Dave's Photo & Travelblogue

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Frostbite and the Captain Morgan Twins

The snow this winter isn’t that bountiful, so I’ve been quite often to nearby glacier ski resorts. I’ll give a few details later about the charming town of Lanersbach in the Zillertal valley. But first you have to see the temperature at the top of Hintertux Glacier on our first day:

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“Heiter” usually means fair, clear, or bright. But in this case the sign was WRONG. Outdoors it was cloudy, snowing lightly, and the wind was blowing at 40-50km/h (up to 30mph). –22C equates to –8F… and the wind chill, well, that was around –38C (–37F). Keep in mind that’s before accounting for the speed we were moving downhill (directly into the wind). I got a bit of frostnip on my ears, so I wore a liner cap under my helmet on the following days. “Gefrorene Wand” was quite accurate on this trip: Frozen Face!

It wasn’t all snow and frostbite. One evening we went to Kleine Tenne in Lanersbach, and found that Captain Morgan Austria was there with the Captain Morgan Twins and their bikinis! Paul was kind enough to pose for a photo with the twins.

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Good music, a kicker (foosball) table, and Zillertal Pils made it a great night, although we were a bit too tired from the cold to party like rock stars. We made it back to the Kleine Tenne one more night, when the Bavarian party band Chari Vari was there… although none of our group was a big fan of the folky-rock style with double accordions.

The rest of the trip was all about skiing and snowboarding. Here is a choice view from the quad chairlift above Sommerberg, where you can see the neighboring T-bar:

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And, on the last day, this beautiful view of Hintertux greeted us upon arrival. You can just see the moon over the peaks toward the left side of the picture.

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Getting to Lanersbach:

  • Here’s a Google map of Lanersbach. I highly recommend Lanersbach if you’re going to Hintertux for an extended trip. It’s about 10-15min drive to the mountain base by car or ski bus, and you have a much wider selection of nightlife and restaurants than in Hintertux itself. The town is about 2h drive from Munich, and a little less from Innsbruck.
  • There is a Spar grocery store in Lanersbach, but beware, in Austria the stores close very early (6:00pm I believe).
  • Restaurants are plentiful, and we went to several on the one-way street (north of the main street). Hermanns Klause restaurant (associated with a bed & breakfast) had tasty food, but was smoky. The restaurant at Hotel Jaeger had a non-smoking area, salad bar, and excellent food. As one of our party was sick at home, they even made a “to-go” entree and gave us a real plate & silverware with it. Of course, one night we went up the hill to Madseit to our favorite: Alte Huette at Hotel Berghaus. I had a fantastic lamb schnitzel, a dish I’d never seen before.
  • Kleine Tenne had a good number of people on both Friday and Saturday nights. We were lucky that it wasn’t too smoky, but don’t expect a non-smoking nightclub in Austria. There was another nightclub next door that we didn’t try out, so clearly there is some party potential in Lanersbach if you’re there on the right week/weekend.
  • Skiing possibilities abound: you can ski Eggalm right in Lanersbach, try Rastkogel or Finkenburg a few km down the valley, go up the valley to Hintertux, or even drive 20min down to Mayrhofen for a larger-town experience (and Austria’s steepest prepared ski slope “Harakiri” with 78% grade!).

If you give Lanersbach a try, I hope you enjoy the trip, and come back here to tell us about it!

Posted 4 hours, 2 minutes ago.

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Mainau Butterfly House

On the island of Mainau in Bodensee, one can find a multitude of flowers. It’s known in German as the Blumeninsel, and lies just across from the German town of Meersburg on Bodensee. There are probably millions of flowers scattered around in thousands of gardens on this botanical island. Here’s a favorite shot of mine from the butterfly house:

This was one patient butterfly as I took several pics of him.

This was taken with my Nikon D90 and a 70-300 VR lens, which does a great job of shortening the depth of field.

A few more shots of flowers on Mainau will be coming up eventually! If you want to be notified, just subscribe to the blog with the orange RSS / Email buttons in the left sidebar.

Getting to Mainau:

  • Here’s a Google map of Mainau. I arrived at the ferry terminal on the right side of the island, coming from the nearby town of Meersburg. But you can also arrive there by car and park easily in the large parking area.
  • One tip: if you arrive at Mainau later in the day, you can get the Sunset ticket (1/2 price compared to the normal €15.90 entry fee). It’s good after 17:00, which in the summer is no problem! Winter prices are much cheaper at €7, but then you can’t see many flowers, so I wouldn’t recommend it. If you do the sunset ticket, make sure you still have a way home, as the ferries from Mainau may stop running early (I had to take a bus to another town, then ferry back).

Posted 4 days, 6 hours ago.

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Being Frozen in Stubai

When you think of a glacier, you probably already think “cold.” But of the many days I’ve spent at glacier ski areas this year, none were colder than this past Sunday and Monday at Stubai. The temperature was about –15 to –20C (that’s 5F to –4F) on Sunday, and in the evening the winds picked up. Monday the wind chill must have been way below –20C, even though the temps warmed up a few degrees. Check out the snow being blown from the peaks:

Wind at Stubai glacier

Now, don’t get the impression it wasn’t FUN! This was one of the best ski weekends I’ve had this year (from 18 days snowboarding so far). The snow was perfect for carving, and off-piste there was about a foot of powder.

Steep and deep at Stubai glacier

For those wishing to travel to Stubai, don’t expect huge nightlife. The nearest big town is Neustift im Stubaital, and it’s nothing like Mayrhofen, St. Anton, or Sölden for nightlife. We stayed in a small Pension in Milders, near Neustift. “The Farm,” the big apres-ski place in Milders, had a total of 3 people at 9:30pm (and they were all smoking). However, BIG PROPS to Restaurant Steinadler, which we found was non-smoking. That’s very rare for Austria. Besides that, the food was fantastic. Here was my Cordon Bleu (which also came with a salad plate and a side of cranberry sauce):

Restaurant Steinadler Cordon Bleu

I had a surreal experience there. I dropped my fork, and as I looked around for our server (maybe 7 seconds later), there she came – with a new fork. Apparently she had heard it from the other room, and recognized the difference between fork and knife hitting the ground. Amazing!

Pensions (= Bed & Breakfasts) vary quite a bit throughout Germany and Austria, but in my experience you’re guaranteed a decent bed and a simple breakfast for a bargain price. Our pick in Milders was okay, but a few features might turn off some travelers. Ask yourself: what percentage of today’s Americans would physically be able to sit down on this toilet!?

Tiny bathroom

The next morning we went back out for more adventure on the slopes. It was a windy day, but once we were on the slopes (wind at our backs) it was great. I figured out the settings on my bindings and boots to let me carve like crazy on my Virus Xtremecarver, leaning all the way over so my nose was almost touching the snow on every turn. And the views were fantastic!

View from Stubai glacier

Check out this distant mountain formation which looks like a bowl full of clouds:

Bowl full of clouds at Stubai

Getting to Stubai

  • See this Google Map for the location of Stubai; you’ll find Neustift im Stubaital along the road leading to it. Note that it’s 16km or so from Neustift (the nearest large town) to Stubai.
  • Pensions (= Bed & Breakfasts) are a great place to stay. Usually the proprietors are very friendly and helpful. Often the room is fantastic for the price; although sometimes it’s a bit lacking in one area or another. Occasionally you find “WC im Flur” which means a shared bathroom in the hall, but you’ll often save €5-10 a night for such a room.
  • I highly recommend the restaurant Steinadler in Milders. Non-smoking, fantastic food, friendly service, and psychic at bringing replacement forks. From the card I picked up there, I found they also have a Pension with a quite reasonable room rate (€24 per person for double room with breakfast; even cheaper in the summer at €20). Google map here. Milders is a cheap taxi ride from Neustift central, in case you’re there on a weekend and want to try for bigger nightlife than “The Farm” apres-ski in Milders.

Posted 2 weeks ago.

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Old cars, cool cars, fast cars, blue cars…

Recently I visited the BMW Museum in Munich. I’d been putting this off because it’s a bit pricey at €12 for adults. But as I’m a car lover, I can say I really enjoyed it! There’s a lot of motoring and motorsports history tied up in this brand.

Let’s start with motorcycle sidecar racing. What the heck is this thing?

Historic motorcycle sidecar racing

I found a short video that explains better than I possibly could with words. Let’s just say: the sidecar rider is the master of disaster.

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Next up: a beautiful BMW 328. To be more specific, the 1939 328 Mille Miglia.

1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia

Here’s one of my favorite cars of all time: the Z8, as driven by James Bond. “Moneypenny, would you like to go for a ride?” . . . “Oh, James!”  You can see Pierce Brosnan’s previous Bond car in the background: the BMW Z3.

1999 BMW Z8

Here’s a little number I never saw in the States, though I’ve actually seen a few of them on the roads in Germany. In active use! See the door handle? That’s right… the front of the car, including the windshield, IS the door. And yes, it only has three wheels. But there IS a luggage rack. (if anyone leaves the comment “how cute” I may either buy you one, laugh myself silly, or become ill… I’m not sure which)

BMW Isetta

This one I have to include, if only because I have this car: the Z3 M Roadster, in Estoril Blue. Mine’s from the US, was bought used, and I didn’t pay as much as you’d think. But, really? I chose a car that’s museum-worthy? Sweet!

1997 BMW M Roadster in Estoril Blue

This last car was in the special exhibits section, which as of Jan ‘10 contained concept cars. The skin of the car is made not of metal, but of fabric which moves with the car’s wire frame! And the tailors, ahem, engineers did a fantastic job of making this car look alive. I’m not sure what scares me more, the double eyes or the flaring nostrils as it gets ready to accelerate toward me.

BMW GINA concept car - headlights

BMW GINA concept car - front view

Let me say, the lighting in this room was very strange. I actually thought the car was light brown, until checking for more info on this blogpost about the GINA. (which has great pics of the doors opening… you’ve gotta see it!)

Finally, I’ll leave you with a short clip of the very cool engineering art piece / kinetic sculpture at the entrance to the museum.

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Getting there:

  • Google maps link to the BMW museum. Get there by car or by U-Bahn (U3 Olympiazentrum).
  • Admission prices are a bit steep, €12 for adults, though there are discounts (kids, seniors, families, groups of 5+, etc).
  • Check the BMW Museum website for the latest details.
  • What else you’ll see: F1 cars; rally cars; the M1; many “series” cars; the first BMW car model; lots of motorcycles; rooms full of airplane motors, car motors, and racecar motors; art cars; etc… if this sounds exiting to you, go there. But it’s NOT for everyone.
  • Right next to the museum is the free BMW Welt = BMW World, which is half displays and half showroom. You can always see the latest model BMW cars and motorcycles there.

Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago.

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Racing + Ice Rink + Motorcycles = ?

On January 6th, Germans celebrated “Heilige Drei Könige” – Epiphany. I had an epiphany of my own when I visited the racetrack in the town of Steingaden, where crazy people race around an ice-covered track on motorcycles with 1″ spikes on their wheels. Here’s what I saw at the 12th ADAC Eisspeedway races!

Four motorcycles in a turn

Each race was under two minutes, only a few laps. Here’s a YouTube video I took of one race:

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There were 20 races for the day, with an additional 2 tiebreaker races and one special race (I didn’t understand what that was for; maybe to celebrate that no one was injured?).

Two motorcycles in a deep turn

Below, I got a lucky shot of the motorcyclist on the right just as his bike hit the hay-bale wall sideways! Fortunately he was OK and kept riding.

Motorcycle hitting the wall sideways

And here’s one of the closest finishes of the day. The rider on the left of the photo took it…

Motorcycles: photo finish at the Eisspeedway

…and you can see him celebrating here, and winning the ever-prestigious “Dave’s Wheelie of the Day Award!” Just imagine doing a wheelie on a motorcycle. While wearing a leather snowsuit. While it’s -5C and snowing outside. While riding on a track made of crushed ice. Then, standing on the seat. With one leg. Yes… that takes cojones.

Motorcyclist celebrating his win

Finally, my little experiment with background motion blur: I believe this was at 1/100, ISO 1600, pretty high zoom on the Nikon 70-300 VR lens. To do this I just tracked the motorcycle as best I could, keeping it centered in the viewfinder. If only I’d had a press pass to stand in the middle of the oval, hehe. Next time!

Motorcyclist doing a wheelie with motion blur

Here is a full gallery of the Eisspeedway Rennen photos (even more wheelies!). If you want to experience snowsport craziness on your own, check out some other events on the MSC Steingaden website, listed below. Next up seems to be Skijoring, “where skiers are pulled across the ice/snow by motorized vehicles.” I assume that also requires spiked tires, mu-hahaha!

Getting there:

  • Steingaden can be found here on Google maps. I believe the track is north of the town center, but you’ll see signs for sure. It’s about 1.5 hours from Munich.
  • Here is the website of the MotorSportClub Steingaden.

Posted 2 months ago.

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Happy New Year from Munich!

For the first time, I went out to one of the bridges in Munich to see fireworks. This is NOT the same as fireworks in the US. Everyone buys big bottle rockets that are illegal in most states and shoots them off from their just-drained champagne bottles. Yes, thousands of drunk people shooting off big fireworks in a crowd. There were trams running over lit fireworks, ambulances driving by every five minutes, and the air was thick with the smell of pyrotechnics.

In a word: Awesome! (okay, except for the people IN the ambulances)

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Location: Reichenbachbrücke. Shot with a Canon Powershot SD1000 pocket cam. I was there with Wingnut & Dylan. Tasty beer, great atmosphere, and most importantly, good friends. One of the best New Years’ celebrations ever…

Happy New Year, und einen guten Rutsch ins neues Jahr! I invite you to see what The Onion thinks of man’s love for setting things on fire. I am no exception… hehe.

Posted 2 months, 1 week ago.

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Wines and fine foods at Forum Vini

By: David Douglas

The last three years I’ve attended Forum Vini, a fantastic wine convention at the M.O.C. Convention Center in the Freimann quarter of Munich.  Every time I enjoy it even more, and this has become one of my favorite Munich events of the year.  One can sample wines from all over Europe, taste unique liqueurs and brandies, and sample all kinds of delicacies from extra virgin olive oil to chocolate coated pumpkin seeds.

These are a few of my favorite memories from Forum Vini 2009:

Steinwaelder Hausbrennerei Schramml had a lot of interesting spirits on display! Stonewood 1818 Bavarian single malt whiskey, a Christmas liqueur, and a Zoigl brandy were nicely arranged in the front for my photographic pleasure.  The last was very interesting to me: it’s made from beer of small micro/home-brewers who are allowed to sell their own beer (I wasn’t exactly sure but it sounded like a kind of club or special organization).  So this is a brandy made from the very best of homebrewed beer!

Specialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei Schramml

Specialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei Schramml

Next up: tasty pumpkin seeds (wasabi, dark chocolate, milk chocolate+cinnamon… choose your favorite) and other specialties from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg.  Here’s the pumpkin seed oil… which is GREAT on salads.

Pumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg

Pumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg

Here’s an Italian stand, Palmieri Weinshop, where the proprietor was fantasic and friendly, and I must say, the most enthusiastic person at the show… rightfully so, because the wines were great!  I especially loved the award-winning Unico Chardonnay.

Italian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau

Italian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau

The stand with my favorite fortified wines of the evening: Bodegas Tradicion, where they have sherries aged for 20, 30, or more years.  I bought a 0.375 bottle of the Oloroso, which has an average age (in cask!) of 42 years.

Premium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in Jerez

Premium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in Jerez

I’ll finish this post where I finished the evening at Forum Vini: Weingut Michel-Roos has a fantastic array of German-made food delicacies as well as many specialty wines.  The Beerenauslese (dessert wine made with late-season, specially harvested grapes) was amazing.  When I was there they cracked open several different cans of German meat and slathered them on hearty bread with a bit of mustard on top.  Fantastic! (note, these folks aren’t the proprietors, but the pose was just perfect).

Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere!

Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere!

A note about photographing at such an event: the main ceiling lights are all fluorescent.  This gives an evil green tint to everything.  If you use the camera’s flash, you’ll get better lighting… but all the backgrounds will look greenish where they are lit by the overhead lights instead of your flash.  The best is to use a D-SLR with a gel on the flash which makes it output fluorescent-friendly light, and set your camera’s white balance to fluorescent.

BUT… there’s one problem, because many of the stands have auxiliary “hot” incandescent lights with their orangey cast.  So you’ll get some photos that are hard to correct in a photo program because they have some green and some orange tints in different areas of the picture.  Not much you can do about this; I mostly chose shots where the lighting was consistent, and edited the h*ll out of the others.

Getting to Forum Vini:

  • First off, check out the timing of this event for next year (likely November) at the Forum Vini Website.
  • Don’t fret about the entry fee (which was €17 in 2009), it’s well worth it.  Arrive early and you can have hours and hours of wine tasting, all for the price of two cocktails in most Munich bars.
  • The M.O.C. is located near the Kieferngarten U6.  There is also parking, although I wouldn’t recommend you drive to a wine event.  I always take the subway so I can sample as many wines as I please.  Google Map of the MOC

Full album of photos:

Forum Vini 2009
Delicious French winesDelicious French wines
Delicious French wines
Specialty seeds and oilsSpecialty seeds and oils
Specialty seeds and oils
Chocolate-cinnamon pumpkin seedsChocolate-cinnamon pumpkin seeds
Chocolate-cinnamon pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of MoosburgPumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg
Pumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg
Greilinger wines from AustriaGreilinger wines from Austria
Greilinger wines from Austria
Weingut Beiser, German winesWeingut Beiser, German wines
Weingut Beiser, German wines
Premium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in JerezPremium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in Jerez
Premium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in Jerez
Italian specialties from Palmieri Weinshop in DachauItalian specialties from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau
Italian specialties from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau
Italian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in DachauItalian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau
Italian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau
The award-winning Unico ChardonnayThe award-winning Unico Chardonnay
The award-winning Unico Chardonnay
Olives of all kindsOlives of all kinds
Olives of all kinds
Specialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei SchrammlSpecialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei Schramml
Specialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei Schramml
Golf-styled wines and brandy from Golf-Weingut Deppisch in FrankenGolf-styled wines and brandy from Golf-Weingut Deppisch in Franken
Golf-styled wines and brandy from Golf-Weingut Deppisch in Franken
Award-winning Beerenauslese (late harvest dessert wine) from Weingut Michel-RoosAward-winning Beerenauslese (late harvest dessert wine) from Weingut Michel-Roos
Award-winning Beerenauslese (late harvest dessert wine) from Weingut Michel-Roos
German specialties at Weingut Michel-RoosGerman specialties at Weingut Michel-Roos
German specialties at Weingut Michel-Roos
Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere!Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere!
Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere!
Specialty schnapps and liqueurs from Brennerei Hubertus VallendarSpecialty schnapps and liqueurs from Brennerei Hubertus Vallendar
Specialty schnapps and liqueurs from Brennerei Hubertus Vallendar

Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago.

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Climbing Zugspitze: Germany’s highest mountain (Part 2)

If you are new to this post series, start with Part 1 of the Zugspitze hike.  All the details of how to get there are at the end of Part 1.

The first video saw us up the Stangensteig, passing over the Höllentalklamm, and reaching the Höllentalangerhütte for a nice Schweinsbraten (pork roast) with red cabbage and dumplings. The next morning we started early and reached the first stretch of via ferrata, where we clipped into steel cables and walked on pegs across the cliff. Kind of like this:

Walking across steel via ferrata pegs

And of course there were these pesky ladders,

Climbing a ladder below the glacier

Then the Höllentalferner glacier itself!

The Hoellentalferner glacier

I had skied on glaciers before, but in the winter they look like the rest of the ski slopes.  Never had I seen one in the end of summer, mixed with dirt and rocks, full of deep crevasses.

Enough photos for now, on with what you’ve all been waiting for: part 2 of the video! There will be at least one more part after this.  And again, thanks to Danny Galixy for the amazing music!

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Watch “Climbing Zugspitze: Part 2″ in HD on YouTube.

A few more choice photos: Scott and Bunky walking up the glacier, taking in the view…

Scott and Bunky on the glacier

And a bit later, Scott being nonchalant… I think he clipped in for a total of fifteen minutes during several hours of via ferrata ascent. It must be those expensive mountaineering boots, perhaps they cannot slip.

Scott with a background of glacier and clouds

That’s all for today.  The next (and final) post should be up sometime after the weekend.  Summit views and perhaps a bit of the train ride (we ran out of daylight, and our group’s acrophobic member wasn’t planning to hike down).

Sign up for alerts with the orange buttons on the left if you want an email/RSS note when the next post is up!

Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago.

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Climbing Zugspitze: Germany’s highest mountain (Part 1)

When two old friends visited for Oktoberfest, we decided to try the Höllental ascent of Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany. Höllental means “Valley of Hell,” and conveniently there is a Hütte run by the Deutscher Alpenverein part way up. It’s named the Höllentalangerhütte, which literally means “Hell Valley Meadow Lodge.” You’ve gotta love German!

Here’s a photo of the Höllentalferner glacier where you can see Zugspitze in the distance. Click on the photo for a full-res version.
View of Hoellentalferner Gletscher and Zugspitze

Here’s a shot of a huge ice chunk we found on the way up the Stangensteig path, just before it rejoined the Höllentalklamm path:

Giant ice chunk on the way up Stangensteig

I took my newly assembled Canon Vixia HF200 helmet camera along for the ride, and below you can see an HD video of the experience. This climbing video is just part 1 – there will be two more videos coming in separate posts. Let me know how you like my first attempt at a semi-pro video!

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Watch “Climbing Zugspitze: Part 1″ in HD on YouTube.

The music in the video is by Danny Galixy, whose music and photographs are fantastic. Check out his website!

Climbing this mountain via the Höllental route requires more mountaineering knowledge than some of the other routes up Zugspitze. You’ll need climbing gear including a harness, “via ferrata” equipment, a helmet, and crampons for the stretch along the glacier. A medium length of rope or webbing might also help, as you’ll see in the video in part 2. One should only attempt the climb when good weather is forecast; you’ll see memorial plaques along the route (many for people killed by lightning).

This climb is not standard rock climbing, but more a combination of bouldering and walking across iron pegs.  “Via ferrata” means “the iron way.” On the most dangerous parts, one is always clipped into a steel cable by two carabiners. There is a shock cord in the via ferrata equipment so you won’t have a sudden deceleration if you do fall.

Ahem, I also found a bit of toilet humor in the lodge’s restroom, and for once the graffiti cracked me up:

German toilet humor poem

Rough translation (sorry, I couldn’t rhyme it):

In this toilet lives a ghost,

And everyone who takes too long,

Will be bitten in the balls.

But the ghost did not bite me,

Because I crapped upon his head.

Getting to Zugspitze:

  • To arrive at the top, you can take the Zugspitzbahn (a Zahnradbahn – geared train), a cable car from Austria, or a cable car from Eibsee in Germany. Link to Zugspitze Roundtrip description
  • Of course, I recommend to hike the Höllental route if you’re in shape, adventurous, and not scared of heights.  Park here in Hammersbach and walk a bit up the road to the trailhead by the river. There are two trails: Höllentalklamm (which goes along the river and costs a few euro), and the longer Stangensteig route (more ups and downs, and is the way we went).
  • Starting height: 778m. Höllentalangerhütte: 1387m. Zugspitze: 2962m (9,718′). Call the lodge to reserve a place if you plan on staying overnight; it’s not expensive even for non-members of the DAV (Deutscher Alpenverein) at 20 euro for adults.
  • Where to rent equipment: Werner Niedermeier at WN-Alpin speaks English, and it was around 40 euro per person to rent a harness, via ferrata gear, helmet, and crampons. You WILL need crampons for the glacier. DO NOT ATTEMPT without all of this gear! You can also buy a mountaineering map here. The shop is conveniently located in Garmish-Partenkirchen on the way from the Autobahn to Hammersbach.
  • Since we did not have enough time to safely hike back down before dark, we took the Gletscherbahn gondola and then the Zugspitzbahn down. The train conveniently passes right through Hammersbach, and we had to walk a bit under 1km back to the car from the train station.
  • Elevation map of the climb: just look at the height profile (graph in lower right side)! If you are afraid of heights, this ascent is not for you.

Here is a link to Part 2 of the Zugspitze adventure! If you’d like to read about Part 3… with more photos & video… subscribe with the orange buttons in the left sidebar. You’ll be notified by either email or RSS feed. Thanks!

Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago.

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First tracks of the season at Hintertux Glacier!

Snow fell in Munich in mid-October this year. Now the glaciers are open, and my favorite Austrian glacier ski resort has excellent conditions: Hintertux glacier! The resort is only a 2h drive from Munich in good weather/traffic conditions. Austria cleans the roads quite well, so is even possible to reach if it has recently snowed (though the final bit of road is a bit steep and windy; you could take a bus for the last several km if nervous about this).

There are three sections at Hintertux:

  • Top 1/3 = down to Tuxer Fernerhaus
  • Middle 1/3 = down to Sommerbergalm
  • Bottom 1/3 = Talabfahrt (exit to valley)

When I was first at Hintertuxer Gletscher this year in mid-October for 2 days, only the top 1/3 down to Tuxer Fernerhaus was open. This includes the glacier section that’s open 365 days a year, right near the top.  This past weekend (Nov. 7th), the next 1/3 was also open down to Sommerbergalm, although it was a bit icy with thin cover in parts.  Let’s see how it is this weekend, as I plan on going again.

Here’s a view of the slope on the back side, the “Schlegeis Gletscher” area:

Schlegeis Gletscher view

This slope on the back usually gets bumped up rather quickly, but is great snowboarding if you are there early(or on a quiet day…).

Here’s a view from the exit of Gletscherbus 3, the cable car that takes you to the very top at 3,250m (10,660′):

View from Gletscherbus 3 exit

For those who read the earlier post about pictures of my snowboards, I’ve now tried out the Virus X-Treme Carver Premium 162… this board rocks.  It holds well on ice and carves like the piece of fine engineering it is.  I have yet to test it head-to-head against my F2 Speedster SL 158, but my impression is that the Virus board suits me better.  My sliced fingertip can also testify to the sharpness of the Virus factory edge… watch out!

Getting to Hintertux

  • If going by car, you will need to get a Vignette – the Austrian highway toll sticker which you put in the upper left corner of the windshield.  10 days costs a bit over 7 Euro, though you can also get a 2-month-pass or 1-year-pass if you’ll be skiing very often.
  • Hintertux on the map: it’s basically at the end of the road running through Zillertal / Mayrhofen.  Exit from the A12 is Wiesing.
  • If you want a fantastic restaurant after your day on the slopes, I recommend the Alte Hütte in Madseit, at the Alpinhotel Berghaus (Madseit 711, A-6294).  The grillteller with 3 kinds of meat, browned potato wedges, and all-you-can-eat salad bar really hits the spot.
  • Lodging: I can highly recommend this Pension (Bed & Breakfast) right across from the Alte Hütte: Mehlerhof has a very rustic look, but well-equipped and quite new interiors.
  • Weather warning: if it’s cold and snowing in Tirol, Hintertux will have some of the worst weather in the Alps.  High winds, whiteout conditions, and fog/clouds on the slopes.  So be aware: if the weather is poor, this resort may be your worst choice.  This snow forecast website has excellent data for Hintertux by altitude.

Posted 4 months ago.

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