Kleiner Priel

The Kleine Priel is a 2,136-metre peak in the Toten Gebirge range of Upper Austria’s Traunviertel. Built from Dachsteinkalk limestone, it stands as the easternmost summit above 2,000 metres in the Priel group. The border between Hinterstoder and Klaus an der Pyhrnbahn runs across its summit. A long ridge stretches east from the Grosse Priel, flanked by the Stodertal valley to the south and the Steyrlingtal and Weissenbachtal valleys to the north. The normal route climbs in four and a half hours from Hinterstoder village along marked path 269 through the Prielergraben. A far less frequented high-level traverse, the Prielüberschreitung, links the Kleine Priel to the Grosse Priel by way of six other summits and a series of short climbing sections graded UIAA II. First completed in 1904 by O. Gruber and H. Schmid, the route demands a long day and overnight shelter because of its length and repeated ascent and descent. The summit offers wide views across the Dachsteingruppe and the valleys below. On clear days the Hohe Dirn and the Gesäuse peaks are visible to the north-east. The limestone faces around the summit ridge show the rugged character of the Toten Gebirge. The contrast between the high karst plateau and the deep valleys is striking.