Via the Geigelstein to the Rossalm

The hike up the Geigelstein was the start of an eventful late summer day in the Chiemgau Alps. The first few metres from the hikers’ car park at Huben in the Priental valley led steeply through dense, still cool mountain forest. I quickly gained altitude via the Jägersteig trail and reached open meadow terrain and the warming sun for the first time at the Wirtsalm. To the south, the morning mist was clearing over the Kaiser Mountains and the Kaiserwinkel. The path led past the huts of the Schreckalm and, after a northward bend, I could now see the summit of the Geigelstein (1,808 m) glowing in the morning sun.

The first wisps of mist and patches of cloud rose from the damp meadows and steamy forests. I passed two more alpine pastures, the Sulzingalm and Oberkaseralm, before the final ascent leads over the saddle to the Rossalpenkopf and the western flank to the summit of the Geigelstein. The area around the Geigelstein has been a nature reserve since 1991. In the neighbouring municipalities, Sachrang and Schleching are two mountaineering villages that have dedicated themselves to sustainable, authentic tourism in harmony with tradition and culture. Many alpine farms in and around the Geigelstein nature reserve have joined the Sachrang mountain farming model. In doing so, they ensure the preservation of the Alm cultural landscape, i.e. they keep the areas open and preserve the natural foundations for a unique biodiversity of numerous animals and plants.

The morning silence is suddenly broken by the noise of an engine. At first I think of a chainsaw, but from above I see a man on an off-road motorbike riding down the meadow slopes towards the Priener Hütte. I would find out more about the purpose of the trip later in the day.

Unfortunately, during the final part of the ascent, the second-highest peak in the Chiemgau gradually became shrouded in cumulus clouds formed by the rising air layers, so the much-vaunted view was lost. A shame, but my actual destination for today was the Rossalm, at 1,692 m one of the highest alpine pastures in Germany, where I wanted to visit the alpine farmers and their families. So I briefly followed the ascent path back to the saddle and crossed west of the Rossalpenkopf through mountain pines and meadow terrain, which, repeatedly shrouded completely in clouds, conveyed a sense of emptiness, silence and vastness. Descending over a meadow slope, the clouds finally cleared and after a bend I was standing right in front of the rustic alpine hut.