The first 1.5 hours of the roughly 2 hour journey up to the Karwendelhaus are easy and thoroughly enjoyable, with no technical riding, beautiful views and not much height gain. However, the final 30 minutes up to the hut is steep and unrelenting. Keep your head down, keep grinding and remember that one of the best situated huts in Austria awaits you with a vast array of delicious food and beverages!

A wild and wonderful mountain hut nestled in a beautiful bowl, the Pfeisshütte is closed in winter but has a winter room should you need an emergency shelter.

The base for many mountain adventures, what Scharnitz lacks in culture and excitement it more than compensates in scenery and ambience!

Rumoured to be the largest area in the Alps which is not inhabited year-round, the Karwendel is utterly barren and beautiful in equal measure. Before you head into the park, be prepared for views, clear air and adventure!

Deep in the Inn valley, Jenbach is the link between the high mountains of the Karwendel National Park and civilisation.

The Hallerangerhaus mountain hut is closed in winter but which has an excellent and cosy little winter room in a small, separate building immediately north of the main hut. There are beds, blankets and a stove in the winter room but you'll need to take your own food, and taking a little gas stove is not a bad idea in case there's no fuel available for the hut stove.