small, compact group of limestone mountains of the Mittelgebirge lying north of the Kitzbüheler Alps and bordered on the west by the Inn river shortly before it flows into Germany, the Kaisergebirge is divided into two main ridges: the Zahmer, or ‘tame’ Kaiser, and the Wilder (wild) Kaiser. Between the two lie the charming valleys of the Kaisertal and Kaiserbachtal, with a linking ridge at the Stripsenjoch. The scenery is dramatic, the climbing awesome, the walking first class, with some exciting klettersteig (via ferrata) routes to consider, and several fine huts too. On the south side of the Wilder Kaiser, Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau and Going make good valley bases. St Johann in Tirol lies to the southeast, while Kufstein on the west has the Kaisertal close by.
The 3497m Schrankogel dominates the upper Sulztal (Stubai Alps, Route 21)
The extensive south face of the Dachstein (Dachsteingebirge, Route 76)
Dachsteingebirge
Another limestone group, this is topped by the glacier-clad Hoher Dachstein (2995m), while the outlying crest of the Gosaukamm contrasts the main block of mountains with its finely-shaped individual turrets, pinnacles and peaks such as the Bischofsmütze giving character to the whole district. The Dachstein lies southeast of Salzburg on the edge of the Salzkammergut lake region, rising above the Hallstätter See and Gosausee, with the Ramsau terrace and Enns valley to the south. Filzmoos and Ramsau are good walking centres for routes on the south side of the mountains, with Hallstatt a romantic lakeside base on the north.
Hohe Tauern
This large area boasts Austria’s largest national park, its highest mountain, the Grossglockner, and the spectacular ice-covered Venediger group, the latter rising to the east of the Zillertal Alps. Several distinctive groups make up the Hohe Tauern region, the main crest of which lies south of the Salzach river valley; a great block of mountains breached by three major north-south roads, two of which have tunnels, the third being the famous Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. On the northern side, Badgastein and Kaprun are recommended centres, while Matrei in Osttirol and Kals am Grossglockner serve the southern valleys. Tremendous high mountain scenery and exhilarating walks make this an excellent region in which to base a holiday.
Karawanken
Surprisingly little-known to mountain walkers from the UK, the Karawanken is a narrow range of mountains along whose crest runs the Austro–Slovenian border south of Klagenfurt. Carinthia, the province in which the range lies, is noted for its lakes and sunshine, but the Karawanken receives little publicity. However, these sun-bleached limestone mountains of modest altitude (the highest, Hochstuhl, is only 2237m), are both dramatic and accessible, and form a scenic background to walks that lead through woodland and meadow. There are longer, more demanding routes, and much to explore from such unassuming centres as Ferlach and Bad Eisenkappel.
Mountain Flowers
A cushion of moss campion (Silene acaulis) in the Zillertal Alps
A botanist with remarkable powers of observation was among a group of walkers I was leading in the Alps a few summers ago. When quizzed about the apparent anomaly of a tiny group of plants flowering in a confined site surrounded by an entirely different species, he explained ‘there are no accidents in nature; this particular plant grows in this precise location because here and here alone, conditions are perfect for it to flourish. A few centimetres away, and one or more of those essential conditions may be missing or dominated by others that deny its growth.’
The yellow Turkscap lily
(From left): the spring gentian (Gentiana verna); the fringed pink, or ragged dianthus, a lime-loving plant seen in the Karawanken; alpenroses in the Rätikon Alps.
In Austria’s Alps, as elsewhere, the range, diversity and distribution of mountain plants is enormous. Grouped by habitat, soil, climate and altitude, they are also limited by competition, by grazing or cultivation. And as we have seen, conditions that favour some plants on a given site may be absent elsewhere. Those conditions may not be obvious except to the trained botanist, but happily it is not essential to have a botanical background to enjoy the wealth of alpine flowers that add so much to a mountain walking holiday, for there will always be surprises.
Many of the best-known alpines such as gentians, anemones, soldanellas and primulas flower early in the lower valleys shortly after winter’s snow has melted – on occasion as the snow melts, with exposed islands of turf bursting into flower in the midst of a mottled snowfield. But as the snowline recedes up the hillside, these same flowers appear higher up, while those of the lower valleys may have faded or disappeared completely. By the middle of July grazing cattle will have cleared the upper pastures of most of the flowers, but above those pastures rock faces and screes that are inaccessible to domestic animals will give a sometimes startling display of alpines, often luxuriant but slow-growing cushion plants that exploit what may seem to the untrained eye to be an entirely hostile environment.
In the west, in Vorarlberg with its mix of lime and granite formations, a rich variety of flowers is there to be enjoyed, among the most common being arnica, edelweiss and saxifrage. Adjacent to the Lindauer Hut in the Rätikon Alps there’s a noted alpine garden in which visitors can identify specific plants that are likely to be in flower at any given time and place.
In neighbouring Tyrol, a province that claims to be ‘nature’s own alpine garden’, early summer meadows can seem bewitchingly colourful and fragrant. Here too both limestone and crystalline mountains provide a range of habitats and the full gamut of alpine landscapes ranging from green wooded hills to glacier-draped peaks and dolomitic fingers of rock. Each has its own specific flora. In the highest valleys of the Ötztal Alps, for example, the deep blue-violet Primula glutinosa is worth noting, as is the pink-flowered creeping azalea Loiseleuria procumbens which is known to grow up to 3000m. Also found at a similar altitude on scree or rocky ridges, is the rare Mont Cenis bellfower, Campanula cenisia, a dwarf plant with tiny slaty-blue flowers. Among other surprises is a reported sighting of a fringe of martagon lilies (Lilium martagon) near the top of a cliff face at around 2235m by the Riffelsee. This plant with its pendulous Turkscap flowers is usually confined to woods or meadows.
The Hohe Tauern rewards botanist, walker and climber in equal measure. Around Austria’s highest peak, the Grossglockner, turf dampened by snowmelt produces a mass of Primula minima, its colour ranging from blue-mauve to magenta-pink. The wonderfully fragrant Daphne striata is also here. A straggling or prostrate bush 15–20cm tall, it has clusters of reddish purple flowers with a ruff of down-pointing leaves at its best in June. Among the gentians to be seen is the common but very lovely spring gentian, Gentiana verna, as well as Gentiana nivalis, the so-called snow gentian, and the biennial Gentianella ciliata, a brilliant blue flower with fringed lobes.
In the Karawanken mountains of Carinthia which spread into Slovenia, many native plants are reminiscent of those found in the Dolomites, which would suggest that strands of dolomitic rock appear in the Carinthian limestone. Aster bellidiastrum, a tall perennial that resembles a large common daisy has taken on a rosy-pink tinge. There are purple coloured aquilegias, and the aptly-named Schneerose (Snow rose) hellebore, Helleborus niger. Cyclamen grace the pinewoods, lemon-yellow poppies bring colour to white screes and, of course, a great splash of pink or scarlet on the hillsides betrays the presence of
