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<h1>The Loser Panoramastra&szlig;e</h1>

<p>This is a toll road, clearly signposted from the village of Altaussee. A
public road leads northeast (this bit is one-way) from the centre of the
village. At the end of the one-way system is a junction left, leading over
the river to a further junction right to the tourist Salt-mine, and left
back to the village.</p>

<p>Straight on (now two-way), leads uphill, often narrow, to a further
junction. Straight on here is a deteriorating track to Blaa-Alm, offering
a restaurant with Reininghaus bier, excellent views of the cliffs NW of
Loser, and an aerial ropeway intended for kids, but well worth playing
on for groups of inebriate cavers. This is also the approach for the
Naglstegh&ouml;hle and resurgence - outside our area, but worth a visit.</p>

<p>Right at the junction is a metalled road, the <b>Loser
Panoramastra&szlig;e</b>, which immediately has a toll-gate (and often the
queue for this blocks the main road). This is only manned during daylight,
when tourist traffic is expected. The road leads steeply up, with numerous
hairpins, first to the Loser H&uuml;tte, 550m above the start. This was once
a relatively isolated mountain hut, but now serves as a convivial lunchtime
and evening hostelry - it was rebuilt as "Hotel Loser" for 1995. Beyond the
old hut, the road continues to a new (in the mid-seventies) Bergrestaurant,
only open during the day, and with a huge car park, full of tourists whenever
the weather is half decent. The area is also a small ski resort in the
winter, and various lifts line the hillsides.</p>

<div class="centre">
<a href="../piclinks/tollrd.htm"><img alt="Toll road photo" src="../tinypix/tollrd.jpg" width="160" height="83" /></a>
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<a href="../piclinks/bgrest.htm"><img src="../tinypix/bgrest.jpg" width="143"
height="170"
alt="BergRestaurant picture" /></a>
<p class="caption">The Loser Panoramastra&szlig;e with view to the Dachstein</p></div>

<p>The cost of the toll road is fairly reasonable if you want to make one
trip for the view, but quickly becomes prohibitive for a caving expedition
made up mainly of impoverished students needing to make a dozen or more
return journeys. Cyclists go free, but 900m of ascent from the village is a
little excessive with heavy gear. It does make a splendid run back down,
however ! Trying only to travel at night is no longer possible
because of the automated gates and automated number-plate recognition system. 
Permission is needed to camp within the Nature Reserve at the top, so it is best to
negotiate a cheaper deal. The owner is very interested to know about the
caves on "his" plateau, so it's important to send a report as soon as
possible after the expedition.</p>

<p>Familiarity soon breeds contempt, and typical expo drivers don't spend
much time looking at the view after the first couple of trips. This style of
driving, combined with visits at quiet times of the day/night, tends to
result in some fairly quick trip times. For those wanting to do comparisons,
timings are between the "stop" line across from the toll booth at the bottom,
and the drainage line (looks like a narrow cattle grid across &frac34; of the
road) at the west end of the car park. We don't recommend speeding through
the car park owing to the propensity of tourists to wander around looking at
the views, not the traffic :-)</p>

<table class="trad"><tr><th>Vehicle</th><th>Time up</th><th>by</th><th>Time down</th><th>by</th></tr>
<tr><td>Bike</td><td>00:48:00</td><td>Becka Lawson (2016)</td><td>00:09:26</td><td>Clive George</td></tr>
<tr><td> </td><td>01:15:00</td><td>Justin (1992)</td><td> </td><td> </td></tr>
<tr><td>Car</td><td>00:07:15</td><td>Haydon Saunders (2018)</td><td>00:06:43</td><td>Haydon Saunders (2018)</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td>00:07:46</td><td>Andy Waddington (1998)</td><td>00:07:30</td><td>Andy Waddington (1998)</td></tr>
</table>

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