Читать книгу Walking in Austria. 101 routes - day walks, multi-day treks and classic hut-to-hut tours онлайн

11 страница из 96

Zillertal Alps

East of the Brenner Pass the Zillertal Alps are known as much for their skiing potential as for their summer walking possibilities, especially around Mayrhofen, with the nearby slopes of the Tuxertal being developed with ski tows and cableways. The Zillertal itself pushes deep into the mountains, with a choice of tributaries cutting off herring-bone fashion from it. As with the Stubai Alps most, if not all, of these tributaries have mountain huts at their head from which both climbing and walking routes can be enjoyed. With a covering of either snow or ice, the massif’s highest summits capture the imagination and make a photogenic backdrop to a wonderland of walks. Of the valley bases, perhaps the best are those that lie in a line along the Zillertal: Zell am Ziller, Mayrhofen and Finkenberg.

Kitzbüheler Alps

All the previously mentioned groups spill across international borders, but the Kitzbüheler Alps lie ‘inland’ so to speak, and have no frontiers. North of the Zillertal Alps and the Venediger group, these are grass-covered mountains of modest proportions. But on them will be found some of Austria’s best routes for the walker of moderate ability and ambition. A wealth of trails strike across hillsides and over summits with long views north to the limestone ranges, south to the crystalline border mountains, or southeast to snowy giants of the Hohe Tauern. Söll, Scheffau and Ellmau lie in a glorious valley between the grassy Kitzbüheler Alps and the abrupt wall of the Wilder Kaiser. Westendorf and Brixen lie in a parallel valley to the south, with Kitzbühel, one of Austria’s premier ski resorts and the hub of the range, at its eastern end, while Saalbach and Hinterglemm lie in the Glemmtal easily accessible from the lovely ‘Lakes and Mountains’ resort of Zell am See, and offer some of the best walking of the whole district.