Here you can find descriptions of the 2008 hikes, some pics and the link to more pics at a facebook account.

December 07 2008 Short winter hike in the Karwendel Moutains with snowball fight

November 8&9 2008 Brünnsteinhaus and Großer Traithen (1852m) - Sachit's farewell hut trip

Probably the last day out without any snow and temperatures around 10°C, at this hike no one could get intoxicated by the amazing view into the Karwendel, Wetterstein, Mieminger Kette, Zugspitze and further south without any effort. Leaving the train at Scharnitz – after paying for tickets that allowed us to travel the ridiculously short 500m from the border to this Austrian village – we immediately were confronted with a very steep ascent. Hiking through woods and mountain pine areas with a little bit of rock climbing we eventually made it to the peak of the Brunnensteinspitze (2179m). After an extended sunbath we were forced to head back since the clock was ticking towards sunset. The torment on the way down was made up by a beer at the Brunnensteinhütte (1560m) which we left to late to make it to Mittenwald until sunset. However, using our torches we found the right way just to miss the train by 4 minutes. Consequently, another beer.

Since we already lost one of our fellow hikers at the very beginning due to the limitations of Munich's public transport system only nine of us headed out to the last hut trip of the year. Starting at the Austrian village of Kramsach and walking through beautifully coloured autumn forests we eventually came to our lodge for the night - the Bayreuther Hütte (1600m). After this 1000m ascent not everyone was prepared for the remaining track of the day. With three people laying in the sun the rest of us were climbing the 600m to the Vorderes Sonnwendjoch (2224m) in just over an hour – we had to be back by 7pm for dinner. Food is always a good reason to hurry. Continuing towards the Sagzahn (2228m) – pointing three locals towards the spot where they could find their two sheep – with a bit of rock climbing, we eventually made it to the foot of the Rofanspitze (2259m). However, it was getting late and so this peak was left for the following day. Setting up a high pace for the descent we just made it to the doorstep of the hut at 6.59pm. Dinner. The hut was closing for the winter this very weekend and so they had to get rid off all the alcohol – apparently. This meant free shots for everyone. After a certain point we stopped counting and the last one made it to bed at around midnight. With too much alcohol left in the circulation is was quite hard getting back on track the following morning but we successfully made it to the Rofanspitze. Some of us descended directly to the Erfurter Hütte (1834m) whereas the rest of the group took a detour around the Rossköpfe (2246m), Seekarlspitze (2261m) and Spieljoch (2236m) down to the hut. After descending further to the village of Maurach – either on foot or by cable car – we took the bus back to Tegernsee – leaving us stuck in traffic for more than 1h.

Ten really heroic people set off to climb the Daniel (2340m), the highest peak in the Ammergauer Alps. The day promised to be even worse than expected - as far as the weather was concerned. But as we were all well equipped for the worst - not even snow could stop us. Getting to the Tuftlalm (1496m) in constant rain and on muddy paths was made up by good food served by a cute Dutch lady - plus some "Schnaps" for free before heading off to the peak. At around 1850m the rain turned into snow. After much more mud we arrived at the Upsspitze, a peak just 20 min along the ridge to the west of Daniel - a bit too late to make it to our final destination. "Sliding" back down to the already abandoned hut we were surprised to find a crate of beer and soft drinks. Not for free this time though but much appreciated as a refreshment for the last hour before embracing the warmth of the railway coach. Although having no view - no twisted ankles or broken legs as well - it still was a perfect day hiking.

Dear Reader,

Call me a perpetually thirsty masochist who thinks carrying 10+ kilos on one's own back over mountains is fun (apologies to Melville). What I am about to narrate is a description of a 4 day hike over the Dolomite mountain ranges in the north Italian region of Sued Tirol. I was accompanied by 11 other like-minded mentally deficient people, some of whom were trekking in the Dolomites simply because it sounded exotic, some under the guise of meditation, and some for exercise; I personally can't ascribe any reasons for why I went--hence the masochist.

Day 1: On this bright morning we gathered at a car rental station at the appointed time (but left slightly later), equipped with the latest that technology has to offer to lead us in the right direction (South), even though one had a compass tattooed on his foot. Having allotted 12 people between 3 cars, fought morning traffic, we did eventually leave Munich towards Italy through Austria; our destination: the village of Völs am Schlern (Fiè allo Sciliar) which is just a couple of miles northeast of the larger city of Bolzano. For the first-time non-continental Europe readers, it costs a fortune to use the Austrian and Italian motorways, even if you are going to climb mountains, so you see, its masochism at its best all the way through. To show that no one/thing can beat
Mother Nature or the inherent stupidity of man, we made a few wrong turns and the previously mentioned guiding technology stopped working at a critical point; but the odds of having someone sensible in 12 people is high, so we finally did make it to our destination, a dusty but overflowing (with cars, that is) parking lot.

We--who usually stand out in crowds, not because there is no place, but due to our peculiar individualities--decided to blend in this time and so disguised ourselves as well equipped (mostly made in Germany) mountain people. Having adjusted our appearances, we looked up to see where we had to go--the Schlern plateau, an ascent of 1400m over roughly 9kms. This place also held the first beer of the day; by the way, alcohol being a great motivator will appear very frequently in the narrative as beer or wine. Looking not being enough to get to the beer, we started to hike and soon enough the group split, not because of internal differences, at least not yet. After much gleeful climbing (agony to the normal person), the groups finally reached the Schlernhaus, (Rifugio Bolzano, 2450m), in the Rosengarten area, the last group reaching at 7pm just 4.5h after the start.
Another tip: food in the Sued Tirolean mountain huts is usually served only until 7.30 or 8 pm, in stark contrast to our good old Bavarian huts, but beer/wine flows freely until 10 pm in both.

One of us even had the audacity to turn his nose up on a Schnitzel because it was served without breadcrumbs,
but he finally did eat it; another mildly remarked about the lack of local Weißbier (most Sued Tirolean mountain huts serve Weihenstephan, a beer from near Munich). After enjoying these comestibles, we joined the mob (we are in Italy after all) outside to take in the views of the "rose-lit" Catinaccio mountains, hence the name Rosengarten. With all this climbing not being enough, we even climbed the peak Monte Petz (2563m) very conviniently located right behind the hut. Before retiring for the night, when we discovered that a flimsy curtain-covered corner with sinks were the only washing facilities in the hut, a pall of silence fell over the ladies. Oh, had I not mentioned it?! we had 4 of the fair sex in our group, which goes to show that masochism isn't restricted only to the male gender, thank god, the feminists have one less battle to fight. The night passed uneventfully except that ear plugs would have helped--take note, dear reader.

Day 2: Our destination was the Vajoletthütte (Rifugio Vajolet, 2243m), which was a "mere" 12km away from the starting point, our breakfast table. By 10 am that day, we had covered quite a bit of the distance very rapidly, after all we are well disguised mountain people. When we stopped for an early lunch at the Tierser Alpl Hut (Rifugio Alpe di Tires, 2440m), we were well fed to resolve a dilemma of the route we were supposed to take to the Passo Molignon (2604m): either an easy meander or up a chain secured path with some climbing, the latter being something that the "Big F" had forgotten to mention ("Big F" being a joke unknown to this author). In the end, the "Big F" did prevail and we did take the latter and reached the top without any significant casualties, if you discount the psychological variety. From here, we had a good view of a peak called Catinaccio d'Antermoia (Kesselkogel, 3002m). Not being properly equipped to climb it we comfortably appreciated its immense height and in passing, also commented on how easy it was to scale it.

Unfortunately, this comfort did not last for too long as we saw a 250m descent followed by an equal height in ascent to the Passo Principe which also housed the Grassleitenpasshütte (2601m). By then, we had seen enough mountains and crossed enough passes so that the final stretch for that day appeared to be a gentle stroll. This stretch led us to the Rifugio Vaiolet, located just below the Torri del Vaiolet and Cima Catinaccio, at 4pm. Bit early but hey, enough time to spend queuing for the only 6 minute shower (and actually using it) and waiting to drink the much deserved beer served by a grumpy young Italian girl. The day ended with wine for dinner and dirty jokes in the men's room and continuous banging at the thin separating wooden wall from the ladies (all they had to do was shout another joke, but..).

Day 3: Take a guess? More walking, more mountains, same beer, but cheerful waitresses and waiters.

Too tired to write more, will only sketch: reached the Kölner Hütte (Rifugio A. Fronza, 2339m) through the
Passo delle Zigolade (2550m), Rotwandhütte (Rifugio Roda di Vael, 2283m) for lunch and the Monument to Cristomannos. A game of Charades with the movie “Free Willy” to be enacted was promised, but not delivered.

Day 4: Nearly the end (of this tirade as well, dear reader).

We finally reached the village of St. Zyprian--our destination from where we had to take the bus back to the village of Völs am Schlern, but in two groups, with three guys taking a shorter route. Apparently, the others took the longer one to watch horses, eat local food and listen to music (I am sure they picked flowers too, but they will deny it if asked).

At the end, some swam and the rest had coffee, but all had a blast.

Quite an trip, don't you think? Thanks for reading

Regards, PTM (read the first line)

Our goal: Conquer a series of 3 peaks known as the Watzmann massif, and one's own vertigo while keeping our ego intact in the process. Some common sense dictated that we do the conquering over two days - we are Weekend Warriors after all. Our group of four - yes, with the customary brave lady again, although a different one this time - headed towards the Berchtesgaden area on Saturday noon, although the weather forecast did not bode well for Sunday. Our initial ascent of 1200m brought us to the Watzmannhaus (1930m) and in time for lunch. This mountain hut, an oasis of sorts for tired hikers, has as gastronomical offerings: a passable stew, spaghetti which could do with more sauce, a Leberkäs with the occasionally missing fried egg, and a more than passable Kaiserschmarrn which one hiker thought is adorned by an unusual combination of sugar and cinnamon. These details are meant to encourage the gourmand hikers to join and also to show that we not only climb mountains, but enjoy (and critique) the local delicacies as well.

A sound night's sleep at the Watzmannhaus, which offers lovely views from the gents by the way (the lady refused to comment on this question), prepared us well for what was to come that day. The morning dawned with clouds and drizzle and we thought we would have to wait out the bad weather, but no, the gods were smiling. At 6.45am, we were on our way to the first peak of the Watzmann - the Hocheck (2651m) and where we were 2 hours later. By then, the sky had also completely cleared, which boosted our confidence levels to take on the Middle Peak (2713m). This particular mountain demands the use of "Klettersteig" equipment, using which we reached the highest point of the ridge after 45 minutes. The mandatory oohs and aahs were duly sung, with our groaning bodies providing the background score, for the awesome views which we were treated to from the top. This was not the end of course, unlike most hikes - the last bit of the ridge to the South Peak was still to be traversed. This part was a bit more demanding: lots of fairly exposed spots to be braved. After braving these elements for 2 hours, we finally did arrive at the last point of the ridge, which also doubled as a spot for lunch where the music, mentioned before, was played again.

Keeping with the gastronomical motif, the icing on the cake was the descent. Though only 1200m down to the Wimbach valley, the scramble down really was terrible, lasting for three and a half hours. The weather gods somehow seemed to be miffed as it started raining slighty, but we of stout heart welcomed the rain. After a short refreshing stop at the Wimbachgrieshütte (1327m), the last 8 km of our hike led us through a rather boring landscape back to civilization. At the end, on a Sunday evening, we were a bunch of very exhausted but happy people.

On this day, which was proving to be very hot indeed, we set off to climb the Soiernspitze, situated in the northern most part of the Karwendel Mountains. The fairer sex (at the cost of being politically incorrect) set the pace for this hike, which initially passed through a verdant forest track to the Fischer-Alm. At our first break, the Soiernhaus (1610m), which we reached via the Lakaiensteig, we rested and enjoyed some drinks and cake in the shade. We were advised by the local expert - the guy at the hut, to change our route to the Soiernspitze. This change initially led us down to a pair of lakes, from which we had to head up again. Along the way, we had to cross a very steep snow field, which some masochistic hikers found to be cooling from the heat. We, now sufficiently cooled, finally made it to the ridge and in just 15 minutes to the very top, which affords excellent views of the Karwendel Mountains.

By continuing along the ridge to the Seinskopf (1961m), we arrived at the point of descent. After a not so difficult descent, we just couldn’t wait to get back to the car which we at last did after 9.5 hours of hiking.

We had a fantastic day though it was raining in Munich; no really good views but a lot of snow. We went from the Spitzingsee village to the Rotwandhaus. We couldn't make it to the top of the Rotwand owing to loads of snow and no proper tracks. But we'll come back and do it one day. To make up for it, we had a fanstastic lunch at the hut. As we were in an adventurous mood (when aren't we?), we hired sledges to go down the mountain, these cost 3 Euro each and it was a wise choice indeed. We relived our childhood and experienced what it is for grown-up men to behave like kids again. It was real fun! If you're interested in knowing what you missed, you can find some videos in the facebook website.