Spring skiing on the Rax: Hauswechte, Blutrinne, Predigtstuhl, and Langermann

Those who carry their skis on their backpacks up to the Karl-Ludwig-Haus in April or May are often rewarded with the very best spring firn – and with the special pleasure of making the last turns of the ski touring season on wonderfully compact snow in warm sun and mild air. There is a phenomenon in late spring where the coarse-grained firn does not really become soft or deep even at extremely high temperatures. Therefore, sometimes even at 20 degrees plus around midday in the Langermann, you can still enjoy a magnificent firn descent.

Before that, however, you might want to try the Hauswechte above the Schneegraben, then descend directly through the Blutrinne, which in winter is often not advisable in this form.

The two west couloirs on the Predigtstuhl, on the other hand, sometimes offer a very different descent experience due to their exposure. Often the firn here remains fine-grained, and at the couloir exit around the Taupentalalm, the snow becomes deep and soft by midday. However, earlier in the late morning there is often the pleasure of a descent on the west couloirs on the Predigtstuhl almost like on delicate melting butter.

Most spring couloirs on the Rax are usually untracked already by the end of April, and if someone has left a track, it is hardly visible the next day at this time of year. Only the Langermann is still regularly skied in May, which in turn does not harm the snow consistency there at all...

When spring skiing on the Rax, the route will depend strongly on the current snow conditions. Often you will only decide at the Karl-Ludwig-Haus whether the Hauswechte or the Schneegraben are still worthwhile, or if you'd rather ascend directly to the Predigtstuhl to ski one of the west couloirs. Perhaps you will also find at the Taupentalalm that the opposite Nordkar under the Heukuppe is worth a detour. And if the snow is already very scarce, most descents will be attempted directly in the Langermann, which in some years is still good to ski even in early June. After the first descent on the Göbel-Kühn-Steig, you can still decide whether a re-ascent for a second descent is worthwhile…

The following trail description is therefore only one of many possibilities:

You begin your ascent at the Preiner Gscheid, where you follow the summer path towards the Waxriegelhaus, then continue on the Schlangenweg towards the Karl-Ludwig-Haus. Sometimes you can still strap on your skis at the Schlangenweg and ascend over a steep snowfield above the Karlgraben directly to the Törl. In this case, you only have to carry your skis a short distance afterward to reach the Hauswechte, where an ascent with skins is usually possible all the way up to the wide saddle in front of the Heukuppe, from where you can enjoy your first ski descent.

You then ski down through the Blutrinne into the upper Bärengraben almost to the Taupentalalm. For this, you have to keep far left on the Hauswechte before it flattens out and find a passage through the mountain pines. If this is no longer possible, ski flat along the edge of the cornice until you see a steep drop to the right into the ravine and look for a descent line over the cornice edge into the upper Bärengraben.

From the Taupentalalm, you can comfortably ascend with climbing skins over the southern Predigtstuhl west couloir, often without interruption on snow even very late in the year, all the way to the entrance of the Langermann.

To reach the northern Predigtstuhl west couloir for another descent, you have to continue skiing northwards towards Dreimarkstein, bypassing a small rocky hill on the east, which is the highest point of the Predigtstuhl, to then reach a flat saddle. From there, the northern west couloir initially leads in a gentle right curve, then further down straight down the valley and back to the Taupentalalm.

After re-ascending via the southern west couloir in your own ascent track, you will probably turn your attention to the Langermann at the top and explore the current skiing pleasure there. Anyone who then still considers a re-ascent on the Göbel-Kühn-Steig can surely be called insatiable...

At some point, you will take the return route with skis on your backpack via the Göbel-Kühn-Steig to treat yourself to a well-deserved break at the Waxriegelhaus. From there, it is not far back to the parking lot at the Preiner Gscheid.