Paula, Paul and myself got an early start and hiked to the base of the Königsjodler on Hochkönig, only to find the descent gully still full of winter snow. Instead we switched plans to the Grandlspitz on the adjacent peak, a route I'll definitely come back to in the winter for a ski-klettersteig combo.
Si and Lou stopped by for the day on their European summer tour and asked for a gentle introduction to Austrian klettersteig. Katrin, on a rocky ridge above the town of Bad Ischl, turned out to be a great morning out. Make sure you try it quick before the ageing gondola (complete with silk carpets and cushions) goes out of service!
I have done very little solo backpacking, but I had the chance to extend a work trip to Umea in Sweden by 3 days. Leading north from the city is a 39km trail know as The Tavelsjöleden. Over the two and a bit days of hiking I saw almost nobody else, and certainly didn't see the monster of the lake the route draws its name from. It was also ridiculously flat, a highlight being the summit of the region's tallest peak - Mount Tavelsjöberget at 284m!
The pointy Nockstein summit is a distinctive landmark on the drive back from the east into Salzburg city centre. Laurence and Rebecca joined us for the weekend on the descent from Gaisberg over this photogenic summit back to the valley floor.
CatO and DaveO joined Erinna and I for a long weekend snow-shoeing adventure around the Triglav National Park. Starting from the base of the Slap Savica waterfall, we hiked in to Koča pri Triglavskih jezerih and then on to Zasavska koča na Prehodavcih to the west of Triglav itself. There was a bit too much snow to attempt the summit, so instead we did a long circular hike on snowshoes, returning to the car after three nights of huts.
It would be rude of me to get married in a country if I hadn't even climbed the highest mountain there, so Erinna and I took a day off from our wedding plan tour of Ireland to head down to Michael Collins Country and climb Carrauntoohil. Living in Austria has seemingly skewed our perception of mountain hiking, as it seemed rather small and easy in the end! We also enjoyed the full Irish weather experience of snow, rain and sunburn all in one day.
