Mountain Hike Rotmandlspitze: auf den Spuren der Bergknappen - Touren-Impression #1 | © Gerhard Pilz Mountain Hike Rotmandlspitze: auf den Spuren der Bergknappen - Touren-Impression #1 | © Gerhard Pilz

Rotmandlspitze: auf den Spuren der Bergknappen

Summit tour to "Rotmandl" in Obertal valley with medium difficulty - physical endurance required! The route runs along the trails of the historic mining district in Obertal valley.
This hike takes you to the summit of Rotmandlspitze and into the historic mining district of the Schladminger Tauern range. Right after the start of the tour the Nickel Museum Hopfriesen is the first higlight of the historical mining in the area. Along the way there are several more: the "Knappenkreuz" way point, the historic remains of miners' houses and the view to decayed entrances into the mines are just some of the historical tracks of mining history in Schladming and the Schladminger Tauern range.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness

Best season

January
February
March
April
May
June
November
December

The tour in numbers

challenging
Level of difficulty
15,7 km
Route
8:38 h
Time
1410 hm
Uphill
1261 hm
Downhill
2453 m
Highest point

Map & downloads

More information

From Schladming take provincial highway L722 (Rohrmoosstraße road) to Rohrmoos and at the roundabout continue on provincial highway L723 (Tälerstraße road) towards Untertal. In the village of Untertal make a right onto Obertalstraße road and follow it until you reach the trail head at Hopfriesen (end of the paved road).

You can easily reach the starting point in Hopfriesen with the hiking bus. From the hiking portal, take trail no. 776 in the direction of the Giglachseen lakes. Right at the start, it is worth making a detour to the nickel museum in Hopfriesen (+ 5 minutes' walk), the only preserved nickel smelting furnace in the Eastern Alps.

Trail no. 776 climbs moderately through the forest from the head of the valley, then crosses to the right below a rock step and you reach the other side of the Giglachbach stream via a bridge. Shortly afterwards you reach the (unmanaged) Lackneralm. Here you cross the stream again and continue along the forest path or the hiking trail (which cuts between the hairpin bends of the forest road) until you reach the Knappenkreuz (a memorial cross in honour of the mountain blessing and for the mining work in the Giglachtal) shortly before the Landauersee

Continue along the wide path to the Giglachalmen, where the Giglachbach meanders beautifully through the alpine meadows. At the Giglachalmen huts, you cross the Giglachbach stream again and shortly afterwards cross back over to the other side of the stream at the crossroads with trail no. 775 (hiking trail towards Duisitzkarsee lake). From here it is only a few minutes' walk to the huts on the north-east shore of the Lower Giglachsee.

At the crossroads by the huts, continue along hiking trail no. 702 (Schladminger Tauern Höhenweg) in the direction of Vetternkar and Rotmandlspitze. The path climbs moderately up to the Vetternkar, where you will come across the remains of a miner's dwelling. To the left of the ruins, the path begins to become steeper and steeper and leads with a few hairpin bends to the Rotmandlspitze, the highest point of the tour at 2,453 metres. The route continues over the Rotmandlscharte and below the Sauberg over a large boulder slope slightly downhill to the Kruckeckscharte.

From the Kruckeckscharte, the route descends in large serpentines - with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain scenery - to the Keinprechthütte, where you have well earned a break. From the Keinprechthütte, follow hiking trail no. 774 out of the valley to the (unmanaged) Neualm and then on to the Eschachalm in Obertal, from where the bus will take you back to Rohrmoos and Schladming.
 

Visit the Nickelmuseum at Hopfriesen. Information about opening times at www.wildewasser.com

Also visit Schladming's town museum to extend your knowledge on the mining history: http://museum.schladming.at

With the Planai buses from Schladming (Planet-Planai, Lendplatz) or Rohrmoos (Rohrmoos-Zentrum) to Obertal - bus stop Hopfriesen. With the buses of the same line (from bus stop "Eschachalm") back to Schladming and Rohrmoos. 

Parking is available at the hiking trail head in Hopfriesen. If the lot is already full, use the parking lots at Wehrhofalm (out of the valley - additional walking time: 30 minutes).

Tourist information: www.schladming.com

Information about bus schedules: www.planaibus.at

360° drone images

Get yourself an overview with our 360° drone images:

  • Hiking map ‘Hiking WEST’ available at the information offices in the region.
  • Schladming hiking map, 1:25,000, available at the Schladming information office.
  • Hiking map Schladming-Dachstein, 1:50,000, available at the information offices in the region.
  • Hiking guide Schladming-Dachstein by Herbert Raffalt, available at the information offices in the region.

 

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