In Sankt Gilgen: the hike to Schafberg

September 15, 2021

Highlights from St. Gilgen: Above all, a stunning hike to the top of Schafberg, 1300 meters above the lake, for breathtaking views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. After climbing very steeply for several hours, it was shocking to reach the summit and peer over the guardrail to the north, where the mountain drops precipitously to the Mondsee basin. If there’s one spot in the Salzkammergut I’d like to revisit, it’s this one.

Krakow to Salzburg, 1999: To St. Gilgen; September 15, 1999

I was taken aback this evening when rereading the journal of our first visit to Sankt Gilgen 22 years ago and discovered that by pure chance we were here on exactly the same dates as the last time, and that both of our climbs to Schafberg were on September 15th. Fated to be.

The weather is beautiful again this morning. For the fifteenth day in a row, and almost certainly the last for awhile. Rain is due to arrive this evening and looks to be our frequent companion for the rest of our stay in Austria.

I woke up this morning believing that we’d be taking a hike up on the Zwolferhorn instead - either by taking the cable car up there and hiking a loop, or possibly by hiking up there from our hotel and then catching a ride back down. I felt really conflicted about it but lacked confidence on how I and my knees would hold up on the 4,000’ climb to Schafberg’s summit. Last night I mapped out the loop on the Zwolferhorn, and Rachael loaded it to the Garmins. This morning though I mentally toyed with the idea of walking up to the Zwolferhorn instead - it’s only 3,000’. But if I can do 3,000’, I can do 4. I look out our window at the Scharfberg glowing in the morning sun and finally make up my mind.

Now or never. I map out the hike to Schafberg, Rachael uncomplainingly loads this too to the Garmins, and not long after breakfast I load up on ibuprofen and we start out. We want to get an early start because the day is due to cloud over in the afternoon and possibly bring thunderstorms by about dinner time.

Leaving Sankt Gilgen, rounding the end of the Wolfgangsee. We’re walking of course, to clear up any confusion. This biker just photobombed my shot.

Our Garmins tell us it’s a 5.2 mile hike, with 4,170’ of climbing. That doesn’t quite tell the story though, because the first mile and a half as we leave town and skirt the western end of the Wolfgangsee have only a modest climb and then a drop again back to lake level. When we get to the start of this first small climb the climbing page pops up on the Garmin and tells us the summit is five miles off, with an average gradient of 15 percent.

By the time we’re a mile and a half into the hike - almost a third of the total distance, really - we still have 4,000’ of climbing ahead of us and the average remaining gradient is now up to 17%.

This looks pretty bad, until Rachael comforts me by pointing out that at least we only have one climb ahead of us today. Once we get this one behind us we’re done.

Dropping back to lake level, and losing the small amount of climbing we’ve done so far.

Finally we’re off the roads, in the woods and on the climb. We’ll be in the woods for the next hour or so, climbing steadily and steeply. It’s work, but it’s not bad work. The trail surface is good and makes for technically easy climbing. It feels safe and it’s easy to find secure footing. For the most part we’re looking at trail and forest but in a few spots we get brief looks back into the valley and can see how far above the lake we’ve climbed.

Similar, but just one trail photo didn’t seem sufficient for almost 2,000’ of climbing.

Through a brief break in the trees we get a glimpse of the lake below - the Mondsee, I think.

Nearly four miles into the hike everything changes when we suddenly break out of the trees and into an open meadow with views all the way up to the summit. Absolutely stunning, and almost shocking because it’s such an abrupt transition. The scenery is spectacular for the rest of the way to the top, which now that we can see it seems tantalizingly close but is still far off and far up. The rest of the hike is especially difficult, the steepest sustained climb of the hike as it gains 1,200’ in the final mile.

Suddenly the summit is in sight and feels tantalizingly close.

Do you suppose cows know when they’re living the good life? Lying here in the sun with a killer view of the Wolfgangsee must be about as good as it gets if you’re a cow.

About twenty minutes later it’s hard to see that there’s been much advancement on goal. At the upper right you can see the cogwheel train angling down the slope.

A guesthouse about a thousand feet below the summit, and also a stop for the cogwheel train that will be along soon. You don’t have to walk up from the lake - you could take the train, either to here or all the way to the summit.

Rachael was a bit ahead of me and reached the tracks at the perfect time for a head-on shot.

Up until that last steep mile I really wasn’t having a hard time at all. That last mile though was tough. In the final mile I was counting steps between rest breaks and stopping intermittently to catch my breath. Pretty slow going, but I wasn’t alone - nearly everyone else was laboring as much and as slowly as I was. Except for Rachael, who walked steadily onward and upward and reached the summit maybe ten minutes before I did.

Rachael strides away, leaving me and everyone else well behind.

Another train. It’s a busy day and they’re running nonstop. There are at least three trains running today.

Really close now. I think Rachael is already up there, hollering down to me and beckoning which direction to go.

Having Rachael walk ahead worked out great! By the time I arrived she was up to the front of the beer line. We spent the next twenty minutes cooling off, resting up, and watching the alpine choughs swoop around and scavenge for table scraps.

An alpine chough, in case you didn’t know what these are. Pretty unmistakeable - a crow with a yellow bill and orange legs. Sharp!

While we sat we also watched this hang glider hang. I wonder where he started from.

After that we walked over to look down from the astonishing sheer vertical wall that drops off on the back side of the mountain. I’m amazed now that I’d forgotten how spectacular the last mile of the ascent is, but this viewpoint from the summit has lived in my memory ever since the first time. It was astounding then, it’s astounding now. We’ll worth a bit of pain, and probably one of the most rewarding hikes ever.

I’ll have to mark a date on the calendar: September 15, 2043. Maybe we’ll take the tram both ways next time.

No, I don’t think much has changed in the last 22 years.

If you want, you can take the cogwheel train to the top and stay at this mountain hotel.

Unfortunately we don’t have a photo of Rachael from that first climb; but if we did I’m sure you’d say she looks unchanged as well.

Looking off to the east, there’s a brilliant view of the Attersee.

There was never any question about how we were going to get back down. Descending those steep miles on foot was out of the question so we lined up and caught the next cogwheel train to the bottom. It’s a pretty neat experience, at first; but after a half hour of nonstop jarring motion in a hot, crowded train, suffocating behind our N-95 masks (mandatory, and for sale at the ticket office if you forgot your own), facing someone close enough that your knees are touching the experience loses some charm.

The bottom of the train line is in Wolfgang im der Salzkammergut, another resort town on the lake but on the opposite shore from Sankt Gilgen. You can’t really walk between the towns because there’s no lakeshore road through here because the cliffs leave no room for it. If you did walk it’s a two hour hike back up through the woods.

Instead, we caught the lake ferry. Another slow process - we had to wait about forty minutes for the next boat to arrive, and then it took about an hour to get to Saint Gilgen because it’s a milk run with four stop offs on the way. So, that was a bit tedious too; but no matter. The views from on board were great, and the overall experience for the day was priceless.

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Hiking stats: 6 miles, 4,300’

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Eva WaltersWhat a beautiful hike. It's great that you could do it again after exactly 22 years, and the photos this time are definitely better!
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2 years ago

Suzanne GibsonWow, glad you decided to do it! And what a fantastic hiker Rachael is, never even having to stop to catch her breath! I am so impressed. Hope your knees are ok today!
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2 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonActually, I did stop to catch my breath a few times but I do a lot better hiking then biking uphill. I love having the ability to slow way down with out falling over and I especially like that I can stop and start again easily. When bicycling, once I stop on a steep grade, I’m walking until there is a gradual grade.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonYup, the knees seem fine this AM. I’m so glad we took this hike again, and feel really fortunate to have had the day for it as I look out the window this morning and can hardly see the peak because the clouds and rain moved in overnight. Seize the day!
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Eva WaltersI’m so glad myself - we both are. Foolish to have even considered not taking it, looking back now. And you’re right, there have been great advances in the camera world in the last 22 years.
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2 years ago