Grey rocks - climbing & mountaineering

This is what you have been looking for. As you hike towards the Haindlkarhütte hut, you can hardly take your eyes off the grey Northern rock face of the Hochtor and its surrounding mountains. It is not easy to detect the Peternpfad trail against this massive rock wall. The path to the top must be somewhere up there hidden in the steep rocks. It’s hard to imagine that Peter the poacher escaped his persecutors on that very route. But we’ll talk about that later ...

The Gesäuse has been writing alpine history for approx. 200 years. In the early days of this glorious era, it was mainly monks, shepherds and hunters who climbed the sharp peaks. Not long after them, tourists arrived. One of these was Heinrich Hess, the well-known namesake of the Hesshütte hut. He conquered the Kleinen Buchstein Mountain, the Planspitze Mountain and climbed the aforementioned Peternpfad. Around 1900, the famous Ödsteinkante path posed an enormous challenge to the pioneer climbers. The first to conquer it were the South Tirolean Dolomite specialists A. Dibona, L. Rizzi and M. Mayer.

And here you are, thinking about following suit with some great climbs in the Gesäuse. You are contemplating a challenging multi-pitch climbing tour up the Gesäuse North face? Or would you rather climb the Peternpfad trial, following the footsteps of Peter the poacher? Regardless of which you prefer, you will enjoy your stay in the Gesäuse to the full and always get far more than your money’s worth. When you return from the mountain and rest happily in the Hesshütte hut or spend the night in the Kölblwirt Inn, you’ll rest assured: the Gesäuse is always worth a mountaineer’s trip.

The Peternpfad trail comes with a "wild" history, and it’s a true story: A young poacher called Peter escaped from his pursuers with the animal he had killed slung on his shoulder and disappeared up the Gesäuse North face. Today, the Peternpfad trail has become a Gesäuse classic. Despite its relatively easy grades I + II, the trail is a real alpine challenge due to a lack of climbing protection …

The Jahn Zimmer tour is a great climbing tour in grade 3. After ascending to the Haindlkarhütte hut, the entry to the tour is reached via the same path that leads to the Peternpfad trail. Whilst the Peternpfad trail is strictly speaking not a climbing tour, the Jahn Zimmer route definitely is: 27 rope pitches, 700 metres height gain and approx. 6 hours of climbing from bottom to top will give you an idea …

The Waidhofnerweg trail to the Ödstein Mountain is a very special slab climbing route. The ascent is long and requires much strength and stamina, as you will mainly climb on water-eroded rocks and gigantic natural water runnels. It’s a true spectacle of nature. You won’t have much time to admire it though, since you will most probably be busy enough ascending the 450 metres of altitude in a 4+ grade …

After your conquests …

... you’ll probably want to chill out and relax in the evening to be prepared for more adventures tomorrow. You best start winding down with a refreshing drink on the Kölblwirt terrace. The weather won’t allow it? Then your best bet is to take a seat in the comfy “Stube” part of our restaurant or at the bar. A generous piece of Styria Beef will be just what you need to fuel your muscles and bones with some energy. The cosy rooms at the Kölblwirt are also remarkably well suited for sleeping and resting, preparing you for another day full of Gesäuse action.