Blog Posts in Category: Walking

Vorderes Sonnwendjoch and Rofanspitze

Alastair BegleyAustria, Walking Short Link

With a lovely forecast Becky and I decided to make the best use of our winter ski passes and use them to head up the Rofanbahn on the last weekend of validity. Unfortunately on the drive there it became clear that the weather was not as good as it was forecast. We decided to do a circuit from the Vorderes Sonnwendjoch, Sagzahn and Rofanspitze, and I planned to fly off from the Rofanspitze with my hike&fly gear. As we got to the top of the lift we emerged from the cloud to be treated to a wonderful view of the Karwendel and shortly after the Tuxer Alpen. We had hoped that we would stay out of the cloud as we were above it, but unfortunately this was not going to be the case and as we started the descent to the Schermsteinalm we descended back into the cloud. As we approached the summit of the Vorderes Sonnwendjoch we briefly left the cloud, which allowed us to enjoy the views before it decided that it would make an unwelcome reappearance. From Sagzahn we again had not much of a view, so. Read the full article…

Heuberg

Alastair BegleyGermany, Walking Short Link

Despite a dodgy forecast for the day we were keen to do something, after waking up it became clear that the best weather of the day was going to be later on, so we decided to head for a short evening walk up Heuberg. The majority of the ascent was in the woods, so the cloud made little difference to the views. However, unfortunately as we emerged onto the ridge we also ascended into the cloud, which meant that we were unfortunately lacking a view. As we were waiting on the summit the clouds started to lift and give is fleeting glimpses of the views which one could normally expect from this peak. We enjoyed some food on the summit before starting the descent, aiming for an alm for a drink and some Kaiserschmarrn. The descent was very muddy which made it slow going as it was very slippery, however we made it to the alm in good time to have a drink prior to its closing time.

2024 in 100 Photos

Alastair Begley100 Photos, Alpinism, Arco, Austria, Bavaria, France, India, Landscape, Mountain Biking, Paragliding, Rock Climbing, Scrambling, Ski Touring, Skiing, Via Ferrata, Walking, Wildlife Short Link

It seems hard to believe that another year has passed by, but having just had another overindulgent Christmas and new year it is somehow already time to summarise the year in another 100 photos. It was a very busy year with both free time activities and work with many more business trips for me than usual. Winter The year started off with the ski season, we did a lot of alpine skiing and certainly made the most of our Tirol cards, I think I did around 25 days overall! Becky’s skiing has continued to improve and this led us todo our first ski tour on the Kleiner Gamsstein. Unfortunately the snow over the winter was difficult for ski touring, especially for beginners so there was limited ski touring for both Becky and me. I managed one ski mountaineering weekend, but we suffered with terrible snow conditions as well as weather. It was nonetheless enjoyable to spend a weekend high in the mountains. Spring It soon turned to spring, which was unfortunately a bit of a washout along with the start of the summer. This resulted in us not spending that. Read the full article…

Bleispitze Hike and Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

I thought that when I returned from India and then the UK the mountains would have their winter coat, unfortunately they do not yet, so I decided to make the most of the sunny still conditions and headed to climb the Bleispitze above Bichlbach and fly back down. As I could travel there for free using the Deutschland ticket, I elected to take the train despite it taking significantly longer than driving. I was surprised at the amount of snow in the valley at Bichlbach and as I headed up the valley towards Berwang, but these valleys hardly get any sun at this time of year so it hadn’t melted despite the sun over the past few days. I had planned on heading up via a much less well trodden path which involved heading steeply up to join a ridge which runs up to the summit. I could find no trace of a path as I walked past the turn off, and when I used gps to work out where it should be, it appeared to traverse across steep grassy slopes which were covered in wet snow. Due to this. Read the full article…

Hochmiesing and Rotwand Nordgrat (Kriegersteig)

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

With a morning weather window before a lot of rain was forecast, we decided to stay local and head to the Spitzingsee area as it was an easy train ride from Munich. Given the short weather window, we decided to take the Taubensteinbahn up and down to keep the day short, and make the most of the clearer weather in the morning. This time we decided to head to a peak which we hadn’t previously climbed, Hochmiesing which is just north of the Rotwand, is much less climbed but has a really spectacular view. It was great to be away from the hustle and bustle of some of the busier Bavarian peaks and we managed to get to the top before too much high cloud came in. Unfortunately the view south was very hazy so it was hard to make the peaks out, one to come back to on another day. We decided to head up the north ridge of the Rotwand (otherwise known as the Kriegersteig) after descending from Hochmiesing. After going slightly wrong at the start, the rest of the route was very straightforward, just fairly steep with. Read the full article…

Hochiss

Alastair BegleyAustria, Walking Short Link

With Martin visiting it was time to head back to do our usual visitor circuit from the Rofanbahn, as it is such a spectacular walk without being too long. While I have now seen these views quite a few times, they never get old as they are so beautiful looking over the Achensee into the Karwendel. We made good time to the summit which meant that we were back down at the lift station for a lovely lunch and beer at the Erfurter Hütte, before we headed back to Munich for a lovely dinner.

Tölzer Hütte, Hölzelstaljoch and Grasberg

Alastair BegleyAustria, Walking Short Link

After abandoning a multi day hut-to-hut hochtour in the Ötztaler Alpen due to the excessive snow and terrible weather forecast, we decided to make the most of the booked holiday by heading to the beautiful Rißtal for an overnight hike. We started by heading into the Tölzer Hütte via the most direct way as we were concerned about the rain, needless to say we could have taken the longer variation as the rain came later than forecast as to start with we somehow just missed it, but when it came, it certainly came with plenty of thunder and lightening. The walk up to the hut was hot work in the humid weather, but the walk was nonetheless enjoyable with views into the Karwendel and a nice path. After not too long we arrived at the hut and enjoyed the afternoon playing games and having a few beers in the hut. We even sent Katherine for a run up the nearby peak after we had been at the hut for a few hours and before the rain came. The next day we woke up to a glorious morning and enjoyed a. Read the full article…

Jochberg

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

With a fairly uncertain forecast we decided to head to Jochberg for Rich’s last day in Munich. Given my poor nights sleep and the rain on the approach, it is safe to say that I wasn’t convinced about the idea. However by the time we had met Rich in Kochelsee and driven to the start of the walk it was looking much better. The ascent was relatively quick up through the forest, and when we emerged we were greeted with a wonderful atmospheric view over the Walchensee. The views from the ridge up to the summit were very enjoyable and we were pleased to be at the summit in 1h15mins, the sign at the bottom said 2h15. After enjoying lunch at the summit we made the day out a loop by descending via the Hütte and then continuing on down to the Walchensee. The descent was definitely quieter than the ascent, and when we arrived at the beautiful Walchensee we were regretting not packing towels. A short walk back along the lake and we were back at the car in time for a cold drink and some ice cream.