Blog Posts in Category: Mountaineering

Birnhorn Überschreitung Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

Having booked the Passauer Hütte months ago we were excited that it looked like we had a perfect weather weekend as we approached the trip, and I was even happier that it looked like it should work for a hike&fly to save me about 1800hm of descent. After some discussions we settled on the northern approach to the hut as despite having 300hm more of ascent, it was a lot more gradual and on a better path, which got the vote for the descent. The start of the approach was up through the woods, however as we climbed higher we started other get fleeting views to the north into the Steinernes Meer. Eventually we emerged out of the woods and could enjoy the view fully, and it really was spectacular. As we arrived at the col by the hut we were suddenly greeted with the view south towards the main alpine ridge, something which was great to suddenly emerge and see in one go. We enjoyed our afternoon sitting on the veranda at the hut while eating some food, having a few drinks and soaking in the wonderful view. After. Read the full article…

Mangart – Slovenska pot – Klettersteig&Fly

Alastair BegleyParagliding, Slovenia, Via Ferrata Short Link

When we were in Slovenia a few years ago, one of the routes which caught my eye but we didn’t get around to was the Klettersteig up Mangart. This was not because it was a particularly special or difficult route, but because it was fairly high, with little ascent and apparently you could see the sea from the summit, an unusual view in most of the alps. This meant that it was an obvious choice for this trip and it became even better when we found out that you could pre-book a minibus from Bovec for 3 euros per person each direction, which meant neither us nor our friends had to move our vans. Unfortunately as we climbed up the road in the van, it became clear that there was a lot more cloud than was in the forecast, but we remained hopeful that the weather would clear and give us some nice views. I had also decided to take my paraglider with me as I knew that in good conditions it was possible to launch from the summit, and in any case it should be possible to launch from. Read the full article…

Jerebica/Cima del Lago Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyItaly, Paragliding, Slovenia, Walking Short Link

On our way to Slovenia we wanted to do a walk before we parked in the campsite in Bovec for 4 days. On the way down I was researching options and stumbled across Cima del Lago (Italian) or Jerebica (Slovenian). The walk looked absolutely perfect with not too much ascent, a nice ridge when up high and stunning views in every direction, so it was the obvious choice especially as it was only a 5 min detour from our route. While I was researching the route, it looked like it may be possible to fly down from the summit, however I couldn’t find any information about it. The joy of my hike&fly gear is that it is so light that I don’t mind carrying it even if there is a very uncertain chance of flying. As the forecast was for a very hot day, we got up early and set off to make the most of the cooler morning air, especially as the first part of the ascent was fairly constant and in the woods. Eventually we emerged from the woods at the col at the start of the ridge. Read the full article…

Vorderes Sonnwendjoch and Rofanspitze

Alastair BegleyAustria, Walking Short Link

With a lovely forecast Becky and I decided to make the best use of our winter ski passes and use them to head up the Rofanbahn on the last weekend of validity. Unfortunately on the drive there it became clear that the weather was not as good as it was forecast. We decided to do a circuit from the Vorderes Sonnwendjoch, Sagzahn and Rofanspitze, and I planned to fly off from the Rofanspitze with my hike&fly gear. As we got to the top of the lift we emerged from the cloud to be treated to a wonderful view of the Karwendel and shortly after the Tuxer Alpen. We had hoped that we would stay out of the cloud as we were above it, but unfortunately this was not going to be the case and as we started the descent to the Schermsteinalm we descended back into the cloud. As we approached the summit of the Vorderes Sonnwendjoch we briefly left the cloud, which allowed us to enjoy the views before it decided that it would make an unwelcome reappearance. From Sagzahn we again had not much of a view, so. Read the full article…

Heuberg

Alastair BegleyGermany, Walking Short Link

Despite a dodgy forecast for the day we were keen to do something, after waking up it became clear that the best weather of the day was going to be later on, so we decided to head for a short evening walk up Heuberg. The majority of the ascent was in the woods, so the cloud made little difference to the views. However, unfortunately as we emerged onto the ridge we also ascended into the cloud, which meant that we were unfortunately lacking a view. As we were waiting on the summit the clouds started to lift and give is fleeting glimpses of the views which one could normally expect from this peak. We enjoyed some food on the summit before starting the descent, aiming for an alm for a drink and some Kaiserschmarrn. The descent was very muddy which made it slow going as it was very slippery, however we made it to the alm in good time to have a drink prior to its closing time.

Wösterhorn (Wösterkopf) Skitour

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

After munch debate about what we were going todo, on our second day in the Bregenzerwald we decided to head to the beautiful Lechtal with the objective as the Wösterhorn/Wösterkopf, which was an objectively very easy skitour, but it started high and we expected it to have fantastic views. The tour started easily out of the car park along a prepared piste which we followed for a few kilometers before branching off and heading off the beaten track. The initial ascent was wonderful with a beautifully made skin track which gently worked its way up the mountain with no need for any kick turns, as we climbed the terrain progressively became steeper and soon we were firmly in easy kick turn territory up to the Wöstersattel. The top of the ascent to the Wöstersattel became very cold as it was in the shade with a wind blowing down the slope, so it was great to emerge at the Wöstersattel and into the sun. From here the views up the Lechtal were absolutely beautiful and we could see north into Germany and the persistent inversion. From the Wöstersattel the ascent to. Read the full article…

Zafernhorn

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

Following fresh snow in the week and with a sunny weekend forecast, Eric and I decided to head to the Vorarlberg for a weekend of ski touring. As we had both had busy weeks with business travel and long days, we set off from Munich relatively late, leaving at around 8am. This only left time for a relatively short ski tour and after some planning we decided to head to the Zafernhorn in the Bregenzerwald. The tour started easily up a Forststraße, from which we emerged with stunning views at a beautifully located hut. From there we continued up towards the summit with no particular difficulties, there was one steeper section where we had to remove our skis and walk up, but otherwise it was fairly straight forwards. When we set off there was no sign of an inversion, but as time progressed it moved slowly up the valley and provided a wonderful view. When we got to the summit there were a number of other teams there, enjoying lunch, but we just quickly took some photos and headed back down, not wanting the snow to become any wetter. After. Read the full article…

Wetterkreuzkogel Ski Tour

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

After not getting to an actual summit yesterday due to the quantity of fresh snow no the ridge, I wanted to ensure that Katherine actually ski toured to her first proper summit today. I decided that with the snow conditions at the moment our best bet was to head back to the Wetterkreuzkogel, which I first did with Adam on a week long ski touring trip in 2019. We decided to go for an early start as some of the forecasts suggested that bad weather would come in around lunchtime, and it meant that the route would be quieter. It was another very cold morning, my car said -15 degrees as we were driving to the car park, and I think it was about -13 degrees where we parked. We took the phrase “be bold, start cold” to heart and were absolutely frozen as we left the car, but soon our cores warmed up as we climbed abruptly from the car up the twisty track in the forest, and eventually my fingers even warmed up. We emerged from the woods as the high cloud in the sky was being lit. Read the full article…