Wieselstein

Overview

Wieselstein is a beautiful summit at the north-western tip of the Tennengebirge. To be precise there are several summits called Noerdlicher (northern) Wieselstein, Mittlerer (central) Wieselstein (2300m) and Suedlicher (southern) Wieselstein (2315m) and some unnamed peaks. Most of these peaks have a rather gentle, smooth and in parts even grassy (which is remarquable for the Tennengebirge) west side and a very steep to vertical east side.
Mittlerer (Central) Wieselstein is climbed most frequent but the number of climbers is rather small compared to the surrounding mountains like Goell, Dachstein, or Hochkönig. Why is it worth climbing Wieselstein which is at least a five hours walk (1800 vertical meters) from the surrounding valleys to the top? It´s of course the breathtaking view to the north into the wide valley of the Salzach river, to the city of Salzburg, to the hilly region of the Fore-Alps and the Bavarian flatlands. To the south and the east you will get an impressive view over the large carstic plateau of the Tennengebirge. In winter Wieselstein offers great but demanding skiing possibilities down to the village of Scheffau and to Pass Lueg near Golling.
At the top of the Wieselstein a large cross was constructed which is typical for many mountains in the Alps.  http://vimeo.com/59850315

More Overview Photos

Getting There

The base of the mountain easily can be reached by public transports like busses(Golling, Pass Lueg, Scheffau) and train (Golling, Sulzau). No public roads or lifts will shorten the way up so you have to start right from the bottom. There are some private forest roads (gravel) up to a height of 1000m where you could go by mountain bike but I can´t recommend it as it is not allowed.

Villages

The main villages at the base of Wieselstein are Golling (in the north) and Scheffau (in the east).
Golling is a beautiful village with a nice castle and old traditional houses in the center, situated at the east side of the Salzach valley. Main attractions are the beautiful waterfalls around and the spectacular Salzach gorge (Salzachoefen).
Scheffau is a rather small but nice village in the Lammer valley, mainly visited for climbing the peaks of the Tennengebirge. Scheffau offers also beautiful waterfalls and the very impressive Lammer canyon (Lammeroefen).

Red Tape

No permits are required, no entrance fees have to be paid.

When To Climb

Wieselstein can be climbed all year round. In winter best months are from February to May. In summer late June, September and October are best. In July and August the weather might be rather hot and unstable with severe thunderstorms in the Tennengebirge. Also early winter is not advisable as there are a lot of cracks, shafts and caves only partly or thinnly covered by snow which pose the same risk as crevasses on a glacier. Now and then people (mostly skiers) disappear in those karstic areas and in some cases were discovered by speleologists decades later.

Skiing

If you climb Wieselstein in summer you will not think that skiing is possible on this rough and rocky surface, transected by canyons and caves. But when meters of snow cover everything it is a paradise for skiing. Of course skiing tours on Wieselstein are quite demanding and require a good and secure skier who can judge the danger of avalanches.
The most popular skiing route on Wieselstein starts at Scheffau. The route leads from Wieser to the Schoenalm and further (steep) to the Stefan Schatzl hut which is closed during winter. Above the hut the area steepens again until a flat place beneath the Knallstein. Now the most beautiful part of the tour startsas you climb the Knallsteinplatte a steep (up to 45°) and more than 200m wide rock chute that leads to a small plateau beneath the Mittlerer Wieselstein. From there you ascend to a saddle between the southern and central Wieselstein.
Other routes lead from Pass Lueg , where the River Salzach flows through a fantasic gorge (Salzachoefen), up the Schildkar, a large cirque, and than from the west side to the top.
A third route also starts at Pass Lueg and goes up the Bergeralpl, a very remote and untouched valley to the east (only at very stable snow conditions). The summit can be made via Hochtoerl (steep) and passing the northern Wieselstein. Be aware of the countless sinkholes in this area which pose a similar risk than crevasses on a glacier!

More Skiing - Wieselstein Via Bergeralpl

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Camping And Accomodation

Till now there are no camping restrictions for Tennengebirge.
Several huts are open during summer as Happisch Haus and Stefan Schatzl Huette. For more information see the SP Tennengebirge page.

Mountain Conditions

Currently there are no webcams showing Wieselstein or any other accurate information about Wieselstein.

Summit Views

For those who are not able to climb one of the Wieselsteins there are some pictures from the summit.

Caves

The structure of Tennengebirge and of course Wieselstein may be compared to Swiss cheese. Large cave systems have been explored during the last decades. A detailed overview about the caves of the Tennengebirge is given at the
SP Tennengebirge page.

Wieselstein inhabits the second largest cave system of the Tennengebirge. It extends from the summit of the Mittlerer Wieselstein (Gipfelloch Cave = Summit hole) via Cosa Nostra cave, Platteneck ice cave, Berger cave, Bierloch cave (=Beer cave) down to the Brunnecker cave and the river Salzach. The explored system has a length of more than 35km. Brunnecker cave which is more than 5km long is separated by a large underground lake and water filled galleries (called giant´s tunnel) from the Bierloch. Divers tried to dive through but failed due to the great water depth.
Also the Gipfelloch could not be connected to the Cosa Nostra cave (there are only some meters missing) till now. If those last missing passages can be found the cave would be amongst the deepest in the world and have a length of more than 40km.

Images

View Wieselstein Image Gallery - 54 Images