After the ascent to the Ramolhaus, the clouds had already cleared the previous evening for a brief glimpse of the peaks and glaciers in the Gurgler Valley. This increased our anticipation for the crossing over the Ramoljoch into the Vent Valley the next day. Later that evening, however, it started to snow, so we went to bed with mixed feelings. Read more
At sunset, the clouds cleared. A spectacular day’s tour in the Ötztal Alps concluded with a view from the Ramolhaus of the main Alpine ridge and the Gurgler Glacier, a sight no longer expected that day. This summer, on the tour to the Brunnenkogelhaus, I had already become acquainted with a part of the “quiet side of Sölden,” as the valleys and mountains away from the ski resorts are marketed. Now I returned to hike through another quiet and peaceful region of the Ötztal Alps on a two-day tour, crossing the Ramoljoch from the Gurgler Valley into the Venter Valley. Read more
As I set off in the dark of early morning from the car park on the Ackernalm to experience the sunrise on Veitsberg (1,787 m), a car pulled up beside me. A tired young couple in traditional dress wound down the passenger window. A friend had gone missing from the party, and they asked if I had seen a young woman in a dirndl. The music, the laughter, the arriving and departing guests of the celebration at the mountain inn – the Almkirta – had been audible all night. She hadn’t passed my roof tent, and I hadn’t encountered her anywhere else. As I later found out, she had found a safe and cosy hideaway with a handsome young man. Read more
On the drive to Ackernalm in the Bavarian Prealps, the wide thunderstorm front approaching from the west caught up with me already in the Alpine foothills. Lightning flashed and heavy showers accompanied me for the remaining kilometres of the journey via Bayrischzell, the Ursprung Pass and finally up the toll road to the alm. Read more
A unique, beautiful sunset at the Brunnenkogelhaus (2,738 m) with a 360-degree panorama over Sölden, the Ötztal Alps, and the highest peaks of the Stubai Valley. The hut sits like a crown on a mountain peak and can be reached via physically demanding and partly steep, but hardly exposed, mountain trails. Over 1,300 metres of ascent must be overcome. However, for moments like these, I gladly carry the extra weight of my camera equipment. Read more
I had just bought new hiking boots for the upcoming season and had already completed my first warm-up hike in the Bavarian Alps when the spontaneous opportunity for one last ski weekend to close the season in Obertauern came up. I’d heard so many good things about the ski resort that I finally wanted to experience it for myself. The highlight was actually taking part in the Gamsleiten Kriterium, where up to 1,200 treasure hunters try to dig over 30 treasure chests out of the snow with small garden shovels after skiing down one of the steepest slopes in Austria. Read more
After four years, I was back visiting friends at the Naturfreundehaus Tscherwald. From there, it’s just a short ski tour or snowshoe hike up to Hüttlisboden, an alpine pasture with a magnificent view over the Churfirsten, Lake Walen, and the panorama of the Glarus Alps with the peaks of Mürtschenstock, Rautispitz, and Glärnisch. Read more
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