Friesling

The Friesling rises to 1 340 m in the Ybbstal Alps of Lower Austria. It stands north-east of St Georgen am Reith, its slopes thickly wooded except for a broad, gently rolling karst plateau about a kilometre long and six hundred metres wide. The summit region is built from rhätic limestone over noric dolomite, while at the south-west foot the Reithbach spring gushes from the rock at up to thirty litres per second. Geologists recognise the Friesling as a classic example of a karst massif. Beneath the mountain the Opponitz power station’s 4 024 m long tunnel passes through solid rock, carrying water from the plateau’s underground drainage. The only public route up is from the Great Kripp col, a three-hour walk along narrow paths and forest tracks that separate the Friesling from the Oisberg. On the summit walkers find open limestone pavements scattered with alpine plants and wide views across the Ybbstal. The plateau’s edge drops steeply into beech and spruce forest, while the distant Ois and Opponitz valleys stretch away below. The contrast between the bare karst and the dark forest makes the summit a quiet place for reflection.