Rauris Ridge

I planned this walk back in spring, but for various reasons we had not got around to doing it. Given the day before a 4 day weekend in Germany was forecast to be perfect weather, we decided to extend the weekend and take the Friday off as well.

There were two options for this walk, the first from the valley with more ascent, but less descent, or the second from the lift station, with less ascent but more descent. We decided to do the ascent from the valley, which was certainly hot in the morning sun.

The route took us from Hundsdorf, up to the Roßkopf and then up to the Baukogel which was the start of the ridge. The ridge then took us over Hirschkopf and Reißrachkopf before finishing at Schwartzwand. The ascent up to Roßkopf was initially on a track before moving onto a not very well trodden path up through grassy meadows, which was a lovely ascent. As we climbed the views were getting better and better, and in very good time we were at Roßkopf where we quickly ate most of our lunch.

From the Roßkopf there was a short but sharp ascent up to the Baukogel and the start of the ridge. The views from the Baukogel were excellent, with views into the high mountains of the Hohe Tauern, down the Pinzgau, north to the Steinernes Meer and Hochkönig and north/east to the mountains of the Rauris valley.

Walking along the ridge was great, as it was a small less well trodden path, although the stinging nettles were less pleasant, along with the ever changing views. We finished our lunch at the high point of the Hirschkopf, before making the short descent/re-ascent to the much more popular peak of the Reißrachkopf due to the vicinity of the mountain to the lift. At this point there was a short walk to the end of the ridge at the Schwarzwand, before a quick descent back down to the lift in time for a well earned drink.