Length: 3.30 mi
Elev. gain: 1358 ft
Time: 4:39:39
The hike:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/via-ferrata-intersport-donnerkogel-1680829
I had dreamed of doing this via ferrata ever since I first heard about it a few years ago. When I went to Austria in May, I had planned to do this hike, but unfortunately, the trail wasn’t yet open yet due to snow coverage. Still, I was determined to do it this year. So I planned another trip to Austria this month, hoping to check this off my bucket list. Luckily, both the weather and trail conditions were perfect this time.
I hired a private guide for safety reasons, and also because they provided the necessary equipment, which saved me the hassle of bringing my own.
After meeting my guide, we took the lift to the top of the mountain.
It was a short hike to the start of the via ferrata. My guide walked at a very brisk pace, and I found it hard to keep up with him.
This climb turned out to be much harder than I had expected. Many of the foot holds were very far apart, making them difficult for me to reach and requiring much more upper-body strength to pull myself over. Before long, I was out of breath and had slowed down significantly.
Soon, I realized I was holding up a long line of hikers behind me and had to let many of them pass. This made me feel pressured to climb faster, which only left me even more exhausted.
The views throughout the hike were great, though.
Here’s my guide.
This is a very popular via ferrata with lots of hikers, most of them passed me and left me in the dust.
Finally, I reached the Stairway to Heaven — the 40-meter (130-foot) Sky Ladder — which is the main feature of the via ferrata I came for.
It wasn’t as scary as it looked, although the ladder occasionally swung violently. But as long as I held on tightly, it wasn’t a problem.
And the view from the ladder was great.
After the Sky Ladder, there was another section of climbing, but I was so exhausted that I decided to bail out. So we started making our way back to the lift station.
The lift ride down was as scenic as the ride up.
This is by far the hardest via ferrata I have ever done. I’m glad it’s finally off my bucket list.