Edelrautenhütte - Dreistecken - Großer Bösenstein

The Rottenmann Tauern are another major subrange of styrian Lower Tauern. As a focal point of our (supposedly quite easy) day-hike we picked a highest peak of "Rottenmanner", the mighty Großer Bösenstein (2448m above the sea level). We´ve paid the toll (6 EUR) to get to a parking lot near Edelrautenhütte at approximately 1700m above the sea level and started from there.

We intended to ascend through the valley of Ochsenkar to the mountain pass of Dreisteckengrat, than make a diversion to the summit of Dreistecken before returning to the trail running on top of the ridge of Schwarzkarmauer up to the peak of "Big Nasty One". The trail (as well as the following sections running westward to Rottenmanner Hütte) is listed as a standard hiking route and prevailing part of it fits this listing perfectly. The twist is, that particular one kilometer stretch of this trail going around the cliffs of Schwarzkarmauer should be listed as proper mountaineering as it involves extensive climbing in both secured and unsecured rocky terrain with hundreds of meters deep chasms on both sides of the ridge. It took us more than two hours to get past this short passage and three and a half hour in total to hike from Dreisteckeckengrat to Großer Bösenstein, while - according to the trail signs - it should´ve been an estimated three hour hike from Dreisteckengrat via Großer Bösenstein down to Edelrautenhütte. As I consider myself to be a quite seasoned hiker I found this estimation completely unrealistic. This is also the sole reason why I list this trek as mountaineering and not as a mere hiking.

The photos unattached to a particular waypoint were taken during the ascent through the valley of Ochsenkar on route to Gefrorener See.