Blomberg & Zwiesel

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

We were keen to get out for a walk prior to Becky making the long drive back to the UK in order to get the van home for a winter break and a new coat of paint. However, as Becky had the long drive we didn’t want the day to be too long so that there was no additional fatigue to add into the mix. We decided to head up the Blomberg and Zwiesel, which we actually climbed from the other side on my pre assignment trip back in July 2020. However this time we went up from the other side, which turned out to be a really lovely circuit with plenty of time on the ridge and out of the forrest. It really is amazing that this is only an hour from our door, certainly better than a stroll in the mendips! There was a strong föhn wind forecast, which meant that we prepared for a windy day out. However where we were there was hardly any wind, which meant we were definitely overdressed and certainly had too many layers in our packs. However there was certainly wind about. Read the full article…

Rastkogel Hike & Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

We headed out above Mayrhofen, taking the Finkenberger Almbahn up to Penken. This meant that we stared high, so enjoyed a nice walk along a ridge up to the Rastkogel. The start of the walk was dominated by the ski area, but the views were fantastic nonetheless. Thankfully we soon left the ski areas and started to feel more remote, especially given there were hardly any people around. The views into the snowy mountains were wonderful, and the snow was just high enough that we had some snow, but nothing to cause us a problem. We made good time on the walk, and I certainly felt the paraglider on my back! On the way up to the Rastkogel I found a few good launch sites, however as I was out walking with Win I just noted them for another time! We made excellent time to the summit where we enjoyed our lunch, it was meant to be sunny but the high cloud wasn’t a problem and there appeared to be a temperature inversion as it was definitely warmer up high. The descent was mostly the same way as the ascent,. Read the full article…

Mayrhofen Klettersteig

Alastair BegleyAustria, Via Ferrata Short Link

After the morning flight, we headed up the valley to Mayrhofen to have some fun on the Klettersteigs. We started up the Pfeilspitzwand Klettersteig, in much better weather than last time, and we made excellent time as it was only two of us. The Klettersteig was as fun as I remember it, however certainly over sooner than we wanted. We decided to head off on the Astegg Klettersteig to the top, which was better than I remember it. Maybe something to do with the temperature being about 15 degrees cooler than the previous time! After a quick run back down we were soon back at the car, having had a brilliant few hours on the klettersteigs.

Zillertal Paragliding

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding Short Link

We were staying in the Zillertal so that we could enjoy the alps with Win without having to do 3 hours of driving every day, and so that Becky could finish off her practical paragliding training. Win wanted to get in on the paragliding and did a tandem flight in the morning with out flight school, her pilot was a good friend of the flight school boss who is a designer for Skywalk Paragliders. She went for the Superhöhenflug which ensured fantastic views and a good flight time. After she took off, I then followed and enjoyed a very smooth flight down. It was great to watch her flying and to see the pretty aggressive wingovers which a good pilot can manage! After we finished the flight, we then headed off and climbed the klettersteig from Mayrhofen. Later in the afternoon we met up with Becky and all headed up to Melchboden, where they enjoyed some Kaiserschmarrnn and I enjoyed an evening flight back down to Zell. This was a beautiful flight in the soft evening light.

Hochiss Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

With the easing of travel restrictions we had a visitor, so I was keen to make the most of the first day of cool sunny weather as I was expecting that the views would be stunning. I had an idea to walk up a ridge to the final summit of the Achensee 5 Gipfel Klettersteig, as I thought that the views over Achensee and into the Karwendel would be wonderful. After planning the walk I noticed that there was a grassy area between the two summits, and after some googling I discovered that it was hike&fly summit. This meant that I could combine a nice walk with Win and Becky, with a flight back down to the valley. We started relatively early as I wasn’t sure how busy it would be, this would have been fine but there was a significant amount of cloud which wasn’t in the weather forecast. So this meant we had a chilly walk away from the Rofanseilbahn, and then soon ascended into the cloud. Thankfully before we got to the end of the ridge the cloud started to clear and we had beautiful views into. Read the full article…

Tegelbergsteig Klettersteig

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Via Ferrata Short Link

With a sunny Saturday forecast we headed down to Fügen to climb the classic klettersteig up the Tegelberg. As we arrived in Fügen it was very cloudy, but as we made our way up the steep ascent to the start of the klettersteig we emerged through to find a missive inversion. The climb itself faced north, which meant we had a beautiful view but fairly challenging conditions photographically. The route started easily before getting to a branch point with a ladder which was followed by the crux. This resulted in many people down climbing the ladder and a big queue. Thankfully once this cleared we didn’t need to queue much as the slower groups let us past at convenient points. The rest of the climb was good fun, despite the damp and greasy rock. Once we were at the top, we made the short climb up to the lift station where we enjoyed lunch at the restaurant before taking the lazy way down in the lift.

Gerlossteinwand Klettersteig

Alastair BegleyAustria, Via Ferrata Short Link

Having spent another weekend in Zell am Ziller, with a morning weather and time window, the obvious objective was the klettersteig up the Gerlosstein. As it involved a 40min walk in from the cable car, a 90min klettersteig and then a 60min walk out. As we got the cable car up the mountain we were treated to a fantastic cloud inversion looking back down the Zillertal towards the mountains above Achensee. Other than the inversion there was not a cloud in the sky, and we had perfect conditions for the route. The route itself was fun, with some strenuous sections, some great scrambling, wonderful positions and outstanding views, the only negative was that it was in the shade which meant we were chilly and the photos were not great! After a wonderful route we topped out into the warm sun and enjoyed some lunch with an outstanding view in every direction. After a relaxing lunch we started the decent, which was fairly abrupt, but was over soon enough and were down at the lift in good time. Unfortunately we had forgotten that everything shuts for lunch, and out leisurely lunch. Read the full article…

Mayrhofen Klettersteig

Alastair BegleyAustria, Via Ferrata Short Link

Having spent a week and a long weekend in Zell am Ziller, it was inevitable that we would end up doing a number of the klettersteigs above Mayrhofen. The topo is like nothing I have ever seen, with 5 klettersteigs on a single topo, four of which start from the valley and finish near an alm, and the other climb the cliff above the alm. On the first day we ended up wanting a relaxing day off paragliding, so didn’t head into the mountains. This did have the unfortunate effect that it was very, very hot! We started on one of the easier routes, the Huterlaner Klettersteig, which had the added advantage that it topped out at the alm. The route itself was nothing to shout about, but given that it was straight out of the valley, and a 5min walk from the train station it was pretty good. On the route we had wonderful views down the valley, the smallest wire bridge that I have ever seen and plenty of sun. When we got to the top we were not sure if we wanted to continue up the higher. Read the full article…