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| The Grimming, 2350m colossus |
Riding round the
Grimming, a huge colossus of rock, 2350m high lording it over the Enns valley,
is a circuit we have never left until so late in the year – but what a
spectacle!
It wasn’t
promising at first: 2oC and a thick blanket of cloud. No sign of the
Grimming. But soon the giant began to make its presence felt, the cloud broke
up within minutes revealing snow-capped peaks and grey, bare rock above a riot
of golds, yellows and greens on the lower flanks.
The circuit
follows tiny roads with little traffic.
The Enns valley is around 600m and the route climbs out of Irdning to 850m in
sharp stages through woods. It runs through the meadows of the higher valley to
Bad Mittendorf then swings left down to the Salza Reservoir.
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| The Salza Reservoir a blaze of colour |
“Reservoir”
sounds pretty bland. The Salza river once ran through a steep narrow gorge now
flooded behind a 50m high dam. The water is so clear and still, that peering
down, you could be looking into a tree-lined abyss. The reflection of the autumn
trees doubles the impact of the sun on the glowing golds, browns, reds and
green.
A barrier blocks
the way. The route is marked as a bike route but signposted forbidding traffic
or hikers. The road surface is sometimes broken, rocks sometimes tumble from
the towering cliffs on one side of the track. On the other side, the water,
with a fence often broken and rotten. But you can ride through – probably at
your own risk.
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| The water so clear - it's like peering into a tree-lined abyss |
A couple of
short, dark tunnels bring the track to the dam and from there, after a short
sharp climb its back to the Enns valley in a winding, steep descent.
As you ride round
the mountain, there are views of the Grimming from every angle. This is no
mountain for a Sunday afternoon stroll. But from below, its grey walls, topped
with a dusting of snow against the blue sky, and the colour spectacular on its
lower slopes, make it a great autumn circuit.
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| Coffee on board - in a flask in the bottle holder |
Log
64km 721 altitude
metres. Start and finish: Pruggern
Coffee
In a flask in my
bottle holder
You said it!
As a kid, I had a dream – I wanted to own my
own bicycle – John Lennon
(I had the same
dream but had to wait till I was 30)
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| The Grimming from the road towards Bad Mittendorf |
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| Near Bad Mittendorf - the mountain is ever present |
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| Profile of the circuit clearly shows the steep climb out of Irdning |
Fantastic photos, nice dusting of snow on the top.
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