Blog Posts in Category: Germany

Tegelberg to Farchant XC Paragliding

Alastair BegleyAustria, Bavaria, Paragliding Short Link

On the second day at Tegelberg I had planned to fly east after take off, through the Ammergebirge and then with the aim of seeing how far east I could fly, as this would give me an easy journey back to Munich. Unfortunately as per the previous day, the day took a very long time to get going at Tegelberg which meant that I didn’t launch until 14:20. Thankfully after this late launch I was able to take a good thermal up through the invasion layers to well above the summit. At this point I abandoned my plan as the clouds to the east didn’t look very good, but the clouds to the south did. As I vaguely knew how a number of different flight areas/mountain ranges joined up, I decided to head south and see how it went. The initial part of the flight was very scenic, although with some slow climbs due to shaded out ground, and it was really special to be able to fly over the Plansee and along to Lermoos with absolutely fantastic views. Unfortunately the Gartner Wand was completely shaded out at this point,. Read the full article…

Tegelberg Paragliding

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Paragliding Short Link

With a weekend of strong winds forecast it was hard to decide where was best to go, after much deliberation we decided to head to Tegelberg as it looked like it had the best combination of airmass and weather. After a late start due to the W/NW aspects after launch it was an enjoyable flight in bumpy conditions due to there being about 4 different inversion layers at different altitudes which were difficult to punch through. It was a very scenic place to fly with views into the Allgäu and into the Ammergebirge, and as the day progressed the conditions became progressively easier. As I ended up with some good altitude at the end of the day, I decided to head for a long final glide over the beautiful Forggensee, to land in Buching just next to my hotel for the night.

Aiplspitz and Jägerkamp

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

I took Friday off work due to there being a moderately ok forecast and wanting to get into the mountains. As the weather wasn’t perfect we decided to stay in the Bavarian Alps and head back to the Spitzingsee area. This time we elected to do a circuit up the scramble north ridge of the Aiplspitz and then traverse over to the Jägerkamp, before descending to the Spitzingsattel. As we left Munich we were not convinced about walking as it was raining heavily just south of Munich and in the mountains, which was not in any of the forecasts. We decided that as the only thing we were waisting was time we took the train down to Geitau anyway, with the hope that the rain would stop and the plan to head back home on the next train if it was still raining. Thankfully by the time we got to Geitau the weather had significantly improved and we set off on our planned walk. The views were brilliant from the start, with a wonderful view up the valley which we were going to walk up and a view of the. Read the full article…

Brecherspitz Ostgrat

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

Having previously climbed the Brecherspitz, we decided to join the IMG group walk which went from Neuhaus train station, to the Spitzingsattel and then up the Brecherspitz Ostgrat, before descending to the lovely Obere Firstalm and back to the Spitzingsattel. The walk up to the Spitzingsattel was very pleasant and for once was a gradual warm up as the ascent was never steep and the diversion to the Josefsthaler Wasserfälle was definitely worth it. We were soon at the Spitzingsattel and at the start of the route, which headed steeply up the Brecherspitz Ostgrat in the woods. There were a few short sections of easy scrambling and eventually we emerged from the humid woods onto a sunny ridge which wonderful views in every direction. Our route was relatively quiet, so it was a bit of a shock when we got to the summit of the Brecherspitz to find the crowds who had climbed it by one of the other two normal routes. We enjoyed lunch on the summit before descending to the Obere Firstalm for a welcome Eiskaffee and a drink, before making the easy walk back out along the. Read the full article…

Tegelbergsteig and Neuschwanstein Castle

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Via Ferrata Short Link

Due to a change in forecast, we had a last minute change of plan, and instead of heading to the Pongau/Pinzgau area, we ended up heading to the edge of the Allgäu, where Katherine and I climbed the Tegelbergsteig while Becky walked up due to her wrist, before we all descended back down via the Marienbrücke for the views over Neuschwanstein Castle. The ascent from the Tegelbergbahn is very steep up a concrete road straight out of the blocks, so you do not get a chance to properly acclimatise to the heat/humidity nor to warm up your legs. The route is always enjoyable, but unsurprisingly for a sunny Saturday there was lots of queuing on the route, and multiple groups with small children who were not having a particularly good time on the crux sections. As ever the route isn‘t that photogenic due to climbing a NW facing cliff, and therefore being in shadow for the majority of the day. Due to our queuing Becky had been waiting at the top for a while, so when we got off the Klettersteig, I had to try and keep up with Katherine. Read the full article…

140km XC from Wallberg to Radstadt

Alastair BegleyAustria, Bavaria, Paragliding Short Link

With an excellent lapse rate, low winds at valley level but with strong winds up high, combined with a high cloudbase, I was cautiously optimistic that I was going to complete my first >100km flight. The route I planned at the following sections: I had flown a number of the sections successfully before, and had attempted a number of others, which put me in a great position to use previous knowledge. I had previously successfully flown 1-3 and 5, and had attempted 3 and 6 previously which had given me useful knowledge to improve on this time. Despite the great forecast, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to complete the route as I thought that in the afternoon the thermals may become too turbulent due to the midsummer sun, 0.9 deg/100m lapse rate and strong wind up high. Thankfully this didn‘t turn out to be the case, and I successfully complete the flight landing at Radstadt as planned. The flight itself was wonderful, I spent most of the time over 1000m above the summits admiring the wonderful views, enjoying the strong climb and being blown along the route. Read the full article…

Wallberg to Bayrischzell Paragliding

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Paragliding Short Link

I wasn‘t 100% sure if the day would even be flyable due to strong winds forecast at all altitudes, but thought that I would head to Wallberg and find out as it wouldn‘t cost anything thanks to the Deutschland ticket. Conditions at launch were good, and very quickly I managed to climb up to 2200m, enough to head off on a short xc, but decided that I wanted a bit more height first. Frustratingly it then took me ages to get back up to 2200m due to the amount of cloud, and it was certainly pretty windy. Once I was finally back up at 2200m, I headed off towards Bayrischzell. As I headed to Brecherspitze it was clear that it was very windy and turbulent but the climbs kept coming and kept me well above the mountains, I ensured that I would always be able to glide down to the valley despite the wind, as I didn‘t want to get pinned in a venturi. As I was flying along to Bayrischzell I was feeling a little unsure about continuing, and watching a paraglider below me take a massive collapse, combined. Read the full article…

2022 in 100 Photos

Alastair Begley100 Photos, Alpinism, Arco, Austria, Bavaria, Dolomites, General, Landscape, Paragliding, Road Cycling, Rock Climbing, Scrambling, Ski Touring, Skiing, Via Ferrata, Walking, Winter Climbing, Winter Walking Short Link

Thankfully 2022 was a more normal year than the previous two years, and our first full year with our new lifestyle living an hour from the Alps. A high point of the year was the number of visitors we were able to host, for skiing, walking, paragliding and climbing. We certainly made the most of living near the alps, with most weekends spend in the mountains one way or another. Winter Our winter was fairly dominated with piste skiing, where Becky progressed from tentatively skiing easy blue runs to confidently skiing red runs with the odd short black run as well! This was great to see and I am looking forward to her continued progression this year. Despite the focus on piste skiing we also squeezed some paragliding in and I managed to get 4 days of ski touring as well. General Through the winter we managed to squeeze in some paragliding, and on one of our final days of skiing of the year, I am managed to combine a morning skiing with my first proper cross country flight on my paraglider which was a very memorable experience, as I. Read the full article…