Wildensee

The Wildensee is a mountain lake high in the Gschlößkamm of the Venediger range, in the north of East Tyrol. It sits at 2,515 metres above sea level, surrounded by peaks that rise above 2,700 metres. The lake fills a hollow carved by ancient ice, fed mainly by meltwater from the Wildenkees glacier. A smaller glacial lake lies above it, its outflow joining the Wildensee before the water continues down to the Löbbensee and the Löbbenbach. In the 1980s, biologists recorded a population of Arctic char in the Wildensee, part of a medieval tradition of stocking mountain lakes with fish. The usual route to the lake starts at the Matreier Tauernhaus and follows the Wildenkogelweg. Walkers first reach the Löbbensee, then continue along the path beside the outflow stream. After passing a small tarn known locally as the Eissee, the route leaves the marked trail and heads cross-country southeast up to the Wildensee at about 2,600 metres. The final approach crosses rough ground, requiring sure-footedness and a map. At the lake, the water is a clear, cold blue, reflecting the steep rock walls of the Hinterer Plattenkogel, the Wildekogel and the Schildkogel. The air is thin and quiet, broken only by the sound of wind or the occasional splash of a char. No buildings stand nearby, and the only marks on the landscape are the faint traces of old fishing expeditions. The scene belongs to the high Alps, where glaciers still shape the land and the only witnesses are the peaks and the sky.