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Blog Posts in Category: Walking

Standkopf Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

As we now have our ski passes for the winter, which are already valid, we were keen to use them to get high and do a nice autumnal walk, combined with a flight down. We decided to fly down from Hamberg which is above the Zillertal, but with an approach from the Alpbachtal via the Wedersberger Horn. We left the van in Jenbach train station and then got a train and bus to get to the bottom of the Wedersbergbahn. The walk was really beautiful with autumnal colours covering the mountains, excellent views and was never too strenuous. The walk along the ridge was a bit more undulating than my plan had suggested, but it was still a relatively small amount of ascent overall. The views from the Standkopf into the Höhe Tauern and Zillertaler Alpen were really excellent and after soaking in these views with some food, we headed down the ridge towards Hamberg to launch. The wind throughout the entire day had not quite been as I had expected, so I was really hoping we could launch! On the descent I found one area which would have been. Read the full article…

Daniel and Upsspitze Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

With a beautiful autumnal weather forecast I was keen to do a hike&fly, however the wind was forecasted to be in a pretty sub-ideal direction for most objectives that I had in mind, so when Becky suggested we do Daniel, something which has been on our list for a while, it seemed like a good idea. Despite the sub-ideal wind direction, I decided to take my hike&fly wing with me anyway, in case the conditions were suitable enough to fly down. We took the train from Munich to get there, all fully included in our regular Deutschlandticket despite having the travel into Austria. Unusually, for this walk the train station was also the ideal place to start the walk from. The ascent was pretty unrelenting the entire way up, gaining a lot of altitude in not much distance, but at least a reasonable amount of it was above the tree line which gave some stunning views. We eventually made it up to the col between the Upsspitze and Daniel, and I was pleased that there was a nice updraft so it seemed very likely I would be able to fly. Read the full article…

Col des Frêtes Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyFrance, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

One of my aims for Friday had been the Col des Frêtes hike and fly, but in the end we just didn’t have enough time for it. On Sunday there was a pretty marginal wind forecast for if it would be achievable, however we decided to have a lie in and head up late in the day for a sunset hike and fly as this was the best chance we had of the wind working. The start of the ascent was up to the Planfait launch and then it continued up in the forest above the launch. The rest of the walk was really just a slog up in the forest with very limited views out towards the lake. It was pretty steep at times and we were both definitely hoping that we could fly down as we didn’t really want to walk back down the ascent, the wind was however a bit worrying as it definitely felt like it was in the wrong direction at times while we were walking up. Eventually we got to the top of the forest, which is just below the start, and were pleased. Read the full article…

Kampenwand Hike and Fly

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

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

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

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

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

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

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

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

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

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…