Kesselfall - Großes Wiesbachhorn

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive into Austria, then continue driving on the Tauern motorway. Further on, we drive through the Katschberg Tunnel and later also the Tauern Tunnel / Tauerntunnel. We follow the motorway towards Salzburg (also Solnograd) only as far as the exit for Bischofshofen, from where we continue on a four-lane road towards the already mentioned town. From Bischofshofen, we follow the signs for the town of Zell am See and then for Kaprun. In Kaprun, we continue up the Kaprunertal valley, following the signs for »Speichererseen«. We follow the slightly ascending road all the way to the end. We park in the free parking garage located at the end of the road next to the Kesselfall Alpenhaus hut. The road continuing from the parking garage is closed to public traffic.

Route description:
In the garage, we follow the signs for the exit and climb the stairs upwards. The exit is at the top of the garage. From the garage, we reach the road where we continue right, directed also by the signs for the ticket office where tickets can be bought for the lake Mooserboden.
We continue past the barrier along the road closed to public traffic. After a very short ascent along the road, a signpost directs us left onto a footpath through the forest. The path then leads through the forest and soon crosses a stream. We walk for some time on a relatively flat path through the forest, then join a cart track which takes us to the lower station of the inclined elevator. The cart track is the old access to the inclined elevator; the new road goes through a tunnel. The mentioned inclined elevator is the largest of its kind in Europe and leads to the upper section of the road towards lake Mooserboden. The elevator was originally built for the construction of the dams on lakes Wasserfallboden and Mooserboden.
Before the lower station of the elevator, our path turns right and then ascends through the forest for quite some time. During the ascent, it crosses the elevator route several times through a short tunnel. Higher up, we cross a pasture fence and the path takes us to an alpine pasture where cows graze in the summer months. For some time, we then ascend more panoramic grassy slopes, then the path turns left and leaves the pasture. The path then follows a cart track which brings us to an asphalt road. To the left, the road leads to the lower part of the dam on lake Wasserfallboden; we continue right uphill along the road where the signposts also direct us. We soon reach a junction where the road from the upper station of the inclined elevator joins from the right.
At the junction, we continue left along the road, which quickly takes us to a tunnel. Walking through the tunnel is forbidden, so our path turns left and crosses somewhat steeper slopes beside the tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel, we rejoin the road and reach the dam on lake Wasserfallboden. At the dam, we continue slightly right along the road and soon avoid the tunnel again by turning left onto a footpath. The path further crosses fairly steep slopes above the lake, offering very nice views of the numerous three-thousanders above the lake. The path then turns right and briefly joins the tunnel. In the tunnel, the path runs along a narrow sidewalk separated from the road by a fence. We soon leave the tunnel, and the path takes us back to steep slopes above the lake. This time the slope is somewhat steeper, requiring considerable caution when walking. Here the path first descends slightly, aided by safety devices. For a short time, we then join an old abandoned road, then after a short exposed crossing, we rejoin the main asphalt road. At the next tunnel, we leave the road again, but this time the slopes we cross are less steep. The path here runs across grassy slopes with fine views of the lake and surrounding peaks. When we rejoin the road, it soon brings us to a junction. Signposts direct us right uphill, and after a short ascent, we reach the Fürthermoaralm pasture, which also has a hut and chapel.
We continue along the cart track past the chapel and soon reach another junction. Right uphill leads the Hochkammerweg path towards the Kitzsteinhorn–Kaprun ski area; we continue straight, following the signs for Mooserboden. From the junction, our path first descends slightly, passing some information boards about the plants and animals on the pasture. The path then crosses several streams, and the cart track becomes a trail. Here the path turns left and begins to ascend more steeply, bringing us back to the asphalt road. We follow the road to the next tunnel, where the markers direct us right onto a footpath. The final ascent to the dam on lake Mooserboden follows. There is also a restaurant by the dam.
We continue along the road across the dam and, about halfway across, reach the slope of the Höhenburg peak. On the left side there is another restaurant and secured climbing paths (Klettersteigarena Höhenburg) leading to the mentioned peak. We continue across the dam, and on the eastern side of the peak, an easier path with steps branches left to the Höhenburg summit. We continue across the other half of the dam and then reach a marked junction.
Right leads the path to the Großer Bärenkopf summit; we go left, following the signs for Wiesbachhorn peak and Heinrich-Schwaiger-Haus hut. After a short ascent on the grassy slope, we reach another junction.
This time the Max Hirschl Weg path to Gleiwitzer Hütte hut branches left; we continue right towards Heinrich-Schwaiger-Haus hut. From the junction, we begin ascending in long zigzags on a relatively steep slope. Steel cables assist at some points. The path brings us to the central area of Hohe Tauern National Park. We then ascend in zigzags on the steep slope for quite some time, with constant fine views of lakes Mooserboden and Wasserfallboden and the peaks above them. As we approach the cargo cableway, the path turns slightly left, and especially where it runs over smooth slabs, steel cables provide assistance. Somewhat later, the path turns right again, followed by a short ascent to Heinrich-Schwaiger-Haus hut.
At the hut, we continue left following the »Wiesbachhorn« signs, crossing the slope towards the northeast. The path quickly brings us to a steep gully. Here the path becomes significantly more demanding, and the use of self-belaying is recommended. After a relatively short steep ascent, the path turns right, followed by an ascent on a rocky slope where the path is marked with red dots. The slope is quite steep, so caution is still needed. Along such a path, we reach the ridge by Unterer Fochezkopf summit. On the ridge, where the view opens to the east, we continue right, first descending slightly, then ascending along the ridge running beside Fochezkees glacier. At the end of the mentioned glacier, the path passes by Oberer Fochezkopf summit, where the marked path ends.
We continue along the ridge, which is occasionally somewhat exposed on the right side. The path along the ridge named Kaindlgrat takes us above Kaindlkees and Wielingerkees glaciers, with fine views of Großes Wiesbachhorn during the ascent. When we reach the west side of the mentioned peak, the ridge ends, bringing us to gentler slopes. Although there are no more markers, the trail is usually still sufficiently visible.
Here our path turns left and begins ascending more steeply again on the western slopes of the mountain. Further on, we can ascend on the left along a somewhat rockier ridge requiring some easy scrambling. The other option is the right side, where the trail ascends a very steep slope, also requiring caution. The choice of variant depends on snow conditions. We then ascend such a slope all the way to the panoramic summit of Großes Wiesbachhorn.
We descend the ascent route. The most suitable time for the ascent is late summer, when it is often possible without winter gear.
The ascent can be shortened by using the inclined elevator and bus transport to reach the dam on lake Mooserboden. In this case, it is a 5-hour ascent to the summit.

Along the route: Stausee Wasserfallboden (1672m), Fürthermoaralm (1805m), Mooserboden (2036m), Heinrich Schwaiger Haus (2802m), Unterer Fochezkopf (3022m), Oberer Fochezkopf (3159m)

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