Winter panorama from the Issentalkopf

Just in time for Christmas, winter has provided enough snow, at least from 1,000 metres up, to undertake the first ski tour of the season. However, fresh snow and storms have also caused a significant avalanche risk in many places. Therefore, my choice for the first “warm-up tour” is the Ehrwalder Alm ski area. With the Issentalkopf (1,925 m), it offers a beautiful viewpoint as a destination and, due to its location behind the first mountain ranges of the Prealps and the Wetterstein massif, often has more snow than, for example, Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

I couldn’t expect solitude, but I did find a good compromise between safety, terrain requirements, physical activity, and the experience of an attractive winter landscape. With an ascent of around 800 vertical metres, it was also a good test of my current fitness and thigh strength. I started from the car park at the valley station in the frosty shadow of the Mieming Range. After a few hundred metres of climbing, I was well warmed up, and within a good hour, I reached the Ehrwalder Alm. Early in the morning, so soon after the winter solstice, it was also still in the shadow of the Mieming Range mountains. Wisps of mist drifted over from the Leutasch Valley to the east, so I could only enjoy the sun for the first time on the further path from the Hochfeldernalm hut onwards. That was a good time for a short break before the final stretch, now with increasing views of the mountains, led along the piste to the Issentalkopf.

A short distance from the ski lift’s mountain station, there’s a quiet resting place on the summit. There, I was (once again) greeted by the impressive view of the alpine landscape surrounding the valley floor known as Ehrwalder Becken – a panorama featuring the mighty Wetterstein Massif with the Zugspitze, the Mieminger Chain, the Ammergau Alps, and the first Lechtal peaks. After a long break, I finally tackled the first descent of the season. However, after just a few metres, my thighs were noticeably protesting. So, I glided slowly and in wide turns down into the valley, to complete a successful start to the touring season.