With another day of good weather I decided to head out again, although I was not so sure it was a good idea when my alarm went off at 5:45! It was another cold clear morning and the drive past Kochelsee was spectacular as the (relatively) warm water interacting with the very cold air to make it look like it was steaming. We had decided to head up the Simetsberg, which was a relatively short day with only 1000m of ascent… Days are not every really short here! The ascent was mostly in the woods, and with the covering of snow made it a bit slippery in places. We had a few chances to look at the stunning view when there were breaks int he cloud, and it was clear it was going to be another spectacular day. After a decent climb we broke out of the woods, and were able to take in the brilliant views. The final climb up to the summit was very warm, but we were treated to a brilliant view, although I think it was actually better part way up than from the top. After. Read the full article…

With yet another beautiful weekend I was keen to get out again and enjoy my new local hills. However this weekend was a bit different to last weekend as it felt like a totally different season due to starting in -3 degrees and there being plenty of fresh snow on the ground. We decided to heat to the Risserkogel and do a circuit from the east rather than the usual ascent from the west. This was a really good decision as we had varied views all day, had a relatively quiet ascent in the morning and a quiet descent in the evening. As is often the case here, it was straight up out of the car, and we were soon warm despite the cold temperatures. Thankfully we were soon above the tree line and able to enjoy the fantastic scenery around us. The highlight of the ascent has to be the Blankenstein which initially looked impressively pointy, and then as we traversed the other side of the valley showed us it’s three faces which looked fantastic. We enjoyed a long lunch on the summit as it was nice in the. Read the full article…

I was expecting November here to an awkward in between season, however (apparently unusually) so far this year it has continued to be a lovely month for getting out and enjoying the mountains, which has made the “lockdown light” here in Germany significantly better. On Saturday Rob, Helen and I decided to head for the obvious ridgeline of the Kramerspitz which is directly above Garmish and which overlooks the Zugspitze. As there was a viewpoint marked on the map at the north end of the ridge at the Königsstand we decided to take the direct approach (although due to a closed path the start was less direct than expected). While this approach was steep, it was very enjoyable as it was quieter than the main approach, and had lovely views looking out over Garmish as the trees were less dense due to the steepness of the slopes. Eventually we reached the Königsstand, and enjoyed some of our lunch and soaked up the views. As it turns out, the views were only going to improve as the day went on. We traversed below the Katzenkopf and joined the usual approach for. Read the full article…

Wanting to make the most of the autumnal walking conditions Rob, Helen and I headed out to an area of the Ammergauer Alpen which none of us had been to before. Rob chose this walk because the contours looked “interesting” on the map, which seemed as good a reason as any to select a route, and the shape of the mountain was certainly unusual! As the previous day had been much sunnier the roads, and more importantly, the hills were very quiet. The start of the walk headed up a quiet valley in the forrest, however we soon left the track and headed up a small path. It didn’t feel like other walking I had done in the area, and felt much more remote was which really nice. As we arrived at the Bäckenalmsattel we were treated to a wonderful view to the west, which just became better as we climbed. We were soon able to see our objective, and the strange bowl below it. The best way to describe it was that it looked like the middle of an old volcano due to the depth and lack of runoff. Read the full article…