Time travel in Kufsteinerland

The path into the Kaisertal is a journey into the past. The traces of our predecessors are endless. Endless are the stories that every wall has to tell. Endless is the list of climbing legends associated with the stories. Endless are the personal memories. Endless is the 800 meter wall in front of us. Header image: Nomen est omen Gebi Bendler enjoys the water groove orgy on the 10th pitch (6) of the "Via Aqua".

In thelight of our headlamps, we stumble sleepily towards the start. To our left, the tar-black Totenkirchl with its 600-metre-high west face stretches into the night sky. In front of us is an even bigger pyramid: the Kleine Halt. With its 800-metre-high north-west face, it is the largest wall in the Kaiser Mountains. Our small 15-liter rucksacks rest lightly on our shoulders, but the sweat is still on our foreheads.

"It's going to be a brutally hot August day if it's already this steamy," says Christoph. He has just stopped to cool his sweaty face in the ice-cold water of the Mirakelbründel, a spring at the edge of the path.

I wordlessly do the same. Christoph and I met in the Wilder Kaiser in 2013 during our mountain guide training. Since then, we have enjoyed a friendship that has taken us as a rope team from the Koasa to the Himalayas. Christoph is one of the best alpinists in Austria.

The shady north-west face becomes more impressive with every step of the approach. Yesterday evening, from the terrace of the Hans-Berger-Haus, it looked even friendlier as the setting sun bathed it in a warm light. The sunsets there on the terrace are something very special - kitschy in any case, but also associated with a feeling of home that is strangely touching. Home. What is that? A big, misused word perhaps? I grew up here and always like to come back. Back to a paradise of memories from which no one can drive you away. And the terrace is full of memories.

The start and end point of many climbing adventures and - even more importantly - numerous interpersonal encounters. One person you will almost always meet here is Silvia Huber, the Wild Empress, as she is known with an ironic wink. She has been running the hut, which was previously managed by her father Adi Huber, since 1990. The Styrian has spent every summer here since she was six years old. The 56-year-old is not only a fixture of the Kaiser Mountains, but also part of the Kufstein townscape. Because she stands out when she is dressed in two different shoes and, in her loud and funny way, takes care of the annoying official business in the old town.

Like at no other hut, Silvia and her friendly team manage to make the hiking guest feel like a king, while the climbing guest enjoys the unrestricted feeling of being "at home". After all, who doesn't like to be imperially courted in the Kaiser?

Christoph dances light-footedly up the first length of slab. "Via Aqua" - the name says it all. The water has eroded wonderful rock structures over thousands of years. In fact, the upper part of the 1,000 meters of climbing is one big orgy of water grooves. But as beautiful as the water has shaped the rough holds here, it turns ugly during a thunderstorm. Within a few minutes, the climbing line turns into a raging torrent.

 

"Once you've seen this natural spectacle, you can safely save yourself a trip to Niagara Falls,"

 

jokes Adi Stocker, the first person to climb the route and author of the climbing guide "Longlines".

In this guide, he has collected the longest climbs in the northern Limestone Alps. And because people have always been hunters and gatherers, there are more and more climbers who collect longlines like other people collect Panini soccer stickers. This new species of longliner is also responsible for the fact that the "Via Aqua" is now the most popular tour in the Kaisertal.

"The tour gets around 15 ascents on average every summer," Silvia tells us. "However, some people underestimate the protection. Although the route is well secured with bolts for an alpine tour, some of them are over 10 meters apart." In combination with the length of the tour, this often leads to mountain rescue missions.

Almost in a state of flow, Christoph dashes over the last wonderful slab passages of the 24 pitches. In the meantime, we are tormented by the heat of the sun. It has dried out our mouths and throats. If this magazine were a comic, there would be thought bubbles above both our heads with a flashing TAB emoji (end-of-tour beer emoji) inside.

We arrive at the Hans-Berger-Haus in the early afternoon, dried out like two prunes. "How was it, but more importantly, what would you like to drink?" a cheerful Silvia asks us. The answer is clear. I read the saying on one of the Tibetan prayer flags strung across the terrace:

 

"Pleasant memories must be made in advance" (Paul Hörbiger).

 

How true! Thanks to Adi Stocker and Silvia Huber for your work in advance, which enriches our climbing experience in retrospect.

LIMIT #2: Alpine climbing in Tyrol - the hot-off-the-press issue!

In this issue, we have dedicated ourselves entirely to alpine climbing in Tyrol. On 136 pages, we present the impressive vertical diversity of Tyrol. With exciting stories from 15 climbing spots that offer a deep insight into the history of alpine climbing in Tyrol.

Browse Limit #2Order Limit #2