.. exploring beautiful places at home, in the Alps or far away
After the Saladinaspitze we walked back for about one hour until we reach the path that leads up to the Fensterlewand. We had to climb up a gully to reach the summit. The gully was filled with soil and stones. Fortunately we were the only people going up there, otherwise falling stones might be a problem. It also requires some climbing to reach the summit (I-II). From the summit we had a good view to the Saladinaspitze 🙂
Last year we decided to become hiking guides for the german alping club (DAV). We enjoy being in the mountains so much that we would also like to show others some hiking trails. So we applied for a course to become a hiking guide. This course takes place at the Freiburger Hütte in the beautiful Lechquellengebirge.
On the first day of the course we did a hike to the Saladinaspitze. It is only about 2 hours away from the Freiburger Hütte. Most of the time the path is easy but before reaching the summit it is partly quite exposed. From the summit we had a great view to the surrounding mountains!
This tour can be combined with a hike to the Fensterlewand (2329m).
For some time now we were waiting for the next weekend without snow, rain, storm and extreme heat. And also this weekend didn't look so good at first. For Saturday the weather forecast predicted rain and storms for almost the whole day. However Sunday was supposed to be quite good and Monday was said to be perfect.
So we decided to "move" the weekend by one day and went to Oberstdorf in the Allgäu, again. Our plan was to go to Birgsau by bus and then climb up to the Mindelheimer Hut via the Mindeheimer Klettersteig. The next day we we wanted to climb down to Mittelberg very very early to get back to work not too late.
So in short - this basically worked out as planned! However, this was our first via ferrata this year and the way up from Birgsau to the entry point was already quite long. So when we arrived at the beginning of the via ferrata we already fell a little tired. I think next time we will sleep on a hut again before entering the Mindelheimer Klettersteig.
From the via ferrata we had a very good view to the left and to the right. To our left we were able to see the Enzian Hut, the Rappensee Hut, the Waltenberger Haus and the Heilbronner Weg. To our right we looked down to the Fiderepasshütte.
At about 7 in the evening we finally arrived at the Mindelheimer Hut. Luckily there was still a free place for sleeping and we even were able to order a dinner! 🙂 The evening on the hut was unusual warm and we had a nice look onto the mountains which were still covered with sunlight.
The next morning when we woke up on the hut we were almost not able to move due to muscle ache! 😀 Still, we made it down to Mittelberg in the end to catch the bus back to Oberstdorf. This was a very nice first tour through the Alps this year! 🙂
The Schesaplana is a quite famous mountain. Actually I am not sure why that is... maybe just because it is the highest mountain in the Raetikon area..Some people told us that it is very nice up there. So we decided to give it a try. The Totalphut was already closed. Still the weather was perfect and so we decided to take our tent with us. To be continued....
From Stuttgart there is one train connection a day that goes to Imst without changing trains. So Imst was our destination for this long weekend. After about 6 or 7 hours we finally arrive at the train station Imst-Pitztal. When you arrive at the train station there seems to be no town close to it. We booked a hotel in Arzl, because on the map it looked quite close to the station. But what we could not see on this map was that we have to go up a hill to reach the village. So it takes us about one hour from the train station to go to the hotel. The hotel (the only one that was still available) is very nice. On the reception we are told that dinner will be "entrecote" today. We had no idea what it is, but we said that it would be ok for us.
The dinner at the hotel was fantastic! It stared with a salad buffet, then soup, then leek and potato pastry. Then the main course entrecote (a medium beef steak) with potato with garlic dip and roasted vegetables. And afterwards a piece of cake. Great! After that we fall into bed immediately.
The next morning we enjoy a great breakfast. After breakfast the bus to Trenkwald is leaving in front of our hotel. I think we are the youngest people on this bus. All the others must be older than 60 or so.. After about one hour the bus arrives in Trenkwald. From there we plan to go up to the Verpeiljoch and then down to the Verpeil Hut. The path is very nice and we enjoy the great view around. We follow a small river for a long time. The way down from Verpeiljoch is very slippery because of many pebbles lying around. After 6 or 7 hours we arrive at the hut which is beautifully situated. Two rivers and high mountains surround the hut. We spent a lot of time lying in the sunshine and then we enjoy dinner. We sleep very well, no one snores.
The next morning after breakfast we want to go to the Kaunergrathütte. It is a beautiful view when the sun comes over the mountain and from one second to another everything is enlighten. The path is really nice, you always look at the Madatschtürme. We even see some people going up there. Then we go along a glacier up to the aperes Madatschjoch. From there there is a short fixed rope route down in the direction of the Kaunergrathütte. We decide to go up the Plangeroßkopf which is something like a little summit at 3053m high. We spent some time in the sunshine on the top and just enjoy being there. After some time we go back down and to the Kaunergrathütte. Actually we wanted to sleep there, but they were full! Therefore they asked us to go to the Riffelseehütte. This is another 3 to 4 hours walk. But before we leave the Kaunergrathütte we have a Apfelstrudel. Yummy!! The so called Cottbuser Höhenweg which connects the Kaunergrathütte with the Riffelseehütte is very beautiful. You always have a great view of the surrounding mountains. One passage contains a few ropes, but it is doable without via ferrata gear. After more than 10 hours we finally arrive at the Riffelseehütte. We have a very nice room with two other people. Dinner is Gulaschsuppe and for me Knödelteller and for Carsten Leberkäse with egg and potatoes. Really good! And I am so full afterwards! After dinner we play cards and then we fall into bed - until 4am in the morning. Then the fire bell is ringing and (almost) everybody gets up - but luckily it was only a false alarm.
After breakfast we decided to go the Offenbacher Höhenweg to the Taschachhaus. This way is very beautiful! In the beginning you walk along a small river, then you cross a place with many big stones lying around until you reach a small glacier. For the glacier we used our crampons and then we went up. That was cool. Then there are two paths up to the summit of the Wurmtaler Kopf - you can either continue to go up the glacier or walk on the ridge. We decided to take the path on the ridge - but that was not so good. Many loose pebbles made the way up very slippery. But on top of the Wurmtaler Kopf - 3228m high - you have a great panorama. Then we start to descend to the Taschachhaus - it is still far away. We pass a lake that looked like the water is green. We took many breaks on the way to the Taschachhaus and enjoyed the beautiful landscape. Now we could also see the glacier around the Wildspitze. The Taschachhaus had a nice room for us and great food. Soup, salad, Wiener Schnitzel with Pommes and Apfelstrudel! What a great evening.
In the morning after breakfast we went back down to the village Mittelberg. From there a bus took us to Imst and from there we took the train back to Stuttgart. This was another great long weekend in a beautiful landscape!
