Dear Readers, the walk that we attempted today has been a bit of a bête noire for me on the past few visits to Obergurgl. In 2023, I’d just learned about my heart defect and so turned back when it seemed to be putting too much of a strain on the old vital organ. 2024 I was laying on my sofa with a broken leg, watching the Olympics. In 2025 we turned back again because it was too hot, and again I didn’t feel up to it. But today was a cool, grey, breezy day, and I felt much better than in previous years, so off we went. And en route we saw my first swallowtail butterfly of the year. What an absolute beauty this one was! I took it for a good omen, and so it proved to be.

This isn’t a particularly gruelling walk, though there is some uphill at the start, and the paths are narrow and can be rocky or slippery. But just look at those waterfalls, tumbling down from the Seen Platte above. The whole walk rings to the sound of water pouring over rock. Today it was very quiet – many tourists aren’t coming to Obergurgl because the lifts are closed. On the whole walk out, we didn’t pass another person. We did, however, pass this really lovely pink fluffy Alpine Thistle – I don’t remember noticing it before, but it’s absolutely gorgeous, like something from a Pixar children’s movie.

It’s nice to have a few distractions on the way uphill, as an excuse to stop and get one’s breath, and this butterfly was just such an excuse. The Lepidoptera were most obliging today! I think this could be a Large Copper (Lycaena dispar) – this one is a male, the female having brown spots on her wings. It was declared extinct in the UK in 1864, but is doing well in the mountainous areas of Austria.

Phew! We make it up the first incline, and I stop to take a shot of the Hangerer mountain – you can walk up to the top if you’re ultra fit, but this year, landslides have blocked the path, so the summit is left to the marmots and the eagles.

Up we go….

And there’s a brief pause for Toblerone (other chocolate is available) and for me to admire another species of orchid, the Black Vanilla Orchid (Gymnadenia nigra). The Austrian Alps really are a plant lover’s delight.

And finally we get to the turning point of the walk. Am Beilstein is the site of an Alpine building (now fallen down) from about the 17th century, but the site has been in continuous use since at least 9,000 years ago, firstly as a hunting shelter and then later as a shepherd’s hut and a hay store. There’s a mysterious man sitting on the seat above it who is probably my husband 🙂

The view down the valley is spectacular. And there’s still a big chunk of snow over the river.

 

 

 

 

 

And then it’s the slow scramble home, across the rocks and past the Alpine Thistle again, arriving at the Zirben Alm for an Almdudler and a noodle soup. I’m feeling pleased that the ‘curse of Am Beilstein’ has been broken, and even more pleased that we’ve seen such wonderful butterflies and plants. Let’s see what tomorrow brings….