Schiestlhaus - Hochschwab - Voisthaler Hütte (Hochschwab 2/3)

The Hochschwab massif is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria. The highest peak is also called Hochschwab and is 2,277 metres above sea level. The extensive limestone plateau covers an area of about 400 km² and is bounded in the east by the Seeberg Saddle and in the west by the Präbichl.

The second day we originally planned to hike the ridge as far as the Zinken peak and then descend to the valley on route to Voisthaler Hütte (a mountain lodge operated by Alpenverein). Due to the massive amounts of fog encompassing the southern slopes of Hochschwab massif we decided to stay in the upper parts of the ridge as long as it was possible. Thus we´d hiked two minor summits, Hochwart and Zagelkogel, instead (there´s also a huge sinkhole just beneath Hochwart worth visiting even though its edge is the only accessible part of it) before descending via G’Hackte, a steep rocky path secured by steel ladders, cords and chains. Although the G’Hackte has been classified in the easiest category of alpine secured routes, it has to be mentioned that its overall difficulty rises considerably if the lower stretches of route have been covered by snow. There’s been a couple of days of heavy snowfall during the week prior to our arrival (end of September) and there was a thick layer of heavy snow even upon the steepest parts of the trail almost totally covering both the ladders and the railing. Within such conditions it would be strongly advised to use at least some light walking crampons and to access G’Hackte with utmost caution (especially when descending as the ascent is always easier). We stayed at Voisthaler Hütte for the night.

When hiking with heavy backpack like we did, the "Difficult" listing seems quite appropriate. Otherwise it would feel more like "Moderate".