Hike Weißsee - Kalser Tauern

If you start this tour from the cable car or next to the huge chalet Berghotel Rudolfshütte, a short descent directly to the lake awaits you first. On warm summer days, even daredevils go swimming here. It is here about half a kilometer with a descent of less than 70 meters

Initially, we follow a comfortable path around the lake, before our path disconnects and begins to climb up into the saddle

The path begins to climb and when looking back you can see a small but very nice lookout hill Schafbühel and a little below its top and the mountain hotel Rudolfshütte. The Hocheiser rock pyramid (3,206 m above sea level) can also be seen in the distance.

Our path turns from the lake into a small valley. You can already see the big cross in the saddle of Kalser Tauern. The dominant feature of this view, however, is the nicely pointed Tauerkogel mountain

The views of the Weißsee are simply breathtaking

The saddle is slowly approaching and the flowers and grass disappear and the path leads through the stone fields. On the surrounding rocks you can see the work of a glacier, which disappeared not long ago

Probably the only difficulty of the otherwise simple ascent is the traverse of the snow slide (mid-summer), where hiking poles will certainly come in handy for greater certainty.

After an hour of climbing from the Rudolfshütte, we are in a saddle on the main ridge of the Alps. There is a sitting area and a really distinctive cross. It is also the border point between Salzburg and East Tyrol. For centuries, it was an important business link

Of course, there is a signpost in the saddle, which will tell you how much you have left to walk to the next „destination“. You can descend from here to Kals or if you have to return the same route, it is ideal to extend the trip with an ascent to Medelzkopf, whose peak still seems quite high above you, even if it is only 250 meters above sea level.