Originally I had other plans for today, but the forecast was just too great in the alps for those plans, so I ended up heading to the Stanser Joch near the Achensee for a hike and fly. I had the expectation of wonderful views to the south and the main alpine ridge and to the north over the Achensee.
I decided to walk to up the Weißenbachtal to get to the summit, as I thought this might provide more varied routes than the other option which follows the eastern ridge. I am very glad I chose this as it meant that I made a detour to the Ochsenkopf, which was the highlight of the walk.
The walk up the Weißenbachtal was up easy forest track to the Weißenbachsattel, which was also surprisingly windy at times given the forecast for almost nil wind up to quite a high altitude. From the Weißenbachsattel the forest track turned into single track, which was partly covered by snow at times depending on the aspect. From here the ascent became steeper and my lack of fitness was really showing, especially where the snow became deeper, however eventually I emerged on the ridge, with a wonderful view into the Karwendel.
I could see the summit of the Ochsenkopf just a small detour away, and with the view of the Karwendel and how stunning the ridge looked, I just couldn’t help myself but to make the detour out. I am very glad I did as this section was really the highlight of the walk.
After admiring the Karwendel from the summit of the Ochsenkopf, it was just a short walk to the Stanser Joch. I decided not to hang around on the summit, so after taking a few photos I quickly set my glider up and prepared for the quick descent.
The flight down was beautiful with views to the north over the Achensee before losing some height and turning towards the view down the Weißenbach tal down into the Inntal. After landing in the official landing at Maurach, I met up with some others from my local paragliding club and we went for a coffee together before parting ways.
Comments