Hello,

I am flying into Graz at the end of March to visit a friend on placement. From there we are planning on a 3 or 4 day trip in the Alps. I've been looking at all the info available, which is excellent, but am a bit overwhelmed so I thought I'd ask for some suggestions!

I'm looking for an area that can be reached from Graz on public transport, in around 2-3 hours say. This is going to be solely a hiking trip but I'd like to get up a couple of easy peaks of over 2000m (preferably with excellent views of higher mountains). Strong ridgelines, dramatic landscape would be the order of the day. Circular rouets in valleys and other passes would be just as good if they provided access to this environment.

Any ideas?

Cheers,
Carl.

Hi! I live in Leoben, which is not far from Graz (45min north). In 2-3 hrs you can reach:

far:
Slovenian Alps (recommended)
Dachstein

kind'a far, kind'a close:
Niedere Tauern (depends where you go)

fairly close:
Hochschwab (espec. recommended)
Eisenerzer Alpen
Seckauer Alpen (best if you intend to go w/o skis)

For rock climbing you happen to be in one of the best regions in Austria. I have topos for many crags.

I am on the run and really busy but drop me an email so I can tell you my phone nr. in case you need immediate info. Do not hesitate to ask me for things but I am probably only able to give short replies.

Cheers,
Peter

Although the snow cover is quite poor in Austria - end of March might be a (snow) problem in the Hochschwab and Niedere Tauern Region.
March/April is usually the best time for skitouring
check the pics of Lugauer, Gößeck, Hochschwab

I did these skitours in March/April and some in May

Thanks to both of you for the ideas