IMAGE: ALAMY
WERFEN
electricity has never been installed. These old-fashioned brass lanterns are used to light our way through the tunnels and passageways — just as they would have when Anton von Posselt-Czorich, a naturalist from Salzburg, discovered them by accident in 1879, tiptoeing 200m into the caves alone. He didn’t get far before solid ice blocked
his way, but he sparked the interest of other intrepid explorers. In 1913, speleologist Alexander von Mörk came with a pickaxe- wielding team, who hammered out steps to the top of the ice wall and discovered a 26-mile labyrinth of frozen tunnels. We climb 700 steps past a slope of sheer,
smooth ice to the highest point of the caves. The ice in the tunnels and chambers at the top is otherworldly, rising in great waves and cascading in falls. May and June are ideal times to visit; there are filigree icicles and huge sculptures, hoarfrost that makes the walls glitter and stalactites as thick as Roman columns. Franz points out natural shapes in the ice
— an elephant, a polar bear, a mammoth, a walrus — and holds up a flare to tunnels as smooth as marble, formations like cut glass and a cathedral-like Eispalast (‘ice palace’). “I love showing visitors the scale and beauty of these caves,” he says. “They’re a true wonder of nature.” As beautiful as they are, it’s easy to see why
locals in centuries past feared the Tennen Mountains as being the gateway to hell
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— part of the reason why these caves weren’t discovered until the late 19th century. If the carbide lamps we’re carrying were suddenly snuffed out, the darkness and cold would be hellish indeed. Their actual origin story is slightly more
prosaic. We think of water flowing down, but the latest scientific research has shown Eisriesenwelt was formed by intense pressure forcing water some 459ft uphill between 50 and 100 million years ago. And in terms of climate change, the caves are a paradox. Elsewhere in the Alps, glaciers are shrinking and ice is retreating. But the same hot, dry summers that make snow disappear early have pushed meltwater into the caves, where it freezes during the winters. The ice is growing. I tread carefully back down the steps to the
cave entrance. A coming storm has turned the light silver-gold, and the wind boxes my ears. As dazzling as any Hollywood spotlight, a sudden ray of sun makes me shield my gaze as I head back into the hills.
HOW TO DO IT A number of airlines fly direct from the UK to Salzburg in around 2h. From there, ÖBB trains run to Werfen with a journey time of 40 minutes.
oebb.at Via ferrata equipment is available to rent at local Intersport stores.
intersportrent.at The caves are open from May to October.
eisriesenwelt.at Hotel Obauer in Werfen has doubles from €255 (£220), room only.
obauer.com
The same hot, dry summers that make snow disappear early have pushed meltwater into the caves, where it freezes during the winters. The ice is growing
Above: Entrance to Eisriesenwelt, the world’s largest accessible ice caves
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