Blog Posts in Category: Walking

Kampenwand Hike and Fly

After a decent day on the Aiplspitz the day before, I was keen for a shorter hike&fly, however Manuel persuaded me to join him on the Kampenwand, which with 1100m of ascent was definitely larger than I was hoping for. Despite the previous day we were still able to make great time, our total time to get to the summit was 2h15mins. The ascent up to Rossboden is in the woods on good tracks, so you can just put your head down and get on with the ascent, however it was a relief to emerge from the woods at the Rossboden and take in the first views of the day. From here we were soon at the hut at the base of the final ascent up to the Kampenwand, which was much busier and is always a bit of a slog, before the final scramble along the ridge to the summit. The view from the top is great, especially for a summit right on the edge of the alps, with beautiful views over Chiemsee and the surrounding mountains. A quick descent back down and walk to the paragliding launch provided. Read the full article…

Heißenplatte and Aiplspitz

On another day with a slightly uncertain forecast we set off to climb the Aiplspitz via the easy scramble up the north ridge, something which we last did a few years ago. The advantage of this route is that it is very easy to get to with pubic transport, but there is also much less descent than ascent as the walk finishes at Spitzingsee. Last time we did the route from the valley to the east of the Heißenplatte, so for a difference we approached from the valley to the west, and also made the detour out to the Heißenplatte. I think overall the ascent we did last time was more enjoyable as you get out of the forest earlier, however the detour that we made to the Heißenplatte was absolutely brilliant as it gave wonderful views up the valley towards Bayrischzell and towards Austria. We made good time on the ascent until the path deteriorated with lots of big steps up wet and slippery roots. When we got to the col between the Heißenplatte and Aiplspitz it would have been very easy to just continue up the Aiplspitz, however. Read the full article…

Jochberg

With a slightly uncertain forecast we headed early to Jochberg so that we could park and hopefully miss any afternoon storms. It was pretty cloudy when we parked, but this didn’t matter as the ascent was all in the woods. As we emerged from the trees it was partly clearing and this gave us some pretty spectacular views across the Walchensee. We made good time to the summit, not quite my fastest ascent but given my recovery I was pretty pleased with the time. After enjoying the views from the summit we headed down the long way via the Walchensee. It was pretty warm by the time we were there and the water enticed us in for a swim which was wonderfully refreshing.

Tegernsee to Schliersee

While the previous few outings into the mountains had been enjoyable, they were not proper walks by any stretch of the imagination. However as they had been so successful, combined with some other longer flat walks around Munich, I was keen to step up the recovery and head out on something with some proper ascent and distance. The obvious choice for this step up was the classic walk between Tegernsee and Schliersee, something I’ve somehow avoided doing in my 6 years living in Munich. We decided on the Prinzenweg version of the route so that it also included the Gindelalmschied summit and a bit more time above the tree line. As it was a sunny Saturday in August we decided to head out early so that we could guarantee a seat on the train in both directions and also so that we would be done before the main heat of the day. I should note that while I haven’t done Tegernsee to Schliersee, I have walked all of the route until the start of the ascent as part of the Baumgartenschneid circuit. The walk from the station to the start. Read the full article…

Blomberg

After the success a few days earlier on Taubenstein, I was keen to do a bit more, but still definitely taking it easy. James and I planned todo something together, so it was both of our first time back in the mountains after our respective accidents. Our plan was actually to head to the Herzogstandbahn and then make the short walk up to the summit, however due to a packed train we changed our plans in Kochel as the first two busses were full and it looked like the third would be as well. So instead of fighting our way onto the third bus, we took a bus in the opposite direction to Blomberg. Getting onto the chairlift was relatively smooth as they slowed it right down, and put a flag on the lift so that it would also be slowed down at the top. While the walk from the top of the chairlift to the summit of Zweisel is not that exciting, it was again nice to be in the mountains and to have a better stretch of the legs and the body when compared to a few days. Read the full article…

Taubenstein after my accident

My team at work had their annual Wandertag around the time I was planning on getting out and doing a bit more after my accident, so I decided to join them for the summit and the lunch stop as it was possible to get a Seilbahn almost all of the way to the summit. Meeting my team ended up working perfectly despite me arriving an hour later than planned. While the walk from the Bergstation to the summit was short, it was really great to be back out in the fresh mountain air, with wonderful views – even if it was cloudy. My pelvis coped admirably with the ascent, and subsequent descent. We enjoyed a drink and some lunch at the hut below the Bergstation, before they headed down and I headed back to the Bergstation to take the Seilbahn back down.

Lackenkogel Hike&Fly

With a plan for a cross-country flight from Stoderzinken the next day, Manuel and I had the idea of making the most of the poor xc conditions by heading for a hike and fly in the Ponzgau, en-route to our destination for the next day. We elected to climb the Lackenkogel which was a really beautiful walk, much better than I was expecting to be honest. From very early on we had wonderful views of the Dachsteingebirge, which only got better as we passed the Lackenalm as we could then see into the Hohe Tauern. The path from the Lackenalm traversed around the west side of the mountain, which provided a beautiful view, but also gave us a relatively snow free ascent, it would have been a different story if we had ascended the north facing slopes. We made very good time on the ascent and were soon at the ridge up to the summit where the views really opened up, and they were absolutely fantastic. After the short ridge up to the summit we were greeted by a perfect wind to start, which was fortunate as the area was. Read the full article…

Teufelstättkopf

With a good forecast we headed to the Teufelstättkopf which is above Unterammergau in the Allgäuer Alpen. Most of the group decided to take the train, but due to some chaos with Munich public transport, we drove there and met the group in the car park. The ascent was pretty fast as it was mostly on very good single track which was fairly steep, which meant that despite the pace not feeling that fast, that we still made quick progress on the ascent. There was a wonderful mix of autumnal colours contrasting with the evergreen trees in the woods, with ever improving views as we climbed up. With a really wonderful view in every direction from the summit. A short descent then took us to a hütte, where we enjoyed a drink and some food before making the easy descent down Forststraße back to the car.