Unfinished business: Großvenediger tour 2022

by Paul Marginson

The theme of an evolving plan in the light of changing circumstances and conditions emerged a month before the start of the September 2022 Hochtour of the Venediger Group in the Hohe Tauern. A message from tour leader Ben Clayton Jolly to the participants indicated that the early closure of the Defreggerhaus for the season meant that the original plan for a north-south traverse of the summit of the Großvenediger was no longer practical. He had reworked the tour plan to remain on the north side of the main massif. The party of six (Casey, Johnny, Katherine, Paul, Stuart in addition to Ben) arrived at the Warnsdorfer Hütte towards the end of a gloriously sunny day. Five had travelled up from Krimml and along the lush Krimmler Achental to the foot of the Seilbahn in the hut’s minivan (stretching their legs on the final ascent), with the sixth walking in from the Zittauer Hütte amongst the Reichen Group. We were soon getting to know each other over a wholesome and imaginatively presented Abendessen. So far, so promising - but the forecast for the coming days pointed to unstable weather moving in.

The plan for the second day was to spend half the morning refreshing self-rescue technique and then set off for the crossing to the next hut (to the east) which involves a substantial glacier traverse. The Warnsdorfer’s climbing wall with an upper floor proved perfect for practising self-rescue technique, as demonstrated by Ben, utilising two prussiks to ascend the rope and an Alpine clutch to augment protection when hoisting oneself over the lip. By the time we’d finished, the rain and low cloud forecast for late afternoon had already moved in, stymying the remainder of the day’s agenda. Cue for a coffee and some early Kuchen, and the first of what became a series of invigorating discussions accompanied by light-hearted ‘crack’. At odds with the forecast too was the transition to a fine spell early afternoon, which was a prompt to head up to the nearby Krimmler Kees, strap on our crampons, rope up as a group, practise moving together, arrest a simulated fall of one party member into a crevasse and subsequently haul them out. ‘Heading up’ to the glacier entailed further distance and negotiating more (potentially unstable) moraine than it would have done a few years back. Looking up at the amphitheatre rimmed by jagged peaks above the hut, reaching round from the Dreiherrnspitz (3499m) to the Hinterer Maurerkeeskopf (3313m), the sheer extent of the bare rock between the current extent of the glacier and a lower line marked by the first signs of moss and lichen growth impressed itself on us. Testament to the rapid glacial retreat that has accelerated this summer.

Next morning, we set off for the traverse of the Obersulzbachkees which lay between us and the Kürsinger Hütte (2547m), the stepping off point for the ascent of the Großvenediger from the north. A steady ascent brought us to the summit of the Gamsspitzl (2888m), and a sweeping view of the rest of the day’s journey under sunshine and the shadow of broken cloud. The descent to the glacier was loose under foot and in places precarious, as the whole eastern face of the peak had sheared off not long ago. The glacier itself was ‘dry’, i.e. not snow covered (although with myriad rivulets of running water) and the crevasses clearly visible. Their extent posed a challenge in safe route finding, achieved by constantly zig-zagging from left to right and back again as we progressed. The sink holes full of icy water that we encountered would be a nasty, additional hazard once covered by snow. The condition of the glacier meant that the time required for the traverse rather exceeded the standard allowance. Safely across, we scrambled up onto rocks and enjoyed the views and some scoff. The onwards route climbed up onto a shoulder followed by a long descent to reach the river flowing out of a glacial lake. From the crossing over the river, over 400m of reascent was required to reach the Kürsinger. The group divided: two took the direttissima up a series of Klettersteige involving considerable exposure but no great technical difficulty, while the rest plodded p the steep main path with passages of fixed ropes and a couple of ladders. A Skiwasser, or a Radler (beer and lemonade), and an accompanying slice of Strudel tasted good as we sat on the balcony and soaked up the view of the Großvenediger and the sweep of peaks to its right.

We were in position for the main ascent, but the weather gods had other ideas. The ascent of the Großvenediger from the Kürsinger is an expedition of more than 10 hours and requires assurance of clear, fine weather. Low cloud would render the ascent up its north-east glacier risky in terms of route finding. The forecast for our fourth day indicated that the weather would close in by late morning, and for the fifth day it was even worse. Determined to make the most of the sub-optimal meteorological conditions, we donned waterproofs and headed up into the cloud behind the hut to ascend Keeskogel (3291m). An enjoyable scramble with fixed ropes up the final section of south-west ridge brought us to the summit. No view from there, but on the descent the cloud partially broke revealing the valley and right up to the opposite ridge dotted with peaks. After we returned to the hut, continuing discussion was paused to simulate self-rescue utilising an ascendeur (Petzl tibloc) and micro-traction device across the floor of one of the Stuben. In pouring rain we descended to the upper valley, and eventually the main Pinzgau valley, the following day, 24 hours earlier than planned.

Ascending and summiting the Großvenediger remains unfinished business for most of the party. We descended better experienced to do so, thanks to Ben, and with a strong bond amongst the group forged out of weather adversity and more downtime on our hands than our eventual plan had envisaged.

Obersulzbachkees, looking back to Gamspitzl – Photo by Ben Clayton-Jolly

Practicing self-rescue – Photo by Ben Clayton-Jolly

Across Obersulzbachkees towards Kürsinger Hütte – Photo by Paul Marginson

Leaving Wansdorfer Hütte – Photo by Paul Marginson

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