The reading of Hess's essay on the valley trough inspired me to verify the idea expressed there that the four ice ages, derived from the fluvioglacial deposits of the forelands, can be morphologically evidenced in the Alpine valleys, in areas that the author had not yet studied. The northern cross valleys of the Hohe Tauern seemed suitable as a working field for various reasons. Their fairly uniform arrangement and consistent erosion base offered the prospect of being able to observe a general phenomenon without disruptive influences. Their course, partly in schist and partly in central gneiss, promised to clarify the influence that petrographic differences might have. An initial survey in the autumn of 1907 covered the majority of the valleys from Gastein to Krimini and extended further.