Tag Archive for: Ski Tour

Chapf Viewpoint: Alpine panorama over Lake Walen

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Sunset over Lake Walen at the Chapf viewpoint, Amden, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland

I’ve been coming to Amden to ski for over 20 years, but it wasn’t until this winter that I took the short path to the Chapf viewpoint. It’s perched above a vertical cliff face, 800 metres above the northern shore of Lake Walen. Above the rocks, which were already noticeably warmed by the spring sun, you could clearly see how spring was already moving into the valleys and southern slopes with the first delicate green, while the wintry conditions with snow and ice in the high mountains were only slowly giving way. Read more

Dawn over the Glarus Alps

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Dawn over the mountains of the snow-covered Glarus Alps in Switzerland

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

Powder snow at last!

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A Polish group of men and women called

A cold front finally brought some fresh snow to the Bavarian Alps on a Saturday. Sunday then promised some sunny spells, meaning good winter sports conditions. This is bound to draw plenty of people to the mountains again. Skiers, ski tourers, sledgers and hikers – everyone finds their spot at Spitzingsee. Read more

Winter panorama from the Issentalkopf

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Ski tourers resting on the Issentalkopf in front of a winter panorama of the Ehrwald basin, Ehrwalder Sonnenspitze, Zugspitze massif, Ammergau and Lechtal Alps

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. Read more

Ski tour on the Brauneck

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Upper Bavaria is sinking into the snow on Epiphany 2019 – a great incentive to head out on a ski tour through a winter wonderland. Massive snowfall in the Northern Alps due to a persistent stau weather pattern ensures plenty of powder. However, the second-highest avalanche warning level is also in place, which is why a ski tour away from monitored slopes is out of the question for me. So, like so many others, I decided on the ascent to the Brauneck. Mountain solitude isn’t the priority today; it’s more about the experience of forests thick with snow and practising downhill skiing in deep powder. Read more

Through Powder Snow on Sonntagsköpfl

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Ski ascent to Sonntagsköpfl (2,224 m) in Hochfügen, Zillertal, Austria

For me, a ski touring day usually starts very early. This is mainly due to the expected traffic, to avoid getting stuck in a jam. There had been some fresh snow during the week, the avalanche risk was moderate to low, and sunshine was forecast – perfect conditions! – so I wasn’t the only one who wanted to head to the mountains. As the Easter holidays were also starting, there was already heavy traffic on the route from Munich towards Rosenheim and the Brenner motorway. A colleague joined me at Irschenberg (which is why there are pictures of me this time), and we managed to reach our destination, Hochfügen, without getting stuck in traffic. That’s where Sonntagsköpfl is located, a ski touring mountain with an ascent of around 780 m to an altitude of 2,244 m, ideal for beginners like me. Read more