Winter hiking in the Austrian Postalm

Winter trek on the Postalm plateau

Starting point

Postalm, car park P1. The car park is free of charge, but the Postalm is accessible via the Postalmstrasse toll road. I paid a reduced toll of €10, but the website quotes a price of €17.
 

Description of the hike

I take the Postalmstrasse up the serpentines and admire the snow-capped peaks around - the pointed Rinnkogel and the rounded Braunedlkogel. At Postalm (more in Attractions) I park in the P1 car park (free), put on my snowshoes and head up along the lift.

Behind the Rosserhütte hut, a marked trail leads along a forest path along a stream. There is a groomed trail for cross-country skiers. After about 40 minutes I arrive at Labenbergalm, a pair of wooden shepherds' huts below the pointed Labenberg. It's beautiful, the sun is shining and the spectrum of colours has shrunk to just three - white snow, dark trees, blue sky. In another quarter of an hour I arrive at the Pitscherbergeralm with a beautiful view of Dachstein. I stick to the track trodden by the ski mountaineers and soon I am standing at the base of the Pitscherberg (1720 m). About 100 more vertical metres to the cross and then I just admire the fantastic views. Above the Postalm, the aforementioned Rinnkogel and Braunedlkogel, behind it Gamsfeld, the highest mountain of the Salzkammergut, Dachstein, the Schladming Tauern, the Tennengebirge with the pointed Fritzerkogel, the mountains between Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, and in the northwest the nearby Osterhorn, Zwölferhorn, Schafberg above Wolfgangsee (toboggan run), Höllengebirge and Totes Gebirge.

After a short rest I descend the same way to Labenbergalm, where I join Postalmrunde 2 and head for the Huberhütte hut and the second peak on the route, Wieslerhorn (1603 m). On the plains I reach the base of the mountain, whose southern slope is almost snow-free. I follow the ridge towards the cross. From the top there is a beautiful view of the rippled basin between the Pitscherberg and the Osterhorn and of the Wolfgangsee with the Schafberg.

I have neither the time nor the energy for the other peaks of Postalm Windkogel and Thorhöhe in the short January day, so I return to Postalm around the Schafbergblickhütte hut. Just a short detour to the picturesque Postalmkapelle, built to commemorate the visit of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi), and then it's back down the meadows to the P1.
 

Difficulty

The route follows marked hiking trails, there are no dangerous places. I went snowshoeing in winter, Pitschenberg is a beautiful mountain for skialp, around Postalm there are groomed trails for cross-country skiing and winter hiking (Winter Wanderweg). However, the route is quite long and especially in the snow one gets tired faster.
 

Water availability

Refreshments and regional specialties at the cottages, open all year round.
 

Sleeping options

Accommodation is available on Postalm and in the valley, tourist area.
 

Mountain peaks

The ascent to the Pitscherberg and Wieslerhorn peaks offers views of the Salzkammergut, Totes Gebirge, Dachstein, Tennengebirge, Hochkönig and the Bavarian Alps, among others.
 

Danger

The trail is not dangerous, the whole time you walk along the marked trails. There are no exposed places.
 

Food

There are plenty of huts on the route, they work all year round.
 

Attractions

Postalm near Bad Ischl, Austria, is one of Austria's largest breweries. It lies on the plateau of the Salzkammergut mountains at an altitude of around 1300 m. It operates all year round and is easily accessible via the panoramic Postalmstrasse road. Despite being a tourist attraction in Salzburg and a ski resort, no large apartment buildings have sprung up and the alm has retained its picturesque character. In summer it is the starting point for marked trails in all directions, in winter there are a few lifts, cross-country ski trails and even dog sledding trails. The Alm is family-friendly, and some of the Postalm-Runde circuits can be driven with a sports buggy. For smaller children there are nature trails with animals. The name Postalm actually has a connection to the post office - during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ischl (Bad - the spa was added to the name Ischl later) was an important postal hub. Mail was delivered by horse-drawn carriages and it was at the Postalm that the horses were turned out to graze and recuperate. The scenic Postalmstrasse connecting Strobl and Abtenau has been in operation since the 1960s. Interestingly, it has two owners, but tolls are paid on both sides. It is open all year round and its maintenance is financed solely by toll revenue.