NM Hut to Solsteinhaus

The next day dawned fine and dry, so we set off with good spirits. First we paused to say goodbye to the large herd of long-eared goats outside the hut and then to photograph a great big patch of Trollius which was growing outside.
As we left the hut, we passed the winter shelter. This is never locked and is for when hikers get stranded in the mountains in bad weather. Just beyond that, there was a small herd of alpine cows. They had brown and white faces, and a mottled sort of purply brown body. Of course they had cowbells around their necks – as did the goats. They weren't that loud, but even after we had walked for an hour, we could still hear them, due to the shape of the mountains.
Before long, we reached our first stretch of via ferrata. Stretches of cable are attached to a vertical rock face with a narrow ledge beneath to walk along. At first sight and from a distance, it looks very scary, especially with a long, steep drop below. However, as soon as I actually got to it, it turned out to be fine. It was necessary to go carefully and pay attention, and I was also glad that it was dry, but it was okay.
The rock faces were also studded with interesting plants. Viola biflora was a pretty little yellow pansy which was new to, and were to see a lot of in the coming days. Aster alpinus had nice mauve flowers, rather like a Michaelmas daisy, but on a small scruffy rosette of leaves rather than a big plant. I was quite excited to see Primula auricula growing in some rocky crevices. I only knew that as a garden plant. In Victorian times they used to make "Primula theatres", which were shelved cabinets with a black background to show off the bright flowers. These were between lime green and yellow, very attractive. Shortly after that we begun to see clumps of Pinguicula alpina. I know a Pinguicula vugaris, which is also carnivorous from the lowlands, but this was the first time that I had met the alpine species. It is more delicate colour than P. vulgaris, but otherwise quite similar.
After a bit we came across our first patch of snow, lying across the path. Fortunately it wasn't too icy and gave a bit as we trod into it, because it was on quite a slope, so slipping there could cause problems. My walking stick with a pointy end was also helpful there.
There were also spectacular views, looking across the Inn valley to the mountains on the other side. Unlike yesterday, the clouds were much less and also high, so we could clearly see the snow-capped peaks.
After a while we came to the famous 'chimney' (kaminl). We saw it from a distance and wondered if our path could possibly go that way. It seemed to go vertically up a rock face. How was that going to be possible without ropes? A family had overtaken us and we soon saw that indeed they headed that way and slowly ascended towards the top. We decided that if they could do it we should at least give it a try. As with the earlier via ferrata, once we started, it was all not so difficult. We did indeed have to scramble up the rocks, but the cables and occasional large iron staple made it all possible. It was steep, but far from vertical, and as long as we were careful, there was actually no danger. It was over 100 metres of elevation on quite a short section of path.
The routes in the Alps are graded according to the Swiss Hiking Scale (SAC). T1 is a normal footpath, with no dangers at all. T2 is the same but with steep slopes. T3 is where steel cables and chains are necessary in parts, or scree slopes. Good shoes are required and basic Alpine experience. Today's route was T3. Then T4 to T6 are where there might not be a path at all, and it gets increasingly steep and difficult. T5 and T6 are real climbing routes where ropes and a pickaxe are needed.
After the chimney, the path went more gently up and down, but that was not to say that it was easy. The path was covered in the roots, and sometimes branches of small shrubs. That was mostly Pinus montana, but also Alpenrose (Rhododendron ferrugineum) which was just coming into flower. That meant picking our way over the routes, so that the couple of kilometres from the top of the chimney to the hut took a couple of hours. In general, it is astonishing how slowly we moved over the mountain paths. Today, we did an average of only 0.7 kph, including breaks. On other paths, we were passed by trail runners (or fell runners, as they are called in the Lakes) who ran along the difficult paths as easily as if they were on tarmac, but here even they would have to pick their way across the obstacles.
As we approached the hut, we came across our first gentian flowers, Gentiana verna. I had been really hoping to see this plant. Since I first saw it in Upper Teesdale about 40 years ago, I have seen it one time in the Italian Alps above Turin. In the coming days we would see huge numbers carpeting the ground. It is such an incredible deep pure blue colour, there is nothing else like it. An amazing flower. Then a few metres further on, a big patch of gentians with much bigger flowers, almost twice the size of G. verna. That was Gentiana clusii. We would also see a lot of that in the coming days as well. Another flower that I had really been hoping to see was one of the alpine Ranunculuses. And there it was, a flush full of white flowers, Ranunculus alpina. The next days we were to see large meadows filled with that, like daisies in a lawn, but this was the first time I had ever seen it. Coincidentally, as I write this, a month later, there was a programme on the radio this morning in which they said that R alpina is an indicator species for global warming. It is retreating uphill as the treeline goes up and at the same time making its way to higher elevations. It is getting squeezed as on some mountains, there is nowhere higher up for it to go.
We could see the hut, Solsteinhaus, from there, on the opposite side of the valley, so then it was just a short, easy walk, past some shocking pink clumps of Silene aucaulis (Moss Campion), to get there. It wasn't late, so we could order a large lunch, which we ate outside on the terrace in the warm sun and strong wind.Read more