Venediger GROUP

Overview

geographical classification: Eastern Alps > Hohe Tauern > Venediger Group

The Venediger Group is the northwestern and one of the most important and interesting parts of the Hohe Tauern. Grossvenediger itself is in the very center of it's group and long ridges spread wide out to all sides that include many more interesting mountains, although they are not of equal height. At the main ridge where the sub-ridges end there are glaciers of still remarkable size so this area is perhaps the most "arctic" region of the eastern alps, together with the Oetztal Alps.

From all sides pittoresque valleys lead from the villages to the mountains. There are many mountain cabins related by hiking trails, especially on the south side. So you can walk from hut to hut about a week or longer and need not to descend into civilization. Because of these advantages and the great scenery the area is very popular and you cannot expect lonelyness.

In the spring season there are great possiblities for ski mountaineering. The traverse of the whole group and further on towards the Grossglockner - called "Ski Route Hoch-Tirol" has become very popular in recent years and is often compared with the famous "Haute Route" between Chamonix and Zermatt. The Essener-Rostocker Huette mountain hut is in the center of one of the best areas for ski mountaineering and the Kuersinger hut can also be highly recommended.

There are no cablecars or pay roads in the whole mountain group which is mainly part of the National Park "Hohe Tauern". So here you can find pure high mountains at their best, more than anywhere else in Austria.
To fullfill the picture it must be said that it is a paradise for independent and experienced climbers but there are no popular climbs in higher grades of difficulty neither in ice nor in rocks.

Getting There

The Venediger Group builds the northwestern part of the Hohe Tauern. Politically it belongs mainly to Austria (northern part to the province of Salzburg, southern part to the province of eastern Tyrol), only the SW edge belongs to the italian province of Alto Adige/South Tyrol.
Getting there depends on in which valley you want to start your activities.
For the main roads:


For details please refer to the following maps:



For the geographical location of this group page I choose the big parking at Streden at the end of the virgental valley, that is the most important trailhead of the group.

main mountains

Each ot the following mountains would deserve a page on SP! And of course there are even more mountains, that are not on this list. So if you have the knowledge you are invited to contribute.

huts

This tableboard shall give a rough overview about the possibilities of hiking and climbing from the basis of a hut. The named traverses to other huts can all be done without glacier gear. I presume that if you have to ability to walk on glaciers you will climb mountains in addition. The table says nothing about difficulty of hikes and climbs!

here is a description in english of the "Venediger Hoehenweg" hiking trail. For hikers this is the best possiblility to get to know the beauty of this area.

Red Tape

no limitations of alpine activity, though most of the group is part of the national park

When To Climb

Most huts are guided from July to September for the summer season. The traverse hikes from hut to hut can be done normally at least from mid July to mid September (depends on snow conditions). Climbing glacier mountains can be more difficult in later summer (from August) because of pure ice instead of snow and the risk of stonefalls.
Spring season for Ski mountaineers is from March to May

Mountain Conditions / webcam

Basically it can be said that the weather is more stable in the southern half of the group. Most rain or snow comes from NW direction and covers the northern half. But if there is a depression over Italy (esp. at the gulf of Genova) it is vice versa!
You can get personal advice about weather conditions on the phone every afternoon from the weather service of Innsbruck, Nr. 0043-(0)512-291600. I hope these guys can speak english (the chief, Karl Gabl, surely can)

"Muhscam" is a webcam view of the whole south side of central Venediger Group a s seen form the great viewpoint "Muhsberg" north of Lasoerling

maps and books

maps:
best map is Alpenvereinskarte (Map of the german/austrian alpine club) 1:25.000 Nr. 36 Venedigergruppe, available at DAV lifeAlpin

To view and/or print maps for mountaineering in Austria see www.austrianmap.at
(for Browsers Version 4 and above)

guide book of the german alpine club (in german) will come out soon

External Links

• long hiking routes in eastern Tyrol
  english descriptions on www.osttirol-tourismus.at, including "Venediger Hoehenweg"a nd "Lasoerling Hoehenweg" which are both in the Venediger Group
  
• Bergtour Großvenediger
  via-ferrata.de - Klettersteig Portal. Under "Sonst. Touren" are lots of fotos of our tour on the third highest peak of austria, the Großvenediger (3674m).
  
• www.hinterbichl.at
  very detailed website (in german) about hiking and climbing possibilities around the Virgental valley
  
• Austrian Map online
  Online digital maps of Austria (OEK 50, OEK 200 and OEK 500) by the BEV (Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen) - in German
  

Images

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