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Marty
writes: Last year it was the
Watzmann (2713 meters), the second highest mountain
in Germany. So the logical choice this year was the Zugspitze
(2962 meters), the highest mountain in Germany. It's mostly
the same group as last year (Christian, Frank, Reinhardt,
Klaus, and me), with a couple of additions (Jörg and
Thomas).
We
started out late on Wednesday afternoon from Munich, and
drove down to Hammersbach (just under 800 meters elevation),
just south of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where we parked the
car. Our approach to the peak goes through the Höllental,
which can be translated as the Valley of Hell or the Valley
of Caves. Take your pick. Our plan was to spend the night
in the Höllentalanger Hütte (Hütte means
cottage or lodge), only a couple of hours from the parking
lot, and then attack the summit on Thursday.
Everything
went fine the first evening. We went through the very picturesque
Höllentalklamm. (A Klamm is a gorge, usually carved
out by melting snow and mountain springs.) We reached the
Hütte by about 9:00 pm. The late hour of our arrival
perturbed the proprieter a bit, but we were served some
dinner, and given a place to sleep. Well actually, the seven
of us were given four bunks. It made things a bit cozy,
but we managed.
Thursday
morning we awoke to overcast skies and scattered rain. We
couldn't see the peak due to the clouds. After much painful
deliberation, we decided not to go on the Zugspitze that
day, but we would prolong the trip one day, and try again
on Friday. So Thursday, we hiked around to the east a bit
and climbed a lower peak, the Osterfelder Kopf (2050 meters).
Friday
we awoke to conditions not much better than Thursday, but
no rain. We had already waited 24 hours, and we decided
we weren't waiting any longer.
We
cheated a little on the way down. We took the cable car
to the cog-wheel train back to Hammersbach, where we parked.
Friday night (after showers), we capped off the experience
in a beer garden back in Munich.
The
pictures below are so far just the ones I took. Some parts
of the climb --the more interesting parts -- required two
hands. But my Bergkameraden (literally, "mountian commrades")
took plenty, and I'll be adding to the collection
below as I get copies of their stuff.
Click
on the small pictures to see the larger versions.
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In
the parking lot, with our goal in sight. The entrance
to the valley is just to the left of the picture.
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First
things first. Who's gonna carry the food?
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Christian
& Klaus lead the way.
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Near
the entrance the the Höllentalklamm.
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Jörg
just before the entrance to one of the many caves carved
out for the path.
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It
just wouldn't be a Klamm without the water.
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This
Klamm is high-tech. It even has lights in the caves.
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More
Klamm scenery.
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A
shot of the Höllental.
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1381
meters. Here's the cottage where we spent the first
night. Well, OK. We spent the second night there too.
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Begin
Day 2. See that peak on the right? That's not the
Zugspitze. The peak we want is behind those clouds in
the middle.
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After
much deliberation, we make the painful decision to turn
left here. We'll try again tomorrow and hope for
better weather.
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We
decided to get some hiking in despite the weather, so
we headed east, away from the Zugspitze. Here's
a stream coming out the side of a mountain the the Höllental.
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A
salamander we saw along the way. Somehow, I don't
think he climbed up all the way from the bottom.
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Some
interesting "bath tubs" carved out by the running
water.
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You
can see that in this direction the weather doesn't
look unfriendly. Not great, but at least no rain clouds.
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1527
meters. We stopped for a break at the Knappenhäuserhütte
(not in service).
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After
reaching the peak of the Osterfeldkopf (2050 meters) we
pass through the Höllentor, pictured here.
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Klaus
did some scouting about during one of our breaks.
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The
valley toward Garmisch, where we started the day before.
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End
Day 2. We're back at the cottage playing Doppelkopf,
a strange German card game where Jacks, Queens and 10's
are higher than Kings, and you don't know who your
partner is until you're halfway into the hand.
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Begin
Day 3. That looks much better, doesn't it? No? Well,
screw it. We're going anyway!
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Go
west, young man!
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Click
to see the bigger picture and you will notice mountain
goats and sheep grazing on the side of the mountain.
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See.
Told ya!
The
next picture is taken after some very interesting parts
of the mountain, that required this climber to put the
camera away and use both hands.
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I'm
about to have my first close encounter with a glacier.
Some of the black dots on the ice are people.
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There
are lots of rifts in the ice. You can also see a layer
of crushed rock on top of the ice.
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A
close up of the ice.
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It's
hard to tell how far down it goes. Better stay on the
path to the right. Of course, at this point everyone has
the clamp on ice-cleats (Steigeisen).
After
this, the camera gets put away again for a while.
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2962
meters. The highest peak in Germany!
I
guess next year, we'll have to go to Switzerland.
Pictured
are me (in the green fleece), Jörg (in the orange),
Reinhardt and Christian (behind Jörg) and Frank (behind
me). Klaus is taking the picture.
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