Blog Posts in Category: Walking

Mutterberger See

After paragliding in the morning we needed to find a short walk to do in the afternoon, so that we could be back before the forecasted thunderstorms in the afternoon. The obvious choice was a walk from our local lift, the Elferbahn, but as we climbed on the Elferturm a few days previously, we decided to get the bus all the way up the valley and walk up to the Mutterberger See. The start of the walk up was very hot and up a fairly uninspiring large track, but after about 60% of the ascent we finally turned off onto smaller walking paths and the views became a lot better. We enjoyed some lunch while admiring the view down the valley, before continuing onto the lake. We took the opportunity to cool down and both enjoyed a refreshing swim in the surprisingly warm mountain like at 2500m. After drying off and finishing our lunch we set off on the descent, which was lovely as it contoured around up high with wonderful views down the Stubai valley. Unfortunately the day was getting hotter and muggier which meant that we were both. Read the full article…

Hochries

Due to a very unstable forecast we wanted to do a short walk in the morning which was close to Munich. We ended up deciding on a circuit including the Hochries. As we set off in the morning the weather was lovely, however as we approached the ridge the cloud started to build and we found ourselves in the cloud hoping that this wasn’t a sign of an impending storm, earlier than forecast. Nonetheless we continued and enjoyed some fleeting atmospheric views and some wonderful views in the brief moments without any cloud. As we descended from Feichteck the cloudbase seemed to lift slightly and meant that we had enjoyable views while walking along the ridge to Hochries. Here we enjoyed an early lunch at the Alm on the summit, before making a hasty retreat back down to the car.

Heimgarten

Having previously climbed Heimgarten via the classic traverse from Herzogstand, we decided to climb it from the other side as it was an appropriate length and distance from Munich to do with Lou, Adam and Lottie. The walk initially gained altitude easily in the forrest, but we soon emerged into spring alpine meadows, which were covered in flowers. Thankfully there was a wooden walkway as some of the meadows were fairly wet, although as Adam found out, some of the wood was fairly slippery! The ascent then took us up towards the summit with wonderful views over Kochelsee, Heimgarten and the flatlands to the north. Unfortunately as we approached the summit the cloud really started to build, but we still enjoyed good views before stopping the hut for a drink and some cake. The walk down was very pleasant, and we soon warmed up after the fairly chilly stop at the hut! We took a detour near the carpark to walk down next to some waterfalls, which I took my first post-walk “swim” of the year in to clean off before driving to the campsite.

Rotwand

After a wonderful winter of piste skiing, ski touring and ski mountaineering, I was really looking forward to getting back out walking in the mountains. It feels surprising that the first walk was at the end of April, but as the ski season just seemed to keep going we just kept skiing! Unfortunately the weather running up to the weekend wasn’t looking that great, but it at least looked dry on Saturday morning, on some forecasts. Thanks the the enthusiasm of Adam and Rob we headed out despite the dull forecast, and what a good decision that was! Adam had to be back in Munich for 2pm, so we had a relatively early start, which combined with the weather meant that the mountains were very quiet. As we were driving to the carpark at Spitzingsee there was plenty of low cloud and it looked grim, thankfully as we approached the car park we burst through the inversion layer and were treated to blue skies with some high cloud. The walk up to the Taubenstein was fairly short and as we approached the col we were treated to a wonderful view. Read the full article…

Sulzpitze & Neunerköpfle Hike&Fly

With another perfect autumnal day we headed down to the Allgäu to make the most of being able to go into Austria, and to enjoy some more hike&fly fun. While we could have just walked up the Neunerköpfle, we decided to take our heavy bags there the long way by walking from Tannheim up towards the Visalpsee, steeply up to the Sulzspitze and then along the ridge to the Neunerköpfle. The morning was clear and cold, which we certainly felt while walking along the valley towards the Visalpsee. After some unnecessary ascent due to following a sign rather than my planned route we were soon at the start of the ascent. Due to some rockfall we followed the new temporary path through the woods at the bottom, before joining the rather steep track up. The ascent felt fairly tough with the bags, and resulted in being both hot and cold at the same time, thankfully we were eventually treated to a view of the wonderful Gaishorn, before returning back into the woods. After a while we emerged from the woods, and then into the sun and from here the day. Read the full article…

Vorderunnütz Hike&Fly

With a guest visiting we were keen to get out into the mountains, however we were not exactly sure on the snow cover given the warm weather last week. We decided to head up above Achensee to do the Vorderunnütz, as I knew that the ascent was up a south facing slope so had a good chance of being snow free. I was also hoping for wonderful views, as it was pretty good on a grey day when I did the walk with Rob earlier in the year. The start of the walk was up in the woods, but we made relatively good time and were soon at the Köglalm, and our first proper view out of the woods. There were still some wonderful autumnal colours and lovely views down Achensee. We then ascended back into the woods, enjoying the fleeting views down Achensee. Unfortunately by the time we emerged from the woods for the final 200m up to the summit, the cloud was really starting to come in again which was a bit disappointing, however the views were still pretty good. There was a wonderful wind for paragliding, enough. Read the full article…

Blomberg & Zwiesel

We were keen to get out for a walk prior to Becky making the long drive back to the UK in order to get the van home for a winter break and a new coat of paint. However, as Becky had the long drive we didn’t want the day to be too long so that there was no additional fatigue to add into the mix. We decided to head up the Blomberg and Zwiesel, which we actually climbed from the other side on my pre assignment trip back in July 2020. However this time we went up from the other side, which turned out to be a really lovely circuit with plenty of time on the ridge and out of the forrest. It really is amazing that this is only an hour from our door, certainly better than a stroll in the mendips! There was a strong föhn wind forecast, which meant that we prepared for a windy day out. However where we were there was hardly any wind, which meant we were definitely overdressed and certainly had too many layers in our packs. However there was certainly wind about. Read the full article…

Rastkogel Hike & Fly

We headed out above Mayrhofen, taking the Finkenberger Almbahn up to Penken. This meant that we stared high, so enjoyed a nice walk along a ridge up to the Rastkogel. The start of the walk was dominated by the ski area, but the views were fantastic nonetheless. Thankfully we soon left the ski areas and started to feel more remote, especially given there were hardly any people around. The views into the snowy mountains were wonderful, and the snow was just high enough that we had some snow, but nothing to cause us a problem. We made good time on the walk, and I certainly felt the paraglider on my back! On the way up to the Rastkogel I found a few good launch sites, however as I was out walking with Win I just noted them for another time! We made excellent time to the summit where we enjoyed our lunch, it was meant to be sunny but the high cloud wasn’t a problem and there appeared to be a temperature inversion as it was definitely warmer up high. The descent was mostly the same way as the ascent,. Read the full article…