№5 — Kitzbüheler Horn by bike
I have been skiing in the greater Kitzbühel area for more than 20 years now and always admired the look of the Kitzbüheler Horn. With the spire on top and the rugged rocks on the north-western face of the mountain, it provides an impressive view both in summer and winter.
Given my long history of skiing, I of course skied the mountain multiple times, which was particular interesting given the absence of artificial snow up until a few years ago. It was one of the few ski areas around Kitzbühel that only had natural snow and it was great.
Even though I have not spent quite as much time in the area during summer as I did during winter, I hiked the area quite often. Last year Silia and I hiked all the way from Oberndorf in Tirol to the top — a three- to four-hour hike one way. But one thing was missing from my list: I have never attempted the traditional seven-kilometer ascent from Kitzbühel to the Alpenhaus by bike. Every year, it is one of the deciding moments of the Austrian bike tour and I wanted to know if I can do it too.
I started my attempt at 7:30am with a temperature of 6°C and blue skies — perfect conditions although I would have appreciated a slightly higher temperature.
I reached the beginning of the official ascent in good shape and was eager to tackle the mountain. But three minutes and a 14.3% slope later, I was not so sure about it. Nevertheless, I managed to get all the way to the top despite heavy trucks passing and forcing me to get off my bike.
I have to admit, I had to stop three times to drink, get rid of my jacket, and rest. According to my GPS watch, the ascent took me roughly 1:23h — a fair time given my heavy mountain bike (I have neither a roadbike nor the proper shoes) and a 22.4% maximum slope. Compared to my comparably slow descent of 15 minutes, it took an eternity to get up there.
I am very happy that I attempted and succeeded this tour. On top I read about another thing to try next year — the Kitzbüheler Horn mountain run, which would be a nice continuation of the Streif Vertical-Up from 2015.
Click here to see my list of past experiences and ideas what to do next. If you have a suggestion for future new experiences, feel free to comment or drop me a message.
