Steep Price for a Steep Hike to Vordere Kesselschneid

With the previous spontaneous hike to Pyramidenspitze (1997 m) still fresh in my mind, I was eager to reach the next mountain peak of Vordere Kesselschneid (2002 m) in the Kaisergebirge range and cross the 2 km boundary, since I did not manage to do so last time due to time constraints.

This time, I made sure to plan ahead and avoid any pitfalls from the previous attempt. I bought gaiters to protect my lower legs from the snow and ice, and I also packed less food and more hot water to keep me warm during the hike. I took some basic medicine and magnesium supplements to help with muscle cramps.

For the hike itself, I selected a more direct route to the final summit, skipping Petersköpfl (1745 m) and Elferkogel (1916 m) to save time and energy. Instead of looking for a bigger group to hike with, I decided to go with Bohdan from my recent hike to Krottenkopf (2086 m).

We took the second earliest train from Munich to Kufstein, started the hike around 7:30. The first section to Ritzaualm (1161 m) went by pretty quickly. On the last attempt, the clouds were covering the valley, so we stopped many times to take pictures and have group breaks. This time, the weather was clear, so we limited ourselves to a few quick photo stops and went straight up.

After passing Vorderkaiserfeldenhütte (1388 m) we started the real ascent among snow and frozen spruce trees. The trail was mostly packed down, so we could walk without shoe spikes, but it still slowed me down compared to normal hiking. We made good progress until the crossroads to Petersköpfl (1745 m), where the packed trail ended. From there, we had to trudge through fresh snow all the way to the last summit.

The next section to Einserkogel (1924 m) was quite annoying in my mind. The trail (or lack thereof) goes through a "forest" of small spruce trees and bushes. While the route is kind of visible because of blank spots among the trees, you still have to constantly dodge branches and bushes, which slows you down significantly. On top of that, you can't see far in any direction, so the section feels never-ending.

After passing Zwölferkogel (1912 m) and descending down a small via ferrata, we reached Vogelbad at around 12:00. At this point, I already knew we were close to our goal and we can make it back to Kufstein before dark.

We pushed on to the Pyramidenspitze (1997 m) peak. The route was quite straining because of the deep snow and strong wind. Bohdan led the way, but his footsteps were disappearing as soon as he made them, so I had to make up my own route.

Reaching the top by 12:15, we took a few minutes to take pictures and check out the via ferrata route going down to Walchsee, but we didn't linger long because of the cold wind. We started our descent towards Vordere Kesselschneid (2002 m).

After passing the small saddle between the two peaks, we ascended the final stretch to Vordere Kesselschneid (2002 m), the summit without a cross. The wind was even stronger here, so we took only a few pictures of the top at 12:45 and looked at the route to Hintere Kesselschneid (1995 m) before starting our descent. It looked quite sketchy, with a lot of exposed rock and ice, so we decided to skip it for now. I'll keep it for the future, maybe combining it with the via ferrata route from Walchsee.

Once we were ready with our photos, we started our descent back to Öchselweldkar. The trail was steep and slippery, with a lot of stones and ice hidden beneath the snow. We had to be very careful with each step to avoid slipping, although we did manage to slip a few times anyway. We also saw mountain goats and some fox tracks on the way down. At some point, I also noticed another hiker reaching the summit of Pyramidenspitze (1997 m) alone by following our tracks. He then turned around and went back the way he came, without descending to the river valley.

At an early point still close to the summit, I slipped off an edge of a cliff and started falling down a steep drop. While falling, I got a leg stuck between two rocks, but it didn't stop my fall. To avoid bending and breaking my leg, I slammed my hands against the rocks, trying to catch myself and slow down. While this plan worked, I still felt a lot of pain in my leg, so I stopped to massage it a bit before continuing down. It hurt, but I knew it wasn't broken, just a bruise and some scratches. After a few minutes of massaging, I started feeling less pain in my leg, which prompted me to realize that my hands were also hurting a lot from the impact. In fact, I couldn't move my right pinky finger at all! There was nothing I could do about it at the moment, 11 km from Kufstein, so I just put the hiking sticks in my left hand and continued down.

After finally going down to Kaiserquelle, the rest of the way back to Ritzaualm (1161 m) was more or less flat and uneventful. This section of the route is going through a forest, so the wind doesn't reach here, making it much warmer. The whole way to the alm, which we reached at around 15:30, I was complaining about how annoying the trail was, going up for no apparent reason. Now that I think about it, it was probably my pain making me grumpy.

At the hut, I asked for some painkillers, got two tablets and kept going down. Given it's my second time visiting the Ritzaualm (1161 m), I have only positive things to say about it. The staff is friendly, the food is good, and the prices are reasonable for an Austrian alpine hut. I highly recommend checking out the website for the opening hours and visiting it.

Continuing the way down, I asked Bohdan for another stop at Gasthaus Veitenhof (724 m) to get some mountain cheese, the same one I bought last time. Despite the earlier hour and more visitors on the trail, the hut was almost empty, with the staff cleaning up before closing. I didn't want to make small talk because of the situation with my hand, so I just quickly bought the cheese and left. Last time, however, I remember the employee telling me about how american soldiers stationed nearby used to come to the hut for some rest after their field exercises in the mountains.

The rest of the way back to Kufstein was uneventful. We had to hurry as usual to reach the train on time, making it a few minutes before departure. On the train, I finally took off my gloves to check my hand. The finger was swollen and purple. I came home, cleaned the scratches and the smeared blood from my leg, took a shower and fell asleep. The next day, I went to an Orthopedics clinic to discover my finger is fractured and my ligament is also damaged. I got a loose cast for the finger and convinced my family doctor to prescribe me painkillers. They weren't necessary for this hike, but I'd prefer to have them ready for future hikes, just in case.

Overall, this hiking route is great and offers quite some stunning views of the surrounding peaks, the taller Ellmauer Halt (2342 m) peak in particular. The view towards Walchsee and in the direction of Salzburg is also quite nice. On a sunny day, you can even see Wendelstein (1838 m) in the Bavarian Alps. But I would heavily discourage doing this hike in winter, especially without proper equipment and experience. The snow and ice make the trail much more difficult and dangerous, especially on the descent. We crossed several warning signs and closed trail signs, which were there for a reason. And most importantly, make sure to hike with a partner who can help you in case of an emergency.

P.S. In hindsight, I was lucky to not break my finger completely or hurt other limbs. Still, in terms of physical conditioning, I felt quite good during the hike, with no signs of fatigue or cramps compared to my previous attempt. The cheap tall gaiters from Decathlon did their job well, keeping my lower legs dry and warm.