Snowshoe hiking in the Schwaberggraben

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An easy, meditative snowshoe tour through the Bretsteingraben in the Murtal adventure region.

The Bretsteingraben in the adventure region Murtal is an untouched valley in the Niedere Tauern. This area offers itself in summer for some beautiful tours - in winter it is the destination of tourers and snowshoe hikers. Apart from alpine farming, hunting is important here, so already at the parking lot one's attention is drawn to the topics of tourism, hunting and wildlife protection by an information board. Especially in winter it is necessary not to disturb the wild animals unnecessarily by entering their retreat areas without thinking. We, as users of nature, should also preserve it and therefore, of course, respect the designated rest areas. The beauty of this hike is the steady ascent, which allows you to get into a good rhythm and thus gives your thoughts free space.

Characteristics

Skill

Fitness

Best season

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

The tour in numbers

medium

Level of difficulty

10,4 km

Route

3:45 h

Time

445 hm

Uphill

444 hm

Downhill

1685 m

Highest point

Map & downloads

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More information

From Vienna (approx. 3 hours):

Take the A2 towards Graz.
At 161-St. Michael junction, switch to the S36 towards Judenburg.
Exit at Judenburg-Ost.
Continue on the B114 towards Trieben/Hohentauern.
At Pöls-Oberkurzheim, turn right onto the B113 towards Bretstein.
Drive through Bretstein and further into the Bretstein valley (Bretsteingraben).
Follow the road until you reach the Bichlerhütte (signposted, parking available).

From Graz (approx. 1.5 hours):

Take the A9 towards Linz/Salzburg.
At 161-St. Michael junction, change to the S36 towards Judenburg.
Exit at Judenburg-Ost.
Continue on the B114 towards Trieben/Hohentauern.
At Pöls-Oberkurzheim, turn onto the B113 towards Bretstein.
Drive through Bretstein and continue into the Bretstein valley.
Follow the road until you reach the Bichlerhütte.

From Salzburg (approx. 3 hours):

Take the A10 towards Villach.
At exit 63-Altenmarkt, change to the B320 towards Radstadt/Schladming.
Continue via Schladming to Liezen.
Join the A9 towards Graz.
Exit at 100-Trieben.
Drive on the B114 towards Judenburg.
At Pöls-Oberkurzheim, turn left onto the B113 towards Bretstein.
Pass through Bretstein and continue into the Bretstein valley (Bretsteingraben).
Follow the road until you reach the Bichlerhütte.

Our starting point is the parking lot Bichlerhütte (1), 1224 m. On the forest road we now go through forest area slightly ascending to the Gamperhütte (2), 1339 m, and along the mostly existing tracks to the Schwabergerhütte (3), 1511 m. We leave all the huts on our route, which are closed in winter, to the right and finally enter the forest again. There the course of the path is more easily visible for us and at a fork in the road we keep to the right and in an immediately following S-curve we already reach the open alpine pastures of the Schwabergeralm (4), 1682m. Here the terrain, overgrown with bushes and mountain pines, invites us to hike, keeping a large distance from the steep slopes of this valley basin for safety's sake. On the way back, the varied terrain up to the Schwaberger hut (3) offers us good opportunities to leave our own tracks in the snow. From there we take the ascent route back to the starting point.

Those who have the necessary knowledge and the appropriate equipment can continue hiking from the Schwabergeralm to the summit of the Kreuzkogel.

Unfortunately, this tour cannot be reached by public transport.

Recommendation: Travel by car or organize a carpool.

Parking lot Bretsteingraben/Bichlerhütte, about 6.5 km after the village of Bretstein.

There are only a few parking spaces available. Especially on weekends you have to be there in time. Attention off the parking lot parking is prohibited and is controlled by the police.

Gasthof Beren, Tel.: +43 3576 205, 8763 Bretstein, Bretstein 8/9, www.gasthof-beren.at

Freytag & Berndt (2017): Wölzer Tauern - Sölktal - Rottenmanner Tauern. WK 203 Wander-, Rad-, Freizeitkarte; 1:50000 Sarcletti S., Zienitzer E., (2. Auflage 2018): Schneeschuhführer Steiermark – Vom Dachstein bis zum Steirischen Weinland. Bergverlag Rother GmbH, München, S. 176.

Schneeweiß C., (2012): Schneeschuhgehen – Praxiswissen vom Profi zu Ausrüstung, Technik und Sicherheit. Bruckmann Verlag GmbH, München, S.192