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Via ferrata Knott

in Naturno

Below the platform Unterstell is the via ferrata "KNOTT".
There are four routes, a short connecting route, a 20 m long rope bridge and two steep ladders. The via ferrata offers easy routes, difficult passages, exposed routes and technical sections and can be climbed at any time of day, because the ascent and descent are short.

THE ROUTES of the Knott

- The route "Sally" (B-B/C-D) starts directly at the "wall foot". 50 m steel cable lead over two overhangs up to the "Big foot bridge". The approx. 4 m high "saucer overhang" is the most difficult part (D).
Via the "Big foot bridge" you can reach the routes "Turtle", "Affele" and "Rocky".

- "Turtle" is the easiest route (B). 40 m of steel cable lead up to the exit. All difficult parts are defused by step aids. From the route "Turtle" the friction traverse (A-C) branches off halfway. The exit is difficult (C) and ends at the first celestial ladder.

- The route "Affele" (a total of 50 m of steel cable) starts with the difficult "Oacherle traverse" (B- C/D) and then leads upwards towards the ladder to the "Elephant belly" (C). This is followed by the first sky ladder and the exit (B-A).

- The route "Rocky" (a total of 60 m steel cable) begins after the "Oacherle-Quergang". Via the "Weg zum Geist" (B) one crosses to the right and over a small overhang (B/C) one reaches the very steep, second sky ladder. The rest of the route (A-B) leads over the "Auge", then along a simple crossing and a ledge to the exit.

The Good Spirit of Unterstell

No one knows it more, but it must have been the great-grandfather of today's farmer, with whom the story began. At the top of Sonnenberg there was a bitter winter. The sun could not touch the snow and all the waters on the mountain were frozen to ice. They only went in front of the house when it was absolutely necessary, over to the barn to feed and milk the cattle. One evening, when the Zenz, as his great-grandfather was called, was stepping through the snow into the stable, he heard a quiet wailing from the woods above the yard. The whining sounded almost a little creepy. The Zenz went back into the house, fetched the thick joppa, lit a lantern, and stepped through the deep snow up into the woods. Soon he saw in the pale light of the lantern a well-dressed man of stature sitting under a tree in the snow. The man seemed plagued by abdominal pain and trembled with cold. Zenz helped him to his feet and escorted him down to the warm room. “A herbal tea made from Icelandic moss will help,” said the farmer. The guest stretched out on the bench beside the warm oven, still whining, but as he began to sip the bitter drink, he seemed to feel better at once. Soon the strange companion fell asleep on the stove bench, and Zenz and his family went to their chambers. The next morning, the guest was gone. There was a piece of paper on the table, written in beautiful writing. “My name is Balthasar, I am the good spirit of the Sonnenberg, here and there to make sure that everything on the mountain is right. I have been tormented by stomach ache for many days, even the cold, but no one in the area paid attention. But you have taken care of me. As a thank you, I will stay on the stand. I will keep watch over the farm, the surroundings and the people who live here. ” It was only when the via ferrata at KNOTT was built that Konrad, today's farmer on Unterstell, rediscovered it. The ghost remained near the yard for years, but could not be seen. Only a photo taken from the air during the formation of the via ferrata made the good undercarriage spirit visible.