Kaindl Hut

The Kaindl Hut (German: Kaindlhütte) is a privately run mountain hut at a height of 1,293 metres (4,242 ft) in the Kaisergebirge mountains in the Austrian state of Tyrol.

Location

The Kaindl Hut lies in the western part of the Kaisergebirge on an Alpine meadow, the Steinbergalm, and at the foot of the Zettenkaiser, Scheffauer and Hackenköpfe mountains. North of the Kaindl Hut is the rather unimpressive Gamskogel (1,448 m) and the wooded ridge of the Brentenjoch. The hut is located in the Wilder Kaiser nature reserve.

Access

• by car on the A12 (Austria) and A93 (Germany) motorway to the Kufstein Nord exit and then to the valley station of the Kaiser Lift, or to Kufstein Mitterndorf to the car park on the edge of the wood.

• by rail to Kufstein station and then on foot to the start of the trail in Kienbichl.

Approaches

There are several possible approaches to the Kaindl Hut. The easiest way to get to the hut is to catch the chair lift from the Brentenjoch and take a short walk on tracks, an ascent of only a few metres. Approaches from the valley are also possible and worthwhile:

• from the valley station of the chair lift in Kufstein via the Brentenjoch in 2.5 hours.
• from the "Aschenbrenner" mountain inn in 1.5 hours, also possible by bicycle.
• from the Hintersteiner See near Scheffau via the Walleralm in 2.5 hours.
• from Kufstein-Sparchen (Josef Madersperger monument) via the Duxeralm and Gamskogel in 3 hours.

Crossings

• Anton Karg Haus or Hans Berger Haus in the Kaisertal via the Bettlersteig trail, medium difficulty, duration: 2.5 hours.
• Grutten Hut via the Hochegg, Walleralm and Wilder Kaiser Trail, easy, duration: 5 hours.

Tour options

To the north is a gently sloping valley bowl, that is surrounded by rolling grass-covered mountains (‘’Grasbergen’’). Here there are many scenic and easy walks. Destinations, which can be taken in as part of a full day’s round trip, are the Brentenjoch, Gamskogel and Brandkogel. To the south, by contrast, are the jagged rock faces of the Wilder Kaiser.

• Scheffauer (2,111 m) along the Widauersteig trail in 2.5 hours (UIAA climbing grade I).
• Zettenkaiser (1,968 m) via the Kleinen Friedhof and the normal route in 2 hours (UIAA II).
• Hackenköpfe (2,126 m) and Sonneck via the Widauersteig and Scheffauer, difficult ridge crossing.
• various Alpine climbing routes (some for sport-climbers) on the north faces of the Scheffauer and Zettenkaiser.
• Climbing garden near the hut.