September 1, 2015 – Bus to Hochgurgl and lift to Wurmkogel. Bus to Solden and lift to Gaislachkogel. Hike to Hohe Mut from Obergurgl.
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Lift to Wurmkogel.
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There was an option to hike to the summit of Wurmkogel, but clouds were starting to shroud the summit. It did not look like I would have better views from there, and the route did not appear charismatic, so I did not attempt... |
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Looking west, it appeared that clouds were not yet forming on the peaks; it seemed like a good day to bus to the lift up Gaislachkogel after this... |
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Statue of a marmot. |
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While I waited for the bus, I watched the dance of the construction vehicles. The yellow apparatus was inching forward, excavating a two-inch-deep swath of old pavement, spewing it into the waiting dump truck. |
2015:09:01 11:26:57
As the excavator approached the dumptruck, the stream of rubble was no longer centered on the waiting bed. And the yellow guy would beep his horn once. The dump truck would move ahead slowly, until the yellow guy, who could see where his detritus was landing in the truck, beeped again. Two beeps from the excavator driver meant the dumptruck was full. |
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Then the dump truck drove off and an empty appeared - to continue the dance. |
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Lift to Gaislachkogel.
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I noticed that there were comments or slogans stenciled on the gondola cars on the lifts - in a variety of languages. |
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The inscribed remarks did not seem to be simple translations of one thought, but appeared to capture a variety of sentiments. |
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Quite the viewing platform on top of Gaislachkogel! |
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I was pleased to see that the clouds remained at bay... |
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Beneath the lift was a mountain biker adventure course, with twists and turns and obstacles. I saw a few people riding down it, but my photos missed 'em... |
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Hike to Hohe Mut.
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2015:09:01 14:56:35
By the time I bused back to Obergurgl, it was almost 2 PM. I thought I would have time to hike up Hohe Mut by the scenic route past Schonweis Hut and up the back side from the Rotmoostal valley. I thought I could reach the summit in time to take the lift down. |
2015:09:01 15:18:40
But I found myself on the wrong trail when I encountered David's Hut. So I grunted up the ski slope to regain the shorter, more direct, unrelenting ascent to the summit. |
2015:09:01 15:44:03
Having lost time on my mistaken course, I knew I had to hustle to reach the lift before it closed. |
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I reached the summit restaurant and there were still a few people about. I had time to make the lift. |
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Obergurgl, as viewed from the lift. |
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September 2 – Rainy day. Lift from Obergurgl to hike to Schonweis Hut and Rotmoostal. Lift back to Obergurgl.
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Hike up Rotmoostal Valley.
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2015:09:02 12:30:43
Having walked up past the lift mid-station the previous day and having found the route to there un-charismatic, I took the lower section of the lift up and down - and skipped the boring stretch - to facilitate my gloomy-day hike. |
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When I reached the Schonweis hut, I found it in the process of being rebuilt. Contractors were actively working on the facility. |
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I reached the pond located at the trail junction. In the cloud, I could not see across it. |
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I had often encountered sheep, and sometimes goats, on the trails, but horses were much less frequent in my experience. |
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I walked up the valley until I reached this monitoring station. It did not seem that the cloud and drizzle were diminishing, and the views seemed unlikely to improve, so I turned around and retraced my steps back to the lift. |
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Back at the lift, and the trailhead I'd started from earlier, I rode the lift back down to Obergurgl. |
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I sat inside a bar that I had sat outside the previous day. I enjoyed a couple of beers. |
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The previous day, though it was after 6 PM, I drank a beer enveloped by the sonic distress of a nearby jackhammer that was destroying these steps for a rebuild. |
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While listening to the jackhammer, I had watched some workmen struggling to affix this conduit to the outside of a building. Apparently they had completed the task successfully. |
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Bus to Solden. Giggijochbahn Lift to hike to Rotkogel Hut. Lift down to Solden.
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Lift and Hike to Rotkogel Hut.
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The top of the lift was an active construction zone. Presumably improvements were underway in anticipation of a busy winter ski season. |
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I sat for a couple of beers at the hut, before leaving to hike back down to the lift, timing my exit to meet the bus back to Obergurgl at the bottom. |
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While I sat and looked out the window, I saw a tiny vehicle appear and drive along the base of this glacier in the distance. The knowledgeable fellow at the next table said you can bus to the glaciers and there's a dayhike down from the glaciers to an accessible village. Cool! I thought I would consider it for the next day. |
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Hiking back down to the lift, I saw these workers cleaning out the 'water bars' in the roadway. |
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Despite my planned timing, I just missed the bus back to Obergurgl. So I had a little time to wander around Solden and catch another beer while it showered on the awning above. |
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It appeared that the kid was being served a 'Pingu'. |
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September 4 – Bus to Glaciers. Bus from Obergurgl across Timmelsjoch Pass to Italy.
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I rode buses up to the glaciers, then took the lift to Schwarze Schneid and back. Rode the bus thru the tunnel to the Tiefenbach glacier, then bused back to Solden and on to Obergurgl.
Persistent forecasts of potentially substantial snow for the evening into the following morning had convinced me to leave Obergurgl, a few days earlier than I had planned, and take the bus over the pass to Italy before the risk that the snow would close the pass. So I would bus to the glaciers. But there was no way I could hike down from the glaciers and still make my afternoon bus, so the glacier adventure just involved buses and lifts.
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2015:09:04 07:42:18
Breakfast at the Lohmann 'All-Inclusive' hotel in Obergurgl. I was surprised to find that dinner was included with my room. In the evenings, you could pour yourself free beer from a tap with dinner and until 9 PM - or they would bring you red or white wine, at no charge, until you were full of it... |
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There was a griddle where a cook would make pancakes or omelettes or fried eggs... |
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In a hotel hallway there was this giant bird... |
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...and a little indoor playground for the kids. |
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I arrived at the top of the first glacier (Rettenbach Glacier) to ride the Schwarze Schneid lift up. |
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From the lift, I spied a trio of trekkers ascending the glacier. |
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It was pretty well socked-in on Schwarze Schneid, but this group enjoyed a snowball fight despite... |
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I don't know what kind of events or concerts are presented at the 'Gletscher Stadion'; I imagine it's pretty brisk in the winter. And in the summer, it seemed to be surrounded by ski-area blight. |
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Tunnel to the Tiefenbach glacier. |
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At the Tiefenbach end of the tunnel, I did not find spectacular glacier scenery, just another ugly skiing facility. |
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Returning to my hotel, Lohmann 'All-Inclusive'. |
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I took a few photos of 'downtown' Obergurgl while I waited for my bus over the pass from Austria to Italy. |
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The bus I would ride to Italy. |
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They charged a toll to cross the pass, even as the tollbooth was in the process of being constructed. |
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In Timmelsjoch Pass, there was a small, unimpressive restaurant. |
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The ubiquitous recycling receptacles. |
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The bus deposited me in the town of Moos to wait for another bus to San Leonhard. I appreciated that the town boasted its own 'Mooseum'. |
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I bused to San Leonhard, then caught another bus to Merano. From Merano, I trained to Fortezza, where I caught this modern train which conveyed me to San Lorenzo di Sebato. It was too late to catch my intended last bus to Corvara, so I found a hotel room and continued my journey the next day. |
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