Marty writes: Here are some pictures from my mountain climbing adventure this summer. I went with my friend, Christian, and some of his friends, Klaus, Reinhardt, and Frank. We headed out Thursday morning, for a three-day, two-night trek to all three peaks of the Watzmann, Germany's second highest mountain (after the Zugspitze). The Watzmann is located in the extreme southeastern corner of Germany, almost in Austria, just south of Berchtesgaden. (It seems like all of Germany's tallest mountains are almost in Austria.)

I figured, if I was going to try something new like this, at least it would be wise to take sufficient medical expertise, just in case. My friend Christian is a doctor, and so are Reinhardt and Frank. Klaus is an architect, and I am an engineer, so I suppose we could have built a bridge or something if we'd had to.

Marty and Klaus on the first day's climb on our way to the Watzmannhaus at about 1920m (6300ft) where we'd spend the first night.

The trail was a little different the second day as we started getting higher. On the extreme right of the picture, you can see the red dots that tell us we're on the right track.

Parts of the trail were lined with these metal cables where you could clamp yourself on. That way, if you fell, it would only be a couple of meters, not several hundred. The German word for 'carry' is the same and the word for 'wear'. So by that reasoning, you can see that I am wearing my helmet.

While this picture does show the impressive views that were typical of our journey, it also shows some of the danger. Just left the very center is a rescue helicopter picking up someone who fell. (Christian read in the newspaper later that the person who fell did not survive.)

Success! Here I am at the highest peak, the Middle Peak, at 2713m (8901ft).

Taking a well deserved water break! And, no, I didn't pour it on my shirt. That's sweat!

Klaus, Marty and Christian (L to R) resting after the descent from the south peak. We just came down that long white streak down the middle of the picture. Overall, the weather was great, but we did have about 30 minutes of light rain up in the clouds at the top of the picture.

The end of day two! Reinhardt, Klaus, Christian, Frank and Marty (L to R) after about 10 hours of climbing and hiking. This picture was taken outside the Wimbachgrieshütte where we spent the second night.

That's the southern peak of the Watzmann in the background. The middle peak is off to the left. The goal for day three is simply to get to get car. Not much climbing, but about a 20km walk, mostly on this stuff. During the spring, the snowmelt forms a river where were are walking here.

Marty, Klaus, Christian and Frank (L to R) enjoying the scenery by a small mountain river. Needless to say, the water is amazingly clear, with a greenish tint caused by all of the minerals.

Truly the highlight of day three was the Wimbachklamm, or Wimbach gorge. It's worth a trip by itself. You don't have to climb the Watzmann to get to it. It's actually quite near where we parked the car.

This was a separate day trip that Christian and I did with his wife, Ursula, near the Tegernsee (Tegern Lake). No heavy packs here! This was my warm up before the Watzmann trip.

The Tegernsee Hütte (or cottage) at 1650m (5400ft) where we got some lunch and a Radler (half beer, half Limo). Can't get too filled up when you're climbing.

Ursula stayed at the Hütte while Christian and I climbed the rest of the way up to the nearby Buchstein peak (1702m, or 5580ft). In this picture, Christian and I are waving from the top.

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