The red marble lake
My Top Spot in the Almenwelt Lofer
The Rote Marmorsee is my favourite place here in the Salzburger Saalachtal. The magical lake is situated at 1600 metres above sea level at Schönbühel. It is easily reached from the mountain cable-car station Almbahn II via the Märchenwald Circuit Nr. 4. However today we plan to reach the lake, not on foot, but with the electric mountain bike.
It is a really hot Sunday in August. We decide it is much too hot in fact, to expend too much energy on sport. However we still don’t want to spend the afternoon just lying around in the shade. After deliberating for a while everything becomes clear: we must head to the Rote Marmorsee in the Almenwelt Lofer and as quickly as possible! Eagerly we pack our bathing things; throw on our cycling clothes; lace-up our outdoor shoes and jump in the saddle of our e-mountain bikes.
Uphill with a Tailwind
We begin our e-mountain bike tour in Unken in Salzburger Saalachtal. Via Unkenberg and Liedersberg, we ride up to the Hoisenhöhe on the Unkenberger Mähder where we make our first stop after 40 minutes. From here we have a wonderful view of Unken and Salzburg far away in the distance. To our left we marvel at the well-known Sonntagshorn and the Wetterkreuz. Directly in front of us we see the Achberg and the craggy Reiter Steinberge with the prominant „3 Brüdern“ (3 brothers) behind. On the right we pick out the Thälernalm and the Dietrichshorn. Sufficiently rested we ride further along the forest trail. Here we can change down from „Tour“ to „Eco“ ; it is a little less strenuous at last.
After a few minutes we reach a pretty clearing where we can see the Schwarzeck, our intermediate destination, in the background of the Almenwelt Lofer. On our left, a path, which is demanding in places, leads to the Dietrichshorn – an ideal „Bike&Hike“ combination tour. We ride downhill for a short while and along the flat until we reach the alm hut Götzkaser at the foot of the Schwarzeck. The senior farmers, who have spent the summer on the alm for many decades, are sitting in front of the hut. They have an enviable alm hut here – lovingly decorated with flowers. Now the way continues over rugged gravel, in some places very steeply upwards. Here, I change up to „Sport“ in order to complete the ascent more comfortably – meanwhile my partner still continues to cycle on the „Eco“ setting. On arrival at the Schwarzeck Alm we can already see the Almsee below us to the left. The forestry road leads us further into the Almenwelt Lofer where we bike with much momentum in the direction of Schönbühel and the Rote Marmorsee. At Schönbühel, one doesn’t see the lake at first glance. We ride a short stretch downhill and there it lies, magnificent and idyllic, embedded between the conifers in front of us.
Only us and the Rote Marmorsee
We have reached our destination – the Rote Marmorsee lies directly in front of us. We ride around the lake and look for a lovely bench. The choice is large today. Apart from us and a couple of cows, who are enjoying spending their alm summer here, there is no-one here. The unique atmosphere of the Rote Marmorsee is difficult to describe. For us it is a magical place: the trees, the summit of the nearby Grubhörndl and the cows are reflected perfectly in the still water and the entire lake is surrounded by red rock. Apart from the cowbells it is as quiet as a mouse. A short glance at the time reveals that it is already 5.30 pm. A cloud hangs directly above the lake and it is a little too cold for bathing today. We both agree – we must come biking to the Almenwelt Lofer earlier next time. Thanks to the e-mountain bikes we were able to ride comparatively quickly to the mountains. Normally we would need much more time for this tour.
E-Mountain Biking for every Generation
Even though other mountain bikers sometimes laugh at me riding my e-bike at just 28 years old and I hear comments such as „You young people could still exert yourselves a bit“, I just grin. What they don’t know is that the e-mountain bike doesn’t ride by itself; with a lower E-setting we still need to make an effort but if we want we can always increase the power. However, with a little tailwind we can observe the landscape more carefully; add in a couple of stops to collect mushrooms or herbs and converse with our companions without gasping for breath. After our holiday we will remember the wonderful moments with our loved ones and not those evenings where we had to crawl around our room on all fours due to muscle strain. This is indeed what makes a holiday so unique.
The fresh evening air tells us that it is time to set off. We ride back up to Schönbühel, continue down to the turnoff to Schwarzeck and finally ride down the asphalted road to the valley station of the Almenwelt Lofer. From here we follow the 10 km long cycle path along the Saalach to Unken. I go over tomorrow’s tour in my head. We will ride to the Litzlalm in the Naturpark Weißbach via Hirschbichl – naturally with the e-mountain bike again.
Length of tour: total ca. 3 hours (incl. a short break at the lake)
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