Tag Archives: kaiserschmarm

Berchtesgadener Alps……the final day

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So here we were, sitting in the Riemannhaus hut in the middle of a very bleak looking Stony Sea in the Berchtesgadener Alps, with rain lashing against the windows. We had a choice now of going out to trek for three to four hours up a snowy gully to reach another hut (the Ingolstaedterhaus), or staying put, getting warm and dry, and staying the night where we were.

After debating for a while, we decided that going on was really the only choice. We were there after all, and you have to make the most of it, come what may! After donning some rather damp waterproofs and braving the teeth of the wind, we started out on our way. I am not sure if there was anyone else out there at all, but we perservered, and were so glad that we did.

Shortly into the walk it began to snow, which was not quite what we had expected for July, but we were up at about 2,400m, and the clouds were very low. We decided that we would just have fun on the way instead – we were not going to be able to climb anything, it would have been too dangerous.

Having a bit of a lark around as the snows came down….

And Anna putting on a very brave and happy face as we headed off up on one of so many snowfields.

After a couple of hours of walking, the clouds began to suddenly lift, which was as unexpected as it was welcome. The temperature began to rise and we could actually see ahead of us for a change. It made a big difference to the progress we were able to make.

The mood lifts along with the clouds…..

One of the surprising things about this whole trek was just how much snow there was still around. Most of our walking was at between 2,000 and 2,400m, and the snow looked to be a good two metres deep in places.

Another snowfield to cross…..the landscape of the Stony Sea finally visible in the background.

Eventually the waterproofs came off altogether, and we were able to walk at a much better pace.

And finally the Ingolstaedterhaus (centre of picture) comes into view in the distance.

The Ingolstaedterhaus seemed to take forever to reach, but was a very welcome sight at what had been along days walking. Had the weather been kinder I would have loved to have climbed up the peak behind the hut, but even though the clouds had lifted by now it was probably a bit of a gamble still, so we got booked into the hut and got our wet stuff off finally.

The Ingolstaedterhaus looms ever closer…..

…and finally we are there 🙂

The views from the hut were quite stunning now that there was some visibility, and we even managed a beer on the terrace outside – well it would have been rude not to really!

Westerly view over Austria from the terrace at the Ingolstaedterhaus

After some very suitable Austrian food (Schnitzel followed by Kaiserschmarm, what else?) and a few beers and a glass of wine or three, the end of the evening came rather quickly. The Ingolstaedterhaus was pretty full, and a great place to stop and stay if you are ever in the vicinity.

The next morning we had an early start, as we had a lot of miles to cover. It was our final day in the mountains and had to get back to Munich that night for an early flight back to the UK the day after. The trek back to the Funtensee was around three hours, and then another three back down to the Königsee in what was one of the heaviest downpours you will ever see. It was a great walk though, and the rain didn’t bother us in the slightest, it was just great to be there.
All in all, this (despite the mostly shocking weather) was just a great trip. The Bertchesgadener Alps are a stunning location, with a great deal to offer from a trekking and also a climbing perspective, and the Stony Sea is almost like no place I have ever been to. Many of the routes that we passed were graded black and required technical via ferrata equipment, so there is something to offer everyone. With great huts and fine Austrian hospitality, I’d thoroughly recommend the area, and would love to go back there sometime.

Karwendel Alps Day 3

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Waking up in a 10 foot by 10 foot room in a mountain hut with 10 people in it, all laid out like sardines in a tin, is never the best recipe for a good night’s sleep. And so at 5.48am I woke up for the sixth and final time this morning in the Hallerangerhaus hut in the Austrian Karwendel Alps. The area is nothing short of outstandingly beautiful, with some soaring and scary cliffs around us (graded 9+ in the German scale, which I think is 5.13c or so on the US rankings ).

Breakfast was at a very civilised 7am, and we were able to enjoy some muesli,
and bread with honey and jam to get us back up the mountain from where we had descended the day before.

We should head up there somewhere…….

A beautiful day awaited us as we set out.

Our path back up to where we had descended from the previous evening

The path up to the top at about 2,200m was steep, but thankfully was north facing, and so the sun had not yet reached this part (we left at 8am) and so it kept it cool enough to be bearable. We also stopped en route to make a small ‘birthday’ cairn and for Verena as it was her birthday:

Happy Birthday Verena!

Once over the top, that path was a beautiful traverse, called the Wilde Bande Steig. It was a scramble in parts, and sometimes was secured by small sections of via ferrata, but no clipping in was required.

About to set off along the Wilde Bande Steig – our path would take us up the snowy col in the distance eventually.

A closer view of the Wilde Bande Steig path on the right of the picture

A couple of snowfields had to be crossed, but the snow was firm but yielding and so did not require crampons, which was a relief as I had left mine at the bottom of the mountain!

Making our way along a tricky section of the Wilde Bande Steig

Crossing a snowfield

Close up of the path on the other side of the valley, it looked a bit precarious to me…

After crossing a final precariously perched snowfield, we began the climb up to the col, the Stempeljoch. The path was very steep and it was by now extremely hot, and virtually windless, but otherwise wasn’t too bad.

The final path up to the Stempeljoch from the Wilde Bande Steig

Once over the top of the Stempeljoch we climbed up to get a view back over the ridge back down the valley. It was a beautiful view. When I took the photo below however I then stupidly stepped backwards into thin air and fell, landing onto my shin. Although it was only a short fall, my shin bled profusely (high pulse/blood pressure at the top of the climb no doubt contributing to this) and it looked a lot worse than it ultimately was.

I bled a lot for this photograph 🙂 The view behind shows part of the path that we used to ascend.

From here we thankfully had only a shortish walk to the next hut, the Pfeishutte. We went down straight away so that I could get my lep patched and cleaned up. The people at the hut (and I should most certainly say the same for both Susanne and Verena too) were fantastic, and I’m very grateful to them. Although my cuts weren’t ultimately too bad, they were very all very diligent, and it made me realise that if things had been worse (I could, and probably should, have fallen further than I did) then I was in safe hands.

The path down to the Pfeishutte, shown in the middle of the picture.

Duly bandaged up, the staff at the hut told me that I should put my feet up for the afternoon, and never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I did :). I did then feel rather sorry for Verena and Susanne, as had it not been for my fall (or stupidity, or both) then we would and should have gone on to do a summit that afternoon, but instead they looked after me and took me down.

The rest of the day I therefore recuperated. I did so with some of the very best Kaiserschmarm I have ever eaten. If you haven’t had Kaiserchmarm before then it is basically a sort of mishmash of caremalised pancakes, with some raisins and sultanas added, and covered in powdered sugar, served with a fruit compote. I love this stuff so much, that it deserves a picture of it’s own, so here we go:

Kaiserschmarm – food of the gods!

The Pfeishutte was packed to the rafters, but thankfully we had places to sleep having rang ahead the day before. In the morning we would start our descent from the mountains  in the direction of Innsbruck, on what sounded a potentially steep section of scree – it sounded great.