It's actually quite easy to leave the car behind and go climbing with a good eco-balance. You just have to take advantage of the possibilities. E-bikes are currently extremely popular for a "clean" approach. The catch is that cycling is not allowed everywhere on Austria's forest trails. On hiking trails, you have to walk anyway. And if you're not at home in the mountains, you first have to get from the city to the starting point. Buses and trains are still the best alternative to your own car, ensuring a good eco-balance - and in many places they are now also the cheapest, especially if you are traveling with a guest card. Especially in summer, many tourist regions offer "train free" or "bus free" regional transport. The Steinberge show how it works perfectly for climbing fans.
By train to climbing, photo: Christina Ehammer
Doing without the car for a good eco-balance
Let's be honest, who wants to do without a car? Quickly throw your harnesses, ropes, carabiners and other gear into the trunk and off you go to the climbing garden without having to check a timetable. However, the cost of the luxury and, above all, the emission values strongly advise against it. As people with an affinity for mountain sports, shouldn't we focus on nature in all our activities? And it's actually quite simple.
To the Pillerseetal
Public transport offers many options for getting to the climbing area, photo: Christina Ehammer
Let's take Munich as an example and the Steinplatte in Waidring in Pillerseetal as our destination. When you book your hotel, you have the link for the guest card sent to you and save it on your smartphone via the app. Then check a train connection to Wörgl and change there to the regional train to Fieberbrunn. From the station, take the Regiobus to your accommodation. This won't cost you a cent extra from Wörgl (the guest card in the app is valid as a ticket), is much more relaxed than being stuck in a traffic jam, and you can also study Adi Stocker's climbing guide with countless routes in detail in the meantime. During your entire stay in Pillerseetal, you can travel free of charge on all local trains between Hochfilzen and Wörgl as well as on buses within Pillerseetal - in the east as far as Lofer and in the west as far as Ellmau - with the guest card. You can also enjoy various benefits with the PillerseeTal Card for 4 or 6 days (or from 14.09. also for 3 days). With this card, you can take the cable car up to the Steinplatte once a day free of charge and be on the rocks in no time at all. You can also reach the Henne and Marokka via ferratas on the other side of the valley easily and at no extra cost with the Fieberbrunn cable cars.
The via ferrata Marokka on the Steinplatte, photo: Robert Pupeter
To the Loferer Steinberge
If the Loferer Steinberge are your destination, then it's just as easy with the Salzburger Saalachtal Card. If you stay overnight there, this guest card allows you to use public transport throughout Pinzgau free of charge. From May 1st to October 31st, the guest card is included free of charge with just one overnight stay in one of the partner businesses. It is already valid on the day of arrival and is therefore easy on your vacation budget on the way there.
Enjoy benefits with the Salzburger Saalachtal Card, photo: Salzburger Saalachtal
New this year is that even the journey to and from the city of Salzburg is included in the Salzburger Saalachtal Card. So if you travel by train, you pay nothing more from Salzburg or from Zell am See or Saalfelden Leogang, and a trip to Salzburg is always a good alternative in bad weather.
To Saalfelden and Leogang
The second Pinzgau region in the Steinberge - Saalfelden Leogang - can of course keep up. The following also applies to overnight stays in Saalfelden or Leogang: with the Saalfelden Leogang Card, all public transport in Pinzgau is free. You can easily reach the Leoganger Nord and Südvia ferratas, which start from the Passauer Hütte in the Leoganger Steinberge, via the Leogang-Steinberge train station and decide at short notice whether you want to descend to Saalfelden or Weißbach. Fancy a detour to Zell am See? This trip is a "stone's throw" from Saalfelden by bus and doesn't cost an extra euro. Although not free, the Almerlebnisbus is a great service in the Salzburger Saalachtal and Saalfelden Leogang that is good for your eco-balance. It takes you from Saalfelden and Weißbach to Hintersee in Berchtesgadener Land.
Climbing in the Wiesensee climbing garden near Hochfilzen, photo: Jörg Mitter
Climbing by e-bike
Within the Steinberge region, you can of course also reach your next climbing destination quickly by e-bike with a good eco-balance. In many cases, an e-bike will even get you closer than buses and trains can. There are rental stations in all towns:
Rental stations in the Pillerseetal Rental stations near the Loferer Steinberge Rental stations near Leogang and Saalfelden Climbing with the electric car
E-car sharing is a good alternative in Fieberbrunn if the weather isn't playing ball. For just 10 euros per day or 2 euros per hour, you can hire a BMW i3 and get around quickly and easily.
