some places you couldn't see where you were going next. The conditions were far from complete white out but the way was steep and sometimes your next place to lock into was over a ledge and you just had to trust your feet without looking to carefully. One place I sat down and whispered to myself "i'm scared." then I went on. the last 10 meter drop Rene let me down with a rope, and I was very grateful for that.

New weather at the bottom

We had all forgotten (or not noticed) how FAR we had walked to get to the climbing part. The glacier path was all white, snow and wind was everywhere. Our muscles were tired and our fingers were cold. It took us another hour to get back, trudging along the path marked only by poles on the side. 

Back at the hut I wasn't hungry at all. I had access to all the food imaginable as well as all the food I had brought and didn't eat a bite. I was glad to just relax on the bench and write postcards and chat with my mama. We were a little bit alpine high. It was nice. We missed the only bus home because I misremembered when it was leaving. So I ordered a taxi, we took that to the flixbus, took the flixbus to graz, and although we had every intention of walking the km back were very happy and grateful to have brian offer to pick us up in the uboot.