It was a discovery that made me pause: The first page from August 15, 1957 in the tour book, slightly yellowed, in the handwriting of a twelve-year-old – my twelve-year-old father.
I had always skipped over this exact entry on the first page until now – twelve years old, every summer at the Hannoverhaus, marking trails with his father, my grandfather. Under the care of his mother, my grandmother, hut keeper at the Hannoverhaus. A childhood in the mountains that later shaped mine as well.
And what could I read there:
My place in the mountains
The story begins in the mountaineering village of Mallnitz, the small high-altitude health resort in the Hohe Tauern National Park, which is somehow just a point on the map – but for me, it’s home, heritage, and the heart of my family biography. My grandparents came to Mallnitz about 85 years ago, a popular tourist destination, also due to its development through the Tauern Railway. They started as hut keepers at the Hannoverhaus, a base camp for those wanting to climb the Ankogel – also known as the cradle of alpinism.
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More InformationThe Ankogel – at 3,252 meters, the eponymous mountain of the Ankogel Group – is thus more than just a peak. It is a silent chronicler of those people who have visited, conquered, or simply marveled at it over the decades. Those who ascend from Mallnitz with the Ankogelbahn feel the change with their first step on the mountain: from everyday life to the extraordinary, from noise to clarity.
The tour to the Ankogel is no walk in the park
ALPIN – The Mountain Magazine has prepared this high-altitude tour with climbing (I+) for us. In my father’s stories, which included wind and weather as well as the hardships and dangers of the ascent, there was always a lesson. That’s how they are, the summits, rewarding goals and at the same time character-building.
Traces that remain
Today, decades later, I encounter the young generation of hikers, mountaineers with high-tech equipment, children with shining eyes on the over 150 km of hiking trails in and around Mallnitz. They are the mountain enthusiasts of today – digital, freedom-loving, freedom-seeking. And yet the experience remains the same: the contact with nature, the view into the valley, the slow realization that the essential is never loud.
For all those who set out – whether for the first time or on a search for traces – the mountains are silent teachers. They demand nothing but reverence – and give back what we often seek: perspective and orientation.
From the Hannoverhaus to the present
Tourism has changed, yes. But Mallnitz has remained true to itself. As an ÖAV-Mountaineering Village, it focuses on gentle development instead of mass experiences. On quality instead of speed. And also on hosts who know what a true mountain moment means – because they have experienced it themselves.
When I welcome guests today, I tell many stories that my father has already told. They are still true. That remains.
MISSION 3000 to the Ankogel
For all those who want to benefit from the comprehensive knowledge and experience of a mountain guide and want to climb the Ankogel, Klaus Alber (+43 676 526 4717) tauernclimb.com
offers in cooperation with Alpine Pearls a summit tour to the great Ankogel. Price advantage for guests of an Alpine Pearls
member establishment.
