Day 3 – Kreuzspitze and Neue Sajathütte

Today will be one of the biggest days on the trail, hiking over 3,400 ft up to the summit of the 10,350ft Kreuzspitze and down to the Neue Sajathütte.

Woke up early in the matratzenlager at the Johannishütte and packed as quietly as I could to avoid disturbing the couple sleeping next to me. Had muesli and yogurt with “lions” (seeds) and cornflakes, brot (bread) with kase (cheese) and cold cut ham/salami, brot mit Himbeere (raspberry jam), and black tea. We bought lunches, which entitled us to make sandwiches from the brot, kase, and cold cuts from the breakfast buffet, plus an apple.

After breakfast we went to the Schuhraum to put on our shoes/boots. Chatted briefly with a couple of Brits trekking through with other members of the Austrian Alpine Club UK Chapter (AACUK) – they mentioned that 3 Americans were to have joined them but had backed out because they found the trails too difficult. The Österreichisch (Austrian) trails are, shall we say, a little “rough”.

The trail began climbing immediately from the hut through alpine meadows. This trail is rated red, so should not be too difficult (vs. a black-rated “difficult” trail). The trail climbed at a steady rate and was generally pleasant even though it required hard work.

We ascended across a hillside covered in grass and wildflowers, occasionally punctuated by a rocky step, a stream crossing, or switchbacks.

Ascending further, we could see Lina, Johannis, and Nico ahead. We entered into an area where there were kuhe (cows) and cow pies everywhere. One kuh was resting directly on the trail, and others were nearby, so we picked our way around them off trail.

The area of the Zopatscharte, Tulpspitze, and Kreuzspitze came into view, leading us speculate on where we would make our way up to the Kreuzspitz. We caught up to Lina, Nico, and Johannis at the junction with the Kreuzspitze weg (trail) about 2/3 of the way up and headed up the Kreuzspitze weg together.

This trail, rated black (difficult), became much steeper but was free of obstacles and actually better than the red trail we had been on since leaving the hut. Super steep at times, but good traction and very few obstacles like steps, uneven path (rocky), or mud.

I was able to maintain a decent pace on not terribly difficult terrain. Lina, Nico, and Johannis stopped repeatedly, and we passed them when they stopped for lunch.

I didn’t want to stop for lunch until we made it to the top, so we kept going on up to the junction with the trail leading from the Zopatscharte to the Kreuzspitze.

This trail climbed briskly too, and after a short while came up onto the Schernerscharte, a crest just below the Kreuzspitze.

There were panoramic views here of the Türmljoch (which we crossed yesterday), the Simony range and its big glaciers (mostly obscured by clouds), the Großvenediger, and the big glaciers below it.

We took off our packs, sat down, and enjoyed our lunches here. Lina, Nico, and Johannis arrived as were finishing lunch.

Allan and I decided to hike up to the top of the 3,164m Kreuzspitze even though clouds were blowing over it which would obscure any views. It took about 15 minutes on a super-steep “trail” to reach the summit cross. I was pretty stoked to have made it all the way up here – all that training over the past few months had paid off!

We took selfies and walked a short way along the summit ridge to a view in the other direction but could not see anything below due to clouds – the Neue Sajathütte should have been easily visible from here.

We hiked back down to where we left our packs and chatted briefly with our German friends (who had followed us up the Kreuzspitze) before they took off ahead of us.

The trail skirted along the top of the 3,043m Schernerskopf (where we detoured slightly up and over to the summit.

The trail began descending steeply from here through loose dirt/clay that was easier to hike down than a hard rocky surface.

We continued down through a section protected with cables that you can hold onto for security, but the trail was wide enough that I didn’t use them much. After a switchback where we saw the hut below, we caught up with our German friends above a cliff we that we would descend on a series of cables. There was a little bit of trail, but the exposure required securing oneself by holding on to the cable.

Shortly after, the trail disappeared and there were only a few inches of ledge or just some footholds on which to step carefully while using the cable for handholds. This was class 4 climbing down a cliff with serious consequences if one were to fall. Allan and I really enjoyed it, but the Germans were not comfortable with the exposure.

From the base of the cliff, we descended steeply through loose material down to a snowfield on the valley floor. Johannis glissaded on his feet partway down the snowfield while the rest of us chose to use the trail. We passed Nico at this point and headed down what was becoming a more proper trail down to the hut. We passed close to a whistling marmot, but he ducked back into the rocks when we got close. Allan and I chatted about how much we enjoyed today’s route and how good the trails were compared to what we had experienced elsewhere in Österreich in previous years. Just as we approached the hut there was a small hill on the trail, which I ran up to test my energy level (which was surprisingly still somewhat high after such a big day).

Took off my shoes and put on my hut slippers before entering the hut. We dropped off our shoes in the schuheraum, poles in the entryway, and went to the front desk to check in. I reserved a zwei bett komfortzimmer (two bed comfort room) which we were informed included a private bathroom with a shower! Absolute decadence in an alpine hut. The room was in a turret on the corner of the building and had a 270° view.

We sat outside on the terrace and finished the food we had brought from Johannishütte and enjoyed a couple of beers.

We went back to the room and took turns showering and washing clothes. Allan brought a long clothesline which he rigged across the front half of the room on which we hung our clothes to dry.

We went downstairs to the dining room for dinner where we found a table of our own in a smaller quieter adjacent room. Had soup, pork medallions, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. My plea for “ein anderer, bitte” (another one, please) was denied because they had only enough for one per guest. But she offered me an apfel (apple) strudel instead which was delicious! We headed back up to the room and went to bed shortly after.