Zugspitze, Top of Germany
Ehrwald
Austria / Germany
The run-up to the adventure:
A while ago I had arranged to meet Reinier, a good friend of mine, for a drink in a nearby café.
I had the idea to climb the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany at 2962 metres.
Originally I wanted to go on my own to just run around in the Alps for a few days.
But of course it is more fun with two people.
So I suggested going on an adventure together and he was immediately enthusiastic.
I had the Reintal route in mind because that is the safest way to get to the top.
Reinier has never climbed a mountain before so it shouldn’t be too technical.
We agreed to go the first weekend of May.
Normally not the best time to climb a mountain but the Zugspitze is not the most difficult mountain and there are many routes.
So I thought it would be fine.
At home I delved into the different routes and came across the Stopzelsieher route.
That is a Klettersteig on the Austrian side and goes from the Wiener-Neustädter Hütte to the top.
Klettersteig routes are routes with steps and steel cables that you are constantly secured to.
Such routes are just a little bit more fun than just walking up.
I asked for some information here and there and learned that this tour had recently been done by someone but that there is still a lot of snow.
So bring your complete equipment!
Friday, May 2: Travelling to the Austrian / German border.
On Friday morning at 4:30 Reinier is at the door and we drive towards Erhwald in Austria.
We chose the Austrian side because the route starts there.
A great ride without traffic jams follows and in the afternoon we drive into the village.
We first do some shopping because we are already on the road tomorrow.
Before the shops are open we have already started the route.
Now it was time to go to the apartment that we had booked a few days ago.
Reinier calls the lady to tell us that we have arrived and we are quickly inside.
We walk the stuff inside and throw two beers in the freezer.
After a long drive we both feel like a nice cold beer.
We also both agree that we have earned it.
We quickly decide that they are cold enough and we plop down in a chair on the balcony.
We quickly go over the plans but otherwise we mainly talk about all sorts of things.
In the meantime it is time to eat something.
We walk towards the centre but see closed restaurants everywhere.
Now I know that May is not the most ideal period in terms of catering but here really nothing is open.
We eventually find a restaurant that is open but of course it is completely full.
We look a bit further and call another restaurant but that is also full.
We sit down at a hotel where we can have a drink and decide that we have to wait for a place.
Reinier runs to the other side to say that we would like to eat anyway and a while later we finally sit down.
The food is fine but not special.
But hey, our bellies are full and that is what it is all about.
After dinner we go back to the apartment and dive in on time.
We want to start at 6:30 and of course we want to start well-rested.
Saturday May 3, The Climb and the missing Via Ferrata's
The alarm goes off at 5 am.
We both get up refreshed and enthusiastic and eat breakfast.
We are raring to go.
Reinier’s first ascent is about to start and for me a new attempt to climb the mountain.
In 2017 I started my climbing career on this mountain and that failed miserably.
So we are both very motivated to climb this thing.
We pack our bags and get in the car to drive to the valley station of the Tiroler Zugspitzbahn.
The route starts here and we plan to come back here during the descent.
We park the car and then we set off in high spirits.
The first part of the route is on a steep hiking trail through the grass.
It is still quite warm so we soon have wet backs from sweat.
Hopefully the snow higher up is not too soft, I think to myself. After a while we come above the tree line and the path changes into a kind of pebbles and rocks, the so-called Gamskar.
Loose debris that I am never a fan of but we work our way through it well.
A little further up we come to a cable car mast and cross the ridge.
Here we are directly in the snow.
I climb a little further to have a look at the rest of the route and see that we have to cross a wide snowfield.
It is not very steep but I think it would be better to grab the crampons and the ice axe.
Harness on, crampons on our shoes and we also grab the rope.
As an experienced climber you naturally feel responsible for someone who is going up a mountain for the first time.
Reinier is walking on crampons for the first time, but he does fine.
Many people stumble or get stuck in their pants, but this is going smoothly!
Good job, man!
After the snowfield, we traverse the next ridge and climb around a rock formation.
There we see the next destination, the Wiener-Neustädter Hütte.
This hut at 2209 meters is about halfway along the route, so it’s a good moment to take a short break.
The hut is still closed in May, but of course we brought our own food and drinks.
After fifteen minutes we decide it’s time to move on.
You get quite warm while walking and climbing, but as soon as you sit still, that quickly passes.
On the other side of the hut we see the entrance to the Via Ferrata. We cross the Österreichische Schneekar, a scree and snow field, and soon we are at the wall where the route starts.
I tell Reinier that he can go first.
He clicks his carabiners onto the steel cable and climbs up.
I follow but decide that I am not going to use the Via Ferrata safety devices.
We climb through a short cave where the steel cables quickly disappear under the snow.
All in all, we notice that there is quite a bit of snow on the route.
Fortunately, we climb well through the steep snow to the place where the cables reappear.
There we take a moment to look around us at the beautiful world we are in.
In the distance we see Mount Daniel, the highest peak of the Ammergauer Alps.
In the depths below us lies Ehrwald.
And as far as the eye can see, the beautiful mountains of the Alps.
It remains a world where I feel completely in my element.
Here, the substance endorphin is released in my body.
An easier section now follows and we quickly gain altitude.
But unfortunately, the steel cable quickly disappears under the snow again.
We find ourselves under a fairly steep snow wall and here we decide to use the rope again.
I now climb first and we go straight up.
Traversing in soft snow makes little sense and so we quickly gain altitude.
Further on, we see two other climbers struggling with the conditions and the route to be followed.
They are a lot higher up on the wall, so there is no cooperation.
Despite the soft snow, our pace remains good and after a while we suddenly see a piece of steel cables again.
We climb there and feel a little relief.
I am not really a fan of climbing in soft snow, it causes quite a lot of avalanche danger.
We take a short break and look at the route.
Again, higher up we see a steep snow wall and the steel cables have disappeared again.
That is the part where we saw the climbers struggling so that does not bode well.
We get back on our feet and Reinier leads the way again on the Via Ferrata section.
Slowly the snow field comes closer and we see the climbers’ tracks above us.
They have made a traverse through the snow to a rock formation diagonally above us.
First fairly horizontally and then diagonally upwards.
I let Reinier go ahead of me this time too so that I can react faster if he slips.
With complete focus we traverse through the snow and I appear to have made the right choice.
Reinier slides away in that mush mess and I immediately tighten the rope.
He bravely steps up again and we quickly continue, away from here.
For someone’s first time on a mountain, making a slip in such a steep snow wall and pulling yourself together so quickly, hats off to you.
I would be happy when we are out of this part of the route, what a mess here.
We turn off steeper up the mountain.
In the distance we see another piece of the steel cables and we want to get there as quickly as possible.
Reinier is still climbing ahead of me but he is starting to feel the fatigue of climbing.
Every step you take in the loose snow you sink half a step down. I take over and joke that he shouldn’t fall.
We climb steadily and see our goal getting closer.
I tell Reinier to go a few more meters and then we finally reach the cables.
We plop down on a rock and catch our breath.
We look around and see the summit.
I look at my watch and see that we still have to climb another 300 meters.
But the summit seems so close that we can hardly imagine it.
I shout that my watch must be confused.
We set off again and start the last part.
Another ten meters to the summit ridge.
We conquer the last vertical meters and then we look down into the depths to the glacier behind the ridge.
It is still really winter on the Höllental side and there is a lot of skiing going on.
I see the Gatterl route, our planned return trip, but there is far too much snow there.
So that means taking the cable car down.
Personally, I think climbing and descending the mountain on foot is the most beautiful thing to do.
But not at all costs.
We follow the ridge that seems to have no end.
Maybe my watch wasn’t confused after all.
I encourage Reinier that we are almost there.
That he has almost climbed his first mountain.
And then we step onto the platform where the restaurants and tourists are.
The Zugspitze is a beautiful mountain but the top is hideous.
There are buildings everywhere with restaurants, shops, a museum and who knows what else.
It is very busy and we feel like two circus monkeys, we are being watched by everyone.
We joke with each other that we have at least had our minute of fame.
We descend a staircase and walk to the gate behind which the last meters to the real top start.
Reinier shouts that he thinks it is enough but I do not accept that.
I say that if he does not do these last few meters he will always regret it.
It takes no effort to persuade him and we climb up.
I go first and quickly reach the top. In the meantime, the wind starts to blow really hard and soon the snow follows.
On the platform I see that the crowd is taking pictures of me and that feels a bit strange.
But oh well, I guess they’ll think we’re crazy too.
Then Reinier comes up and stands at the summit cross.
He is wearing a T-shirt from Health Shop and I quickly take a few pictures of him.
After 1970 meters of altitude and hours of climbing, the fatigue but especially the pride radiates from his face.
We walk into the restaurant and quickly warm up our hands.
The gloves were already wet from the hike and with the biting wind over them it is not much better.
In the restaurant we order something to eat and drink and toast to the summit we have achieved.
After the calories have been replenished reasonably, we take the elevator down.
Downstairs it is also very busy, busloads of tourists from all corners of the world.
We quickly make ourselves scarce and seek the peace and quiet of our apartment.
This time we grab a real cold beer from the fridge and toast to our summit day.
Today we really earned that beer….
Cheers!
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