So, luckily the snow was adequate but not too dangerous that we couldn't make the trek up the mountain. We did have to alter our path up though due to the possibility of avalanches on the direct route.It was crazy steep ascent (especially for this flat-lander from Wisconsin!) and very snowy. On the way up, we met another Austrian whom was taking a tractor to his cabin which was partway up the mountain and he invited us to stop by for schnapps before we continued on our way. It certainly warmed us up for a little while!
It took us around 3 hours, but we finally made it to the cabin. Tradionally, this cabin high in the mountains was used in summer when the farmer would take the cattle to graze high in the hills. A farmhand would live in the cabin during these months and milk the cows and produce cheese and butter and other longer lasting products to take back down to the town to sell later in the season. It is still used today when Johannes' aunt and uncle and cousins take the cattle up, but no one lives in the cabin full time during the summer. It is mostly used as a stay for them and other family members when hiking.
It took a long time to heat it with the firewood, but finally we were able to get it warm enough inside to remove our snowpants and skijackets and begin making lunch and melting snow for drinking water and doing dishes.
We stayed at the cabin for 3 nights, hiking around, watching sunrises/sunsets, and snowshoeing around the area. On the 29th, we snow-shoed to the highest point of the mountain, die Kampl, before hiking back down the mountain on the 30th.
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