Experience the sunrise on the mountain

4:30 am – I must be crazy. How could I have been persuaded to get up now? Half asleep, I drag myself into the bathroom, the shower at least refreshes me a little. Gradually I bow to my fate and slip into the hiking clothes. I wanted it that way myself. I really wanted to be part of a sunrise hike. I’ve hiked the Loseggalmen and the Mahdriedl countless times and it’s always beautiful up there. The steady climb, mostly with a view of the Gosaukamm with the bishop’s cap, leaving everyday life behind with every turn and enjoying the silence of nature. Splendid! I don’t mind getting up „normally“ early either, because you should be out and about in the mountains soon anyway to escape the midday heat. But I’ve never managed to actually get to the top before the sun does. It’s still dark this time when I leave the house and drive to the meeting point, the Salzburger Dolomitenhof.

Get up with the sparrows

Other early risers are already waiting there to start the sunrise tour. Some look as if they are already here voluntarily. Others, like me, can’t even believe that they’re already there – at least physically. There comes Georg Bergschober, who will accompany us. At 5.30 a.m. he is already outrageously cheerful and greets us in a friendly manner. He briefly explains what awaits us today. We will hike up the old trail to the Loseggalmen. There it will be just right to greet the sun, which will come out from behind the Gosaukamm. After a good breakfast, we continue to the Mahdriedl, from where we can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view, before heading back down into the valley. Enough talking, let’s get started. Past the chicken coop, nothing is stirring there yet, the chickens are still in their feathers…

Just in time for sunrise

From the Salzburger Dolomitenhof it goes uphill past the Alpendorf and left into the forest. Soon we are on the old trail to the Loseggalmen. It’s steadily improving, the conversations are becoming fewer. Georg now knows his group a bit and adjusts the pace so that everyone can keep up. On the way he tells stories about Annaberg, the majestic mountains all around and the people here. Yes, of course, Georg also knows Marcel Hirscher, probably the most famous Annaberger. For a moment, the group forgets the effort and listens to the great skier’s journey. Whether it’s Marcel Hirscher’s role model or the prospect of stopping at the hut soon, the participants tackle the last stretch again with energy. And then we stand in front of the Loseggalmen and can’t believe it: the sun is peeping out a bit between the rugged rocks of the Gosaukamm. Cell phones and cameras are pulled out and one wonderful picture after another is taken of the sunrise. We can’t get enough of the view!

Sonnenaufgang bei den Loseggalmen / Sunrise at the Loseggalmen

A breakfast on the alpine pasture

Speaking of which, after a while our stomachs start to bite and we go to the Langfeldhütte, where Marianne and Hias greet us in a friendly manner. They have already set the table for us in the living room. There is good coffee, real farmer’s bread and butter, as well as homemade jams. The cheese that is eaten up here comes from the cows that belong to the farm. The cows that have already grown out of calf age but are not yet milked are allowed to spend the summer on the alp. They can be found in the area around the Alm and enjoy the fine herbs and freedom up here. They just look cute with their big wide eyes – but they are not cuddly toys! Normally they ignore the hikers for the most part and eat comfortably along the way. Nevertheless, you should never lose sight of them and move on quickly. Some cows assume that we might have something good in our backpack for them, another animal might just be bitten by an insect and be frightened by it.

Frühstück auf der Alm / Breakfast on the alpine pasture

Marianne hat ein Schnapserl für die Gruppe / Marianne offers a good Schnaps

Gestärkt geht es weiter Richtung Mahdriedl. / Strengthened it goes on

We therefore keep a respectful distance from them as we set off on our last stage to the Mahdriedl. stop, no! Marianne won’t let us move on without Schnapserl! We toast each other and enjoy the pleasant sharpness, which gives us a welcome momentum on the last few meters of altitude.

On the Mahdriedl

Between cranberry and blackberry bushes (the berries aren’t quite ripe yet, otherwise I would have lost touch with the group…) we now hike up to the Mahdriedl. The sun has now fully appeared over the Gosaukamm, but it is not yet as hot as in the midday heat. A perfect start to the day! My gaze wanders over the wonderful panorama that stretches from the Bischofsmütze over the Niedere and Hohe Tauern to the Tennengebirge and further into the Salzach Valley and goes back to the fellow hikers. All faces show a satisfaction with oneself and the world that one can perhaps only feel up here. We got over it, got up very early, have about a two-hour hike in our calves and can now stand on this beautiful patch of earth and feel very sublime. Far away is everyday life, deep down in the valley. We listen to the bees humming, cowbells ring in the distance and we are right in the middle and yet far away. Everyone has their own thoughts and some immortalize them in the summit book.

View from Mahdriedl after sunrise (c)wanderdörfer

Are you also in the mood for being on the mountain in front of the sun?

Then sign up for the sunrise hike in Annaberg right away. Start is every Monday in summer, now at 5.30 a.m. (later then later :), because the sun does not always rise at the same time during summer/autumn). Participation in the hike is free with the TennengauPlus Card. The good breakfast is available for €12 per adult and €8 per child on the Loseggalm.

Tip: If you come from the Alm in the late morning, then this is the best time to really refresh yourself in the forest pool in Lungötz and maybe also for a nap in the shade…