Ski touring in Austria: Brunnenkogel

A big advantage of Munich is that it is close to the Alps. In fact, from my village, I can see the snow-capped Alpine peaks on my way to the S-Bahn. But because of work and also because I did not have a climbing partner it took some time to get back into mountaineering. But Arno, a fellow Brexit refugee who was my climbing partner in Scotland has now moved to Munich, too. So this Sunday Arno and I decided to do the sub 2 h drive into Austria to ski tour & scramble to the South of the Inn valley. Here is Arno joining the ski tour trek.

 We aimed for nearly 1800 altimetres to do the "hinterer Brunnenkogel". Here we are higher up and above Arno is the North face of the "vorderer Brunnenkogel"...

 ... and here it is in more detail. Tasty! 

 Here another photo with Arno below for a size comparison. It does not look too difficult but certainly long especially when considering the walk in. 

 We aimed for the "hinterer Brunnenkogel" which is to the left of Arno. We skinned up to the Bealach only to discover that there was a long trek of steep, quite stable but often bottomless, semi-bonded snow that did not take our weights. 

 So we were swimming up altimeter after altimeter, a skill well trained in Glen Clova and elsewhere. Here is Arno in a spot where it wasn't deep. 

Finally, we reached a ridge and scrambled for nearly an hour to reach the top. After that a slog down to the skis, skins off and with tired legs the slide to the bottom with sections that offered a tremendous opportunity for skill development or extermination (like the forest at the bottom). Good to be in mountaineering mode again!

HW

Zwiesel ski tour

In January 2017 winter finally arrived in Bavaria with a big dump of snow (sorry Scots!). So after a day on snow canon-prepared pistes Ana and I went to Bad Toelz, which is roughly 50 km from my new place. We aimed to ski tour up Zwiesel, which is a minor hill roughly as high as the Ben. Winter wonderland at last! here is Ana during the start with Zwiesel behind. 

 A key difference between Scotland and Germany is that the lower German hills have frequently large forests. They are beautiful esp in winter but unfortunately mostly no views...

 ... apart from the ood break in the cover. Here we finally have a view towards the valley of the river Isar which runs through Munich. 

 Here the end of the forrest...

 ... and on the top not a cairn but a cross plus plenty of folk. 

 The first part we mainly walked down with skins...

 ... and only after this image did we take the skis off to ski at dusk...

... to reach the car at night. On the way home the thermometer showed -19 degrees, so proper winter!

HW

Nebelhorn

Arno, is a friend, fellow Brexit escapee and Scottish winter climber (http://graniteandice.blogspot.de/2011_12_01_archive.html) who has also made it to Munich late in 2016. On the 18th of December 2016 we were looking for North face adventures and drove towards the Allgaeu, an area South West of Munich. There was some snow on the mountains...

 ... but the approach to our "Nordwand" was dry...

 ... and our face had minimal amounts of snow. So we carried on...

 ... and reached pitiful amounts of snow/neve higher up towards the Nebelhorn. 

 We did a wee neve plod...

 ... at times a little exposed...

 ... and then a scramble without unpacking our ropes...

 ... to reach a top of the Nebelhorn, a mountain nearby with a ski hut on top. On the way down we saw a few chamois...

 ... and had a look back at our peak and sort of line. 

Ach well, at least a start and also the news from bonny Scotland tell us that the Scottish winter is also too dry and warm for proper climbing. So no need for FOMO!

HW

Hexenkopf from Serfaus with Abdalla

Last weekend Abdalla Mohamed, my former PhD student in Aberdeen, visited me in Munich. Abdalla is one of the toughest and most capable researchers out there as he has completed his PhD on a muscle cancer termed rhabdomyosarcoma within 3 years at a time when Egypt, his home country, experienced enormous political and economical changes. Despite all these difficulties Abdalla also published very well and collected money for Sarcoma UK, the charity that looks after sarcoma sufferers and supports research aimed at understanding sarcoma and at developing better treatments. Please give generously! In Aberdeen Abdalla has started to get into hill walking and completed the West Highland way and the Great Glen way for Sarcoma UK. As we both like mountaineering we agreed on a walk. As our target I chose a peak just over 3000 m, the Hexenkopf, from Serfaus where I had spent a holiday in my childhood. 

Here is Abdalla roughly 500 m up on a 2000 m ascent and descent day. With Scottish prudence & pride we did not use one of the ubiquitous cable cars. 

 Here is our route from Moveslink. More or less Westwards from Serfaus to the Hexenkopf. 

But the Alps are different than Scotland. Lots of bulldozed roads, snow canons, lifts and all sorts of other stuff. Still a great day out with Abdalla, now Dr. Abdalla Mohamed, but not so good for the remoteness and solitude that is so easy to find in Scotland (see last weeks entry). 

 We reached the Alpine hut serviced by the German Alpine club section Cologne/Rhineland for alcohol free beer plus some food. The hut is superbly built and equipped but lacks the character of the Scottish bothies. Still a good rest and source for calories. From there on the last 500 m up to the Hexenkopf, following the red-white-red markings on the rock. 

 A wee bit of mini scrambling and we were huffing and puffing as we felt the altitude. 

 Finally the potentially first Egyptian ascent by Abdalla and the probably 5342543th (plus/minus) German ascent by myself. 

 2000 m up (1500 m difference in altitude but we needed to cross a few bealachs as well) means 2000 m down. We had another Apple strudel in the hut and then cruised back to Serfaus. On the hillside a few hairy sausage rolls were racing up and down and left and right: Marmots. Spot the one in this picture. 

 And plenty of cows with their bells. Do they really like the constant ringing sound?

 Finally we arrived at my car after dark. Here is Abdalla still happy despite a big day, having shown that he is not only a superb researcher and postdoc but also a very capable mountaineer! I hope this wasn't our last outing together...

 

HW

Glas Maol and Creag Leacach from Glen Isla

I love the Angus glens as they allow(ed) me to walk, climb, winter climb and ski close to our (former) home in Dundee. One area that I never really managed to explore is the head of Glen Isla from Auchavan. So during my first Scottish holiday from Munich I finally walked up the glen with Ana. 

Here she is at the beginning of the walk on an oversized landrover track. 

 The track gets wilder towards the "T-end" of the glen.

At the end of Glen Isla we walked West into Caenloachan Glen. Here the view up the glen.

 Here is Ana on her way to the end of the glen which leads to the plateau near Glas Maol.

 A truly wild but easy enough ascent, much better than the track from the ski area.

 Here a mountain hare near the summit of Glas Maol.

 We spontaenously decided to carry on to also ascent Creag Leacach. Overall we had great weather without any rain so the darker clouds were just temporary.

 We then descended into Glen Brighty, an error as it was mostly steep heather and scree. However, on the other hillside was a large herd of red deer. 

 We finally reached gentler walking back to Glen Isla and Auchavan. 

A great walk and a good alternative to bagging the Glenshee Munros. 

HW

Return to the seas & hills of Scotland

Life in Munich means that Scotland is now a holiday destination. But when I arrived at Edinburgh airport it felt as if I had never left. The Easyjet direct flight was late as usual but Ana picked me up well after midnight on Friday. On Sunday we joined a Tayside Sea Kayak Club party to paddle southwards from Stonehaven, one of my favourite trips. Here is Stonehaven harbour...

 ... and here are some of the many inlets and caves on this stunning part of the Scottish coast. 

 In one cave there is a seal colony that seems used to the kayaks. They come close, swim under the kayaks and one even nibbled on the paddle. This is why Scotland is a truly world class sea kayak destination. 

 The cliffs get higher and are still colonised by large colonies of sea birds. 

 I was missing the smell of the sea...

 ... the kayaking friends...

 ... and the great fishing. We caught lots of mackerel plus a decent sized pollack for evening BBQs.

 Here are more seals on the return to Stonehaven.

 ... and here we reach Stonehaven harbour after a great trip.

 Finally the Scottish "no mercy" heatwave (anything over 20 degrees, stay inside, drink plenty!) kicked in and Ana and I decided to paddle on the Tay towards Balmerino. 

 Flat water, great views...

 ... and near Tayport harbour we spottet several dolphins coming our way. Here is one of them.

 Here is Ana passing Tayport lighthouse...

 ... and here are the three oil rigs that dominate the Dundee horizon on the Northern shore.

 We were carried by the tide past the car and rail bridge...

 ... which is below. 

 Lunch on a beach in Balmerino. 

 After lunch the tide was flowing out but we had to paddle into the wind. 

 ... again past Dundee...

 ... and the lighthouse in Tayport.

What else? Another trip to Arbroath with grey skies so no pictures and an adventure somewhere in the Angus glens. It is great not to lose the Scottish experience and to start a new life in Munich because this is the European lifestyle that I hope to live in future!

HW