The Weissee glacierwelt, also referred to as Weissee (or even better with a 'ringel-s') is really worth a visit in the summer. During our holiday we have chosen the warmest day to make the trip up to the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park. Admittedly with the gondola, but for the real mountain pros this Weissee glacier can also be climbed.
We chose the gondola for several reasons. With an 8-year-old it's quite a climb up and my condition sometimes leaves something to be desired 😉 . In addition, we have already done quite a bit of walking and climbing this week and after an hour's drive at the parking lot at the Weissee we found out that Lotte had forgotten her mountain boots. So our little lady had to go upstairs in her slippers!
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Down in the valley it is 34° this day! A perfect day to discover the Weissee because the higher you go, the colder it naturally gets.
The journey from our stay to Uttendorf initially seemed to be 'only' 30 minutes according to the navigation. Mistake, which turned out to be 30 minutes to the bottom of the valley… and then we had another 15 kilometers into the mountains. So in total we were on the road for almost an hour. But what a beautiful environment, including the autoroute itself.
Tip:Don't have a strong stomach? Then an auto pill is recommended. It is a mountain road full of hairpin bends (13 pieces) that can make you sick if you're not careful. We (read:Lotte and I) just made it without a pill, but I don't think it should have taken 15 minutes longer.
A few hundred meters before the parking lot you pass a beautiful lake, where we shot some kodaks .
Arriving at the parking lot (free parking) we have been dubbing for a while. Do we take vests upstairs or not? In the end we decided not to. In our case (with 34° in the valley) that went fine, but is it below 30° in the valley and is it windy? Then I would tie long sleeves around your waist. It's a lot cooler upstairs.
Read also: the Krimml waterfalls in Austria
From the parking lot it is only a short distance to the gondolas. get started! I have never seen it so quiet in a lift in Austria, but that is of course because I only go there during winter sports.
After the gondolas (cable car Rudolfshütte I and II) we have added a lubrication phase. A beautiful sunny day in the mountains… then greasing is so handy. Immediately after these gondolas you arrive at the Weissee itself. What a fantastic place in the middle of the mountains, at 2315 meters altitude. The water of the lake has a greenish color and all the stones around it have a 'glitter'. Such a lake is beautiful in itself, but the mountains with snow in the background make it an idyllic picture.
There is also a hotel here, Berghotel Rudolfshütte. Nice idea if you are traveling around to spend the night here!
Luc is unstoppable and immediately starts a descent – without a path – to the water. Lotte and I walk down the footpath, which is also a challenge for her with slippers on. After sitting here for a while, we walk around the mountain top to the start of the chairlift. It only gets more beautiful!
From 2315 meters you can go even further up the Weissee glacier, to 2600 meters altitude. It's a strange sensation to step into a chairlift without skis, but it's fine. This lift only runs from July and in good weather. Yet another reason to go to the Weisse Gletcherwelt on your most beautiful day of vacation, because you don't want to miss this.
When we take the chairlift over a mountain ridge, it gets quite chilly for a while. Mmmm, should we have brought the long sleeves? But no, after that one ridge the weather is good and once we are at the top the weather is wonderful.
During the elevator ride (quite long) my breath is taken by 'the greatness' of this Weissee glacier. How beautiful it is here! All you hear is the murmur of the melting water of the glacier. And the chatter of the children in our case 😉 . Enjoy with a capital G, that's it.
We are getting closer and closer to the snow. The chairlift goes right over it and we have a discussion. Is this snow what we see, or some kind of sand? Because so much snow has already melted, you only see 'white spots', which is why we are a bit dubious.
As soon as we get off the Medelzkopflift, it's clear. It's snow! Unbelievable actually. In the valley it is 34° and here is just snow! We climb and clamber over a lot of rocks and our children look like mountain goats! Even on slippers it is a breeze for Lotte, the enthusiasm radiates from it.
We climb to a kind of hill where there is still enough snow to let off steam. Sledding down, jumping off a rock into the snow, having a snowball fight, it's all possible. And so we do it too 😉 .
It is an environment where mountains, snow, lakes and a great view come together, breathtaking.
Secretly it's so nice that we don't really want to go down anymore, but the lift closes at 4.10 pm so we have to. I still shout 'shall we walk down' but that turns out to be a bit too overconfident 😉 . So we'll just take the elevator.
All the way downstairs we treat ourselves to a delicious schnitzel and a four-piece white wine with a large lager. We take a breather on the terrace and the kids fly into the playground at Alpengasthof Enzingerboden. Youth is not tired yet 😛 .
Read also: Baumzipfelweg, the expensive treetop walk
Unforgettable. If you're in the area, don't miss this place. Maybe the glacier at Kaprun is even more beautiful, I can't tell you that. But since the Weissee trip is free with the Salzburgerland Card and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier on Kaprun costs more than € 40.00 per person, the choice was made quickly for us. Do you really want to go skiing? Then you can't go to the Weissee glacier in the summer, but maybe you can go to Kaprun.
With the gondolas and the chairlift, this trip is possible for (almost) everyone. If you don't want to climb and clamber too much, you can easily go up in your regular sneakers (or slippers 😉). Do you have mountain boots? Definitely put on! That makes it all that little bit easier.
Secretly I want to go back there one more time to skip some of the lifts and walk, I think it's a kick!
Have you ever visited the Weissee Glacierwelt in the summer?
TIP:We are staying this holiday in Viehhofen, at Landal Greenparks
Rehrenberg. An excellent location with perfect apartments and, in our opinion, really centrally located for the many trips we want to make. We drove for a maximum of an hour to the furthest locations we've been to, so it's very doable!
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