Reintalersee Klettersteig

Alastair BegleyAustria, Via Ferrata Short Link

Having moved to Munich last weekend this was my first opportunity to make the most of living an hour from the Alps. Adam and I headed into Austria to the Reintalersee. As it was a forecast to be a really hot day, and to avoid the traffic we set off very early. Given how hot it was in the afternoon, and how many people were on the klettersteig by the time we finished this was definitely a good idea. The route had a short and reasonably steep walk in, followed by a fairly steep start. Unfortunately the route involved lots of ’cable pulling’ rather than rock climbing, but it was still enjoyable with excellent views. As it was our first route in a while we decided not to go for the hard “E” variant and just to stick to the normal route. This meant we were able to enjoy a lovely traverse in an outstanding position with fantastic views, which as made even better as it was in the shade! Soon we harder route rejoined our route and we just had one final section to do, which again was fairly. Read the full article…

Siegestor

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Landscape Short Link

Having moved to Munich the night before I was keen to get out and do something on my first night living in a new city. After a bit of research I decided to head out to Siegestor which is a triumphal arch which is crowned with a statue of Bavaria. It was not my most successful blue hour photography escapade, however it was enjoyable to be out and is a memory of my first night in Munich. I struggled to get in the correct position with the road and various bits of roadworks which were going on.

Kristenkar – Bischof – Wankbahn

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

After staying the night in Garmisch we headed up the valley in the morning on the train to start our walk from Eschenlohe. The initial ascent looked brutal from the valley, and felt no better while on the route. To start with the walk was fairly flat and in the woods until we got to the start of the obvious gorge, at this point the path became vague and very steep. It didn’t relent until the summit from this point! The initial ascent headed up the side of the gorge in the woods and then up to the scree slope which took us to the top, while the scree slope was as steep as it looked there was a good path which took us all the way to the top. After a large amount of water and some well earned food we were then able to enjoy the rest of the ridge. The views while walking along the ridge were brilliant and kept changing as we went around different corners. It was great to be out on a beautiful sunny day, while not seeing many people so close to Munich.. Read the full article…

Day walks from Munich

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

We are moving to Munich soon, and as part of my relocation package my company pay for a pre-assignment trip. We decided to make the most of this by adding on an extra three days in the mountains with our friends. We had hoped to stay away, but the good forecast and post covid enthusiasm meant that everywhere was very expensive which meant we did 2 day trips. Zwiesel On the first day the weather forecast wasn’t great, so we stayed as local as possible and did a loop which took in the Zwiesel, finished at a restaurant and had a lift to take us back down. The walk was not that exciting as it was mostly in the woods, but it was lovely to be out walking and catching up with our friends. The views from the summit of Zwiesel were wonderful, and I will be back for sunset later in the year. Kofel to Sonnenberg The next day the weather was much better and we had a longer day out above Oberammergau where we climbed the impressive looking Kofel and then headed along the ridge to the Sonnenberg. Read the full article…

Red Screes Circuit

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

On our last day in the Lake District we were meant to be going climbing, but having removed a large amount of skin from my heal the previous evening while removing tape I was unable to put my climbing shoes on. Thankfully we had a plan b, and we headed off on a half day walk from our cottage. We decided to walk from Ambleside up to Red Screes, onto Middle Dodd and then back down Scandale back to Ambleside. The walk was fairly abrupt as we left Ambleside on the road up to Kirkstone pass, as we left the road it didn’t get much easier, but the views did get better. We made good time up to the summit and enjoyed the views. Despite not seeing anyone on the walk up the summit was fairly busy as it is very close to the Kirkstone pass. We then had the strange experience of descending to the second Wainwright from the first summit. The view down over Brothers Water from the Middle Dodd was brilliant. After a boggy traverse to avoid the re-ascent we were at the start of the descent. Read the full article…

Kentmere Horseshoe

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

After a relaxed morning in Ambleside we headed out for a late walk to make the most of the improved weather in the evening. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite as nice as forecast, but it was still a lovely evening and a great walk. Based on our time the day before, we set off at 4:30 which we thought would get us back just as it was getting dark. We made really good time and were back in 5h30mins just after sunset, which was a nice surprise. As we set off from the cars it was very humid and we were not feeling that motivated by the late start, but thankfully as we climbed up to the first top our motivation increased, and the breeze made it feel less humid. The views were brilliant for the entire walk, which was much more undulating than the previous day. We met a few other people out, who were mostly out for an evening wild camping. It looked like a nice way to spend the evening with the excellent forecast. It was great to see a different perspective of some of the mountains. Read the full article…

Fairfield Horseshoe

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

We decided to make the most of being able to walk from our cottage in Ambleside and headed out to do the Fairfield horseshoe. The weather when we set off was fairly marginal, but thankfully other than a few spots of rain we stayed dry. We decided to do the route clockwise, which meant a flat walk along the valley to Rydal at the start with before the steep ascent up to Nab Scar and onto Heron Pike. After Nab Scar the views were brilliant all day, with excellent views in every direction. There was even a surprising amount of sun. We made good time to the summit of Fairfield, where we enjoyed a quick lunch before descending. The descent was very warm as we were protected from the wind by a beautiful dry stone wall which snaked it’s way all the way down the ridge. After an enjoyable day out, and in a respectable time of 5hrs10mins we were back at the cottage in time to enjoy some champagne before heading out to dinner.

Troutdale Pinnacle

Alastair BegleyLake District, Rock Climbing Short Link

After driving up from Bristol in the morning we were after a short day climbing in Borrowdale. Our initial plan having not climbed outside since the Dolomites last year was to head to Shepherd’s Crag, however despite it being a Thursday every car park was very full so after driving between them all multiple times we bailed to another plan. We parked in the large car park near Quayfoot Buttress and then made an unusual approach to Black Crag to climb Troutdale Pinnacle. I last climbed Troutdale Pinnacle six years ago while training for the alps, it was soaking wet and we moved together. This time the weather was much more favourable, and my climbing was much less current, however it was a much more enjoyable route this time. We were hoping that starting late in the middle of the week that we would be the only people at the crag, however as we arrived there were two other teams there, one of which was setting off up Troutdale Pinnacle. We decided to queue anyway, and had a chilled out climb enjoying the sun at the belays. The climbing was. Read the full article…