Winter at the Hannover Hut

Overview

These are photos I took on February 8th, 2010, during a beautiful and deeply wintery afternoon I spent in Mallnitz in Carinthia, Austria, and at the Hannover hut which is situated on 2729 meters on the ridge that separates the Austrian federal states of Carinthia (Kärnten) and Salzburger Land. This hut, like almost all the mountain huts of the German and Austrian Alpine clubs, is shut down during winter, and even though the top station of the Ankogelbahn cable-car is only 80 meters below, there was not a soul apart from me up at the Hannover hut. In summer though, it is strongly frequented, as it's easily and effortlessly accessible thanks to the existence of the Ankogelbahn which brings people up to 2631 meters, and at the same time it's the base for the ascent of the Ankogel (3246 meters) up the normal route and is one of the resting-points along the very popular Tauernhöhenweg trail.
It took some effort going up those 80 remaining meters in height through the often thigh-deep snow, as since the latest very heavy snowfalls here in Austria nobody had gone to the hut so there was no real trail, but it was well worth it! The view to the Ankogel, the Hochalmspitze and to all the peaks of the Glockner group, the carinthian mountains and the Lienz Dolomites in the south as well as Hochkönig and Steinernes Meer in the north was of maximal clarity! I hope the photos attached can give you the right impression!

Yours truly,

Eric

Video

A slideshow of the photos I took that day at the Hannover hut, accompanied by my own recording of sonata no. 9, titled "La Messe Noire", for piano solo op. 68 by Alexander Scriabin (Russian composer, lived from 1872 until 1915).

Images

View Winter at the Hannover Hut Image Gallery - 46 Images