Blog Posts in Category: Mountaineering

Brenta Dolomites Day 2/2: Via delle Bocchette Centrale

Alastair BegleyDolomites, Via Ferrata Short Link

Continuing on from our first day and night on the Via delle Bocchette we set off after a leisurely breakfast on the classic central section of the traverse, the Via delle Bocchette Centrale via ferrata. The start of the day was a short climb up to the Bocca degli Armi, this is the section of the route which forced us to carry our crampons and ice axe as it involved a short cross of a dry glasier. We were not sure if we would actually need them, but when we got there we were very glad that we had them, even if only for 100m! When we got to the col it became apparent that there was a brilliant cloud inversion to the south, unlike the cloudless skies to the north. This provided us with yet more atmospheric views, but as we were earlier today the clouds remained firmly in the valleys. An strenuous start quickly lead us up to the highlight of the two days. The route crossed improbable ledges as it traversed around Torre di Brenta and Campanile Alto. No words can really describe how brilliant this section. Read the full article…

Brenta Dolomites Day 1/2: Sentiero Alfredo Benini & Sentiero Bocchette Alte

Alastair BegleyDolomites, Via Ferrata Short Link

We decided to start our holiday with a hut to hut in the Brenta Dolomites on the Via delle Bocchette, an area known for it’s stunning mountains which are surprisingly accessible due to the via ferratas which wind their way along ledges with ladders whenever the terrain becomes technical. Classic traverses tend to range between 3 and 5 days, however after much debating we decided to link days 1 & 2 together by doing Sentiero Alfredo Benini & Sentiero Bocchette Alte as a long first day which took us just over 8 hours. This took us to the stunning Rifugio Alimonta where we spent the night, before we completed the classic Via delle Bocchette Centrale on the second day. The descent out to the valley was also surprisingly enjoyable. We caught the first lift up and made good time to the start of the first via ferrata (Sentiero Alfredo Benini), however it soon became clear that we had misjudged the temperatures and were regretting our choice of clothing, and the number of layers which were packed in our bags. The start of the via ferrata was a good sign of. Read the full article…

Mittenwalder Höhenweg Klettersteig

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Via Ferrata Short Link

The start of our holiday had some fairly mixed weather forecast, so instead of going away and sitting in a campsite in the rain for two days we stayed local to Munich and made the most of the short period of excellent weather. With the potential for storms to come in later in the day, we were after a mid length route which started with a lift so that we were able to be high early to enjoy the good conditions. As it turned out we would have had all day, but it was the sensible decision to make sure we were not high on the mountains with storms forecast. Looking through the book of German Klettersteigs there were loads to choose from, but the Mittenwalder Höhenweg really caught my eye as it was an easy route which traversed along the top of a long ridge. We were expecting it to be fairly busy given that it was a Saturday but thankfully it wasn’t too bad. After a non socially distanced lift ride we were soon at 2250m and looking forward to starting the route. The views as soon as. Read the full article…

Seehorn Nordwestgrat

Alastair BegleyAustria, Rock Climbing Short Link

Despite it looking very unlikely earlier in the week, on Saturday George and I headed down to Sankt Ulrich am Pillersee in Austria to climb the north west ridge of the Seehorn (Nordwestgrat/Astenriedlgrat). I started my day with a very early train journey from Munich to Kufstein. It was a beautiful morning with a brilliant sunrise, just a shame the only chance I had to photograph it was at a train station! After meeting George in Kufstein a short drive took us to the start of the route, which looked a long way above us! During the first 3.2km we ascended over 1000m, thankfully most of the ascent was in the woods so we were out of the morning sun. When we emerged from the woods we were treated to brilliant views over the Austrian mountains, there is certainly a lot to do here! The traverse around to the start of the route was fairly awkward and poorly marked, but with only a few wrong turns we were soon at the start of the climb. Unfortunately at this point the cloud rolled in and we lost our views, which as. Read the full article…

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…

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…