2017 has been driven by the chase for peaks. I never considered hiking being more than a relaxed walk among cows and rocks, but last year I learned that it is all about finding the good routes with interesting paths, climbing elements and gorgeous views.
Winter season 2017/2018 is laughing loudly at the climate warming, so I forgot about peaks and focus on continuous movement (uphill preferred). Given this, it is no surprise that today is one more episode of “been there, done that”. However, I let the pictures speak up for themselves…
Rotwandhaus – Getting Closer (1:45h / 640hm)This is why: Rotwand is always an OptionExcercising means Hard Work
Time flies and my fitness shape has has sort of left me behind: one of us is already over the peak and I am afraid it isn’t me. Such a pity that I cannot spend all of my time for sports and holidays, but even with foggy weather and tiny time frames I can rely on a proverb that is well-known among Munich hikers: Rotwand is always an option.
Typical Surrounding at the Spitzingsee
Relying on my hiking experience of 2017 I am able to get by without further pathfinders – at least when keeping to well-known regions such as Spitzingsee or Garmisch. With a 6-days-week behind (and another one ahead), I aim for tranquility and good food, reaching both before the end of the day. The tranquility part is easy enough when wandering on cloud level: with a view that is limited to about 10 meters, I feel alone and relaxed due to the fact that I hardly see any other hiker.
The total of 650 altitude meters is far from a severe exercise, but at least my feet remain used to vertical directions.
Today’s winter season impedes the awareness of increasing sea levels. Each time I spend some time in the mountains, it is plain white around me.
Looking for Sunset
I make the best of the given conditions, going for showshoe-walks whenever possible and changing 30 boring TV channels to a flashing view that outperforms all blockbusters of your local cinema. Although I might use spare time for other hobbies after the Nepal holidays, there still is a fair chance that I might return to regular hiking tours throughout the summer. Views to catch, mountains to climb…
I heard the Himalaya looks a bit like the Alps – I think that’s not so bad…
Weather conditions are tricky today, but Barbara, secretly known as Supergirl, brings best spirit with her and thus we go for another snowshoe-tour. The latent danger of avalanches as well as limited sight lead us to the well-known trekking path around the Rosskopf / Spitzingsee.
The path in the forest presents our surrounding as a perfect winter-wonderland. Further up with open landscape it becomes much more difficult and that is not only due to the body-check with an ignorant snowboarder. The masses of fresh snow combined with the strong wind are certainly challenging, but we beat it with will, force and laughter.
Before we turn around and face the whiteout, we stop for a short rest behind a rural barn. Lucky us that we regained our sinews with hot tea and boarisch Brezn! The path downwards is hardly visible with the wind blowing masses of snow even over fresh traces. We loose the original path several times and fight our way back on solid ground, sinking in the snow up to our hips. It definitely was a good decision to go for a well-known route today.
Once back at the parking, our cheeks glow red of snow, wind and joy. It has not quite been a piece of cake, but some nice workout and a whole lot of fun.
When it comes to altitude difference, forget about sea level and focus on today’s cloud level. Sure enough, four blondes know how to compete winterly weather and thus we enjoy a neat little tour up to the Hochries / Chiemgau.
The start is all mud and meadows, but after an hour we continue our way through old snow beneath young feet. The tour itself is easy, challenged only by the slippery snow that requires a certain concentration with every step you take. From time to time we come to a halt and take a look around. It might not be spectacular, but is so much better than the foggy city of Munich in these first days of January.
Once on top, we take over the best table of the Hochrieshütte and settle down for food and coffee – an outlook that regularly becomes visible on my typical summit face.
Coffee! Food!
Before we start our descent, we use the excursion to change the way how to look on life and peaks. Being flexible, that is what we aim for.
Downwards, the snow prevents any rush. 800 m height difference are not more than a relaxed walk in the woods, but nonetheless our route led us to the first peak of the year.
Been there, done that – and yet another peak: Hector is keen on snowshoeing and thus we head off to Spitzingsee.
The Rosskopf hidden behind the Church is as high as its Tower
After a colourful sunrise we start relaxed at 8:00 am and even though we are not alone on the streets, there is (astounding enough) no rush towards the Alps. When confronted with 550 m height difference, Hector spontaneously decides to stay at the Spitzingsee parking while I rent some snowshoes and start moving uphill.
The path winds up through the forest and I try to enjoy the constant effort. Actually, most the time it is above all: effort. But even when wondering why I am doing all of this mountain exercise stuff, I still see the beauty that surrounds me and appreciate that I live just an hour away from the Alps.
Most Attractive Sports Facilities around Munich
Approximately ½ of the altitude difference is spread over romantic paths in the forest. Now I look at the other half and I wonder: Shall I take the black ski slope, straight uphill? Or should I choose the natural mogul piste straight up?
With confidence in my snowshoes and based on the sheer ignorance of any appearing difficulty I manage to climb up the mogul field up to the peak of the Rosskopf. Sure enough I find the lazy skiers that use the ski lift hilariously unathletic. I pass them by in silence as I make my way to the cross.
15th Peak 2017!
The view exceeds today’s expectations and that is not only due to sporty tour skiers changing their clothes. Two weather fronts struggle one against the other, leading to white-gleaming peaks beneath a fretful sky.
For the way down, I choose the black ski piste and my buttocks as extra breaks. 1,5 hours later I am back down at the Spitzingsee and enjoy the view on the frozen lake with the only required movement being the arm with the hot wine punch getting eventually up and down.
As time moves on, great expectations build up sort of a pile. A pile of best expedition material. In this case: a sleeping bag that promises to keep my basic body functions up until -43° degrees Celsius.
Dreaming of a White Christmas?
More important is: 90% of down are supposed to keep me warm and cosy even with temperatures falling below -13° Celsius, which is considerably cold for the inside of a Himalaya lodge. Still, it is months away, but with my equipment being ready, I allow myself to start dreaming of snow-white mountain peaks, of great nature and a wonderful experience.
Hard to imagine that I will really need such professional stuff, but good to know that I am definitely prepared – for whatever may come along.
The first November days show up with the last reminiscence of the splendid summer. Consequently, another hiking trio is up for the Bavarian foothills of the Alps.
Using the toll road towards Valepp, we start deep within the hilly forests between Tegernsee and Spitzingsee. As usual, our path has a clear direction (straight up!) and I wonder whose idea this has been…
Uphill
After 1,5 hours we reach open meadows at the Trausnitzalm. With neither cows nor catering we only sit down for a short break before we continue our way up to the first peak of the Schinder.
The path gets steeper and rougher while the horizon gets wider. The multifaceted tour with brooks to cross, trees to pass and small paths may be arduous, but never boring. In higher locations hiking sticks are welcome, apart from occasional rocks that are passed best with hands and feet for the way aloft.
Once on top of the 1808 m peak of the Austrian Schinder, we look out to the Großglockner, the Großvenediger and all the other peaks of the Alps.
Room with a View
Tendency goes to two-peak-tours and thus we leave the first summit and hand ourselves down the furrow to the ridge between Austrian and Bavarian Schinder. The steel rope is more than welcome – and yet this still is the warm-up for the most interesting parts of the hike.
The second summit offers a brand new cross and narrow rocks that we share with a handful of hikers. The sun breaks through thin clouds and the view presents the Alps with glistening snow on the distant peaks.
What a joy knowing that from here on all we have to do is a bit of downhill wandering. At least this is true for the last half hour of the tour, but before that we have to face the way down the corrie. And, being part of it, the legendary Schindertor. Thanks to the steel ropes climbing is comfortable and exciting all the same:
Through the Schindertor
Tons of scree carry us down reams of altitude meters, surrounded by a bizarre moon landscape in all shades of grey.
Schinderkar
Looking back to the recently overstepped mountain tops is very satisfying. Little by little the path gets less rough and the landscape more mellifluous. 6,5 hours after our departure we arrive at the car, all proud of the 1.000 m height difference and the most interesting tour of the year.
View on the Walchensee. And on fresh Snow in the Alps!
Some might wonder what motivates me to spend almost all of my weekends in the mountains with the effort of uphill-walking, sun protection and sweat. The answer is easy: it is all for the good of upcoming holidays. The better I train now, the less exhausting will be future trekking tours. The more I pimp my condition, the less difficulties I expect during walks on 4,000 meters above sea level (let alone the pass of 5,500 m). The more I walk the alps, the more I will enjoy the Himalaya. But that is far away in 2018, now let’s focus on the mountains around Munich.
Average Equipent for good-looking Hikers
This time we are a group of four lovely ladies with a double peak tour ahead. The kick off at a comfortable time in the late morning comes along with endless hours of beauty sleep and puts some pressure on our peak performance: Winter time will cut daylight around 5 p.m., so we better not dawdle.
Today’s Mountain Crew
The first section of the tour leads through autumn forest up to the Heimgarten. Today is a multiple-season-hiking-day with warming sun, icy paths, golden light and some snow, all changing within minutes. The North and shady parts of the hills cling to something around zero degrees Celsius while the sunny hillsides pretend to be stuck in late summer. On top of the world = peak with fresh wind from all sides, we appreciate that there are no worries about pick-nick food getting warm.
Heimgarten Peak
From here we follow the ridge for a couple of kilometres. It is like walking on the back of a dragon with a lot of ups and downs on the dragon’s jags. With my affection for special ways, I enjoy the small path with downhill views on both sides: one side looks down to the Kochelsee, the other to the Walchensee.
Ridge Between Heimgarten and Herzogstand (the Latter Visible in the Distance)
Parts of the path are quite icy and so I can proudly present another scar with a story. However, the fantastic panorama continues for about an hour until we reach the Herzogstand and the masses of tourists around the small pavilion. Being one of the most famous peaks close to Munich and given the funicular as transport-potential for the lazy, we share our second peak of the day with a friendly photographer and dozens of supernumeraries.
Lucky us that most of the crowd is unwilling to take the foot path down. Bathed in golden light we zig zag down and arrive at the parking just in time before daylight finally fades.
Our legs tell us something about 1.200 meters uphill and downhill and approximately 16 kilometers of distance. Statistics say that we climbed up 332 floors – that is more than twice the available levels of the world’s highest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Our bright eyes tell the story of a splendid day with an endless sky, white snowy peaks and blue lakes that reflect the colourful autumn leaves.
It is around six in the morning when a strange noise disturbs my first coffee. I know this sound, but it has been a while that I have not heard it. It takes 30 seconds until I make it up: Rain! Somebody obviously ignores that rain has not been part of today’s plans.
Autumn at the Pfanngraben
Thanks to the detailed weather app of bergfex, we decide to get going nonetheless and so the five of us start today’s hiking at Spitzingsee. Drizzle continues during the first hour of the tour, preventing glorious pictures of the fabulous gorge of Pfanngraben, containing basins of clear water and little waterfalls along the way.
The higher we get, the brighter is the sky. Now that I know that my new outdoor equipment is indeed waterproof, I am fine with the drizzle having stopped. The path leads through meadows of summer’s mountain pasture, now deserted with all happy cows being either down in the cowshed or in Bavarian restaurants.
A bit later today’s culinary destination is in sight: the Rotwandhaus with a kitchen crew that presents their whole menu with an extraordinary grasp for herbs, fresh ingredients and perfect food quality.
Rotwandhaus in Sight
At first, we ignore the temptation of the alp and continue our way up until we reach the peak of the Rotwand. The sun rewards us with shy rays sent down through the cloudy sky and the peak adds a 360° view to it.
View from the Rotwand (Fragment)
Now hunger and downhill gravitation work hand in hand and minutes later we catch the best table in the Rotwandhaus. Even with the mixed up weather there is quite some crowd in the alp – on sunny days, you should look for less frequented hiking peaks. Unless cuddling strangers is among your favourite hobbys, that is.
For the way down, we choose the easy walking path that leads back to Spitzingsee in only 1 hour of walking for the 850 m altitude difference. Grazing sheep complete the typical mountain picture of the Bavarian frontyard hills and we are once more pleased with the beautiful hiking of the day.
Downhill: Taking the Easy Way
The tenth peak of the year has been the first without muscle soreness, so at least I do make some progress. Still, I have five months yet to come until I need full strength, mountain routine and an expedition sleeping bag. That is what happens when being up for higher aims…
Travelhector 