Nordkette, Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria

This was one of the first photos that I made around Innsbruck and the south-facing slopes of the Nordkette mountains were a clear draw for my eyes. That afternoon was both sultry and sweltering, but snow persisted on the tops of those mountains as if to show it was cooler up there. It makes me wonder now if folk do come to these parts during the summer only to venture higher for cool air much as others like my late mother sought out coastal sea breezes.

What I had not realised when I capture the view that you see above is that it featured where I was to go next day. On a higher resolution version of the photo, I can pick out easily enough the cable car stations of Seegrube and Hafelkar together with the cables linking these with Hungerberg. Seegrube also sits near Grubegg and Hafelkar offers an easy ascent of nearby Hafelkarspitze. The way up may be steep, but that is the price of gaining extensive views of other rocky prominences. Even with the steep gradients, the slopes are criss-crossed with walking trails, so it is possible to spend a good amount of time exploring them.