Hexenturm (mountain)

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Witches Tower (Bärenkarmauer)
Witches Tower from the south (Hall near Admont)

Witches Tower from the south ( Hall near Admont )

height 2172  m above sea level A.
location Styria , Austria
Mountains Haller Walls , Ennstal Alps
Dominance 4.4 km →  Scheiblingstein
Notch height 358 m ↓  Favorites
Coordinates 47 ° 38 '45 "  N , 14 ° 28' 52"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 38 '45 "  N , 14 ° 28' 52"  E
Hexenturm (mountain) (Styria)
Hexenturm (mountain)
rock Dachstein Limestone
Age of the rock Norium - Rhaetium
First ascent September 7, 1877 by August Martinez , Franz Rumpel , Marie Pachmayer , Gabriel Strobl , Josef Draxler , Jakob Friedl and the hunter Hechtner (tourist)
Normal way uppermost Rosskar and southeast flank (insured sections)

The Hexenturm (also: the Bärenkarmauer ) is a 2172  m above sea level. A. high mountain of the Haller Walls in Styria .

Surname

August Martinez and Franz Rumpel already pointed out in the first guide to the Haller Walls, published in 1879, that the local name for the mountain was "Bärenkarmauer". The high tower located to the west ( 1958  m ) would be called the “witch tower” by the local population . However, according to Heinrich Hess, the use of the general staff map nomenclature in the Führerwerk von Martinez and Rumpel contributed significantly to the establishment of the incorrect name Hexenturm in tourist circles.

Location and character of the mountain

The approximately 10 km long chain of the Haller Walls, running in a west-east direction, forms a separate subgroup in the northwest of the Ennstal Alps . The distinctive double summit of the Hexenturm is "an optical fixed point" in the course of the ridge and at the same time marks its highest point in its eastern half. Both names of the mountain refer (in the parts of the word tower and wall) to its steep, sometimes almost vertical rock walls.

While the ridge of the western Haller Walls from the Großer Pyhrgas to the Kreuzmauer separates the federal states of Upper Austria and Styria , the eastern part of the mountain range belongs entirely to Styria. The border between the two communities of Admont and St. Gallen (the center of which is more than 11 kilometers to the northeast) runs across the Hexenturm .

The Hexenturm offers impressive views down to the Ennstal, 1,500 meters below, as well as a panorama in which the limestone peaks of the Gesäuses and the Rottenmanner Tauern dominate. Only the view of the Dead Mountains is somewhat restricted by the Great Pyhrgas further west in the ridge.

Tourist development

Were the first tourists at the Hexenturm Graz August Martinez and Franz lumber , the Admont Josef Draxler and Jakob Friedl - they managed the tourist first ascent of Bosrucks - the forester's wife Marie Pachmayer and the botanist Gabriel Strobl accompanied the hunters pike agent who is already around 15 Had climbed the summit years earlier. The company reached the summit of the Grabneralm over the Natterriegel, the Rosskar and the southeast flank on September 7, 1877, which corresponds to today's normal route. At the summit they found a triangulation pole that had been set up a month earlier at the instigation of the St. Gallen Forest Office. On August 16, 1885, Heinrich Hess climbed the summit of the Hexenturm for the first time by crossing a ridge from the west over the Kesselgrat.

On August 18, 1895, the Admonter Haus on Grabnertörl, built by the Ennsthal-Admont section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club , was opened. In 2002 the Admont-Gesäuse section of the Austrian Alpine Club established the Hexensteig . The secured via ferrata leads over a section of the southeast ridge to the Hexenturm and is technically somewhat more demanding than the normal route through the Rosskar.

Ascent routes

Day tours to the Hexenturm require a lot of stamina because of the alpine paths and great differences in altitude. Even from the cheapest starting point on the Buchauer Sattel , the ascent time to the summit is around 5 hours. Therefore, it is better to take a tour of the Hexenturm with an overnight stay in the Admonter House of the Austrian Alpine Club at 1723  m above sea level. A. to combine.

  • Normal route : From the Admonter Haus over the south ridge (a short crossing with wire rope protection) to the Mittagskogel 2041  m above sea level. A. with summit cross, in a few minutes further to the north-west neighboring Natterriegel 2065  m above sea level. A. To the west, first descent to the Natterriegelscharte , then through steep rocky terrain down to the uppermost Rosskar ; about 150 meters of altitude loss. After crossing the Kars over rock steps up to the southeast ridge of the Hexenturm and taking advantage of some rock bands to the summit. Several easy insured sections in the steep steps to Rosskar and on the southeast ridge; in the steep north-facing Rosskar often remains of old snow until early summer. Walking time: about 2½ hours.
  • Hexensteig : The Hexensteig already follows the southeast ridge from the Natterriegelscharte, bypassing some striking rock towers on the south side. The climb is technically moderately difficult : It has a few passages with difficulty B and a short section with difficulty B – C. Due to unsecured sections in the rocky terrain, however, the climb requires surefootedness and a head for heights . It should only be done in good external conditions. Time required similar to that for the normal route: around 2½ hours from the Admonter Haus.

The further crossing of the Haller Walls from the Hexenturm to the west is pathless, has climbing points up to the 3rd level of difficulty UIAA and also leads through partly brittle rock. It is therefore reserved exclusively for people with extensive alpine experience.

Because of the poorly suited rock, the Hexenturm has no climbing routes.

literature

  • Adi Mokrejs, Max Ostermayer: Bergwander-Atlas Steiermark. Schall-Verlag, Alland 2009, ISBN 978-3-900533-57-1 .
  • Csaba Szépfalusi: Via ferrata guide Austria. 3rd, updated and expanded edition. Tyrolia-Verlag, Innsbruck et al. 2008, ISBN 978-3-7022-2548-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Federal Office for Metrology and Surveying Austria: Austrian Map online (Austrian map 1: 50,000) .
  2. ↑ August Martinez, Franz E. Rumpel: The Hall walls. A topographical touristic study. Leuschner & Lubensky, Graz 1879, p. 68, ( digitized version  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ).@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / digital.bib-bvb.de  
  3. ^ Heinrich Hess : The Ennsthal Alps. In: Eduard Richter (Red.): The development of the Eastern Alps. Volume 1: The Northern Limestone Alps. Publishing house of the German and Austrian Alpine Association, Berlin 1893, p. 398.
  4. ↑ Tour information from the Admont-Gesäuse PES section
  5. ^ Franz E. Rumpel: Steirische Kalkalpen (Haller walls). Witch tower. In: Communications from the German and Austrian Alpine Club. Vol. 4, 1878, ZDB -ID 511820-7 , p. 92 .
  6. ↑ August Martinez, Franz E. Rumpel: The Hall walls. A topographical touristic study. Leuschner & Lubensky, Graz 1879, pp. 68–78, ( digitized version  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ).@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / digital.bib-bvb.de  
  7. ^ Heinrich Hess: The Ennsthal Alps. In: Eduard Richter (Red.): The development of the Eastern Alps. Volume 1: The Northern Limestone Alps. Publisher of the German and Austrian Alpine Club, Berlin 1893, pp. 398–399.
  8. ↑ Route description  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.bergstieg.com@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bergstieg.com  

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