Hochkedl

The Hochkedl is a 2,558-metre peak in the Reißeck range of the High Tauern. It stands on the border between the villages of Mühldorf and Lurnfeld in Carinthia. The Seescharte col at 2,400 metres separates it from the 2,662-metre Kleine Leier to the north-east. To the south-west the 2,336-metre Staffenhöhe rises, while north-west lies the Reißecker Seenplateau with its two reservoir lakes, the Großer and Kleiner Mühldorfer See. South-east of the summit the Hochkar ‘Im Goaßele’ drops away.

The climb from the Reißeckhütte at 2,287 metres takes about an hour and is graded easy. A few short sections are protected by fixed cables, but children under ten should still be roped. The walk up from Mühldorf village takes five and a half hours. Before the Reißeck and Reißeck-Höhen cableways closed in 2014, the hut could be reached from the upper mountain station in fifteen minutes.

The summit ridge offers wide views across the Reißeck peaks and the Maltatal valley. The Reißecker Seenplateau below shows two blue reservoir lakes set in alpine meadows. The Hochkar ‘Im Goaßele’ to the south-east is a narrow, high valley often used by ski tourers in winter. The contrast between the calm lakes and the steep rock faces gives the area a quiet grandeur.