Short Reports 2023

Published on 2023-1-1 by Michael Stanton

Hohe Asten

December 30, 2023

Hike with Barbara and Sammy up the Hohe Asten. Sammys first mountain day. The car suffered for it...!

Wildbarren and Rehleitenkopf

December 28, 2023

Hiked up Wildbarren by the road to the ridge, then down, over and up to the Rehleitenkopf. Then down via a new way I hadn't done before. Abandoned roads down to the valley floor beside the quarry.

Wildbarren

December 26, 2023

I was sick and lazy for more than a week - must do a hike! I visited my old friend Wildbarren. No one on my trail, just a lot of new downed trees. I did a little bit of trail maintenence. Met some people on top. A good time. This hike pushes me over 100k meters up and down for the year.

Großer Beil

December 8, 2023

This was kind of a lame ski tour, but I was happy for all the elevation. I parked at the Alpengasthof Schönanger Alm, and skied up the road for a good ways until it became trail. I followed this into forest with some long traverses in the trees. At one point I had to take off skis to navigate a little hand-rail section on rocks that I remembered from a summertime trip here with Barbara. Finally I reached a famous rock called the Glockhausstein -- we bouldered on that before.

I hadn't seen any descended ski tracks -- how did these people get down? I continued up to a house, then beyond. The day was overcast and gray, but at least I wasn't in a cloud. The local summits were clear. The last meters to the summit were tough because the ski-track was lost under snow-drifts. I had kind of hoped I could descend the north face of the peak but one look down made it clear that was way beyond my skills!

So I reversed my route down to the last house. I didn't get to enjoy the skiing very much though, despite good snow because I simply couldn't see anything correctly. I never knew how steep of a slope I was on. The only visual aids were my tracks going up and even those were faint grey-on-grey hints. Eventually I figured out that there was a road I could take down to avoid the steep forest, which would be awful on skis. I descended to find tracks from two descending skiers in the days before. They had to cross a stream -- I found a better place to cross on a snow bridge. Then some tiring uphill to get on the roadbed. Here I chose to unbind the heel part of my boots and switch them into uphill mode for the long often level road traverses. That was helpful. Eventually there was pretty nice coasting down the road looking up at the peak. Unless there is a ski route I don't know about, I don't recommend this mountain as a ski tour! 1200 meters up and down.

Feldalphorn ski tour

December 7, 2023

Beautiful powder snow. Nice older folks, perhaps retired, out on this Thursday. This will always be a favorite ski tour!

Wallberg ski tour

December 3, 2023

Just a fantastic ski tour on this good clear day. I even bought a lift ticket and went down one more time.

Brauneck ski tour

December 1, 2023

First ski tour of the year! Heck, first ski tour in two years?! Terrible. Anyway, it was raining at the trailhead but after an hour climbing it turned to snow. It's been quite a while since I've done this tour so my memory of it was dim. But I just followed the tracks. I had to learn to ski again on the way down and gosh...it was fun! I left in increasing snow.

Großer Riesenkopf

November 4, 2023

A nice hike up and down in the cold. Someone removed the steel cable from the steep way on the side of a rocky peak.

Kranzhorn

November 1, 2023

Quick hike up and down.

Col Rodela (almost)

October 28, 2023

Paul and I stayed in Canazei, and did a little hiking. I also went alone and hiked up to near the summit of Col Rodela from town, actually to the Rifugio des Alpes restaurant a bit below the summit. It was getting dark and I needed to get back down. About 1000 meters up and down. Beautiful ridge hiking on the way up.

Große Ochsenwand (August 10)

October 6, 2023

A great climb of the klettersteig. I met an American woman there from Colorado, she was practically running up this thing!

My goals lie up the road...

Passed by the American woman!

On the descent, my goal is that section of trail you can see in the brown grass.

A closed-for-the-season alm restaurant was friendly, offering cold drinks for sale...

Naunspitze

June 11, 2023

Hiked up with some water and a helmet to climb the grade II+ Southwest Ridge, a nice little alternative to the normal way on the Naunspitze. To make up for hiking with such a light pack, I resolved to leave the poles at home. My goodness, this makes my legs work so much harder, but I know it's good for me. I really have to balance time hiking with poles with time hiking without poles. My legs are much stronger this way. Though, if I did it all the time I suppose my knees would hurt.

At the hut below the summit, I finished the fantastic book by Andrew Klaven, "The Truth and Beauty."

Großer Riesenkopf

June 4, 2023

I hiked up with a 9 kg pack, stopping at the Hohe Asten Alm on the way down for a snack and a Weinschorle, and a cigar. Afterwards, I practiced solo top-roping with a Gri-gri at Flintsbach, climbing a few easy things. I do need some equipment upgrades to do this more safely.

Bad Heilbrunn

June 3, 2023

Barbara and I went back and climbed:

• Ameisenkante (3)
• Salger-Ged.-Platte (4+)
• Schwarzer Riss (4+)
• Kondensstreifen (6+)

On Kondensstreifen, I wanted to lead it successfully, but it felt so dicey! I made an attempt and chickened out, moving right into the Schwarzer Riss then back left higher to give myself a top rope. I re-did the moves with that, then finished to the anchor. I lowered off, tried again.

Again, a failure! This time I grabbed the 3rd quickdraw, feeling like I'd slip if I tried to clip it.

I focused more on exactly what moves to make. There is one key slippery foothold which will only last for so long before the foot slips. On the next try, I found that if I hooked my left thumb on a crease by my chest, I gained security on that slippery left foot while moving the right foot to the next minor indentation.

So finally I found the way, and led the route successfully from the ground up, though quickdraws were in place for clips 1, 2 and 3. It's really amazing how big the mental barrier is for slabs in my mind. But this experience helped a lot. Thanks to Barbara for patient belaying and lowering!

Bad Heilbrunn

May 27, 2023

Barbara and I climbed here, great fun!

• Ameisenkante (3)
• Kleine PLattenverschneidung (3+)
• Siebenschläfer (5+)
• Glühwürmchen (5-)
• Salger-Ged.-Platte (4+)
• Schwarzer Riss (4+)
• Kondensstreifen (6+)

That last I did on top rope - really fun! Excited to go back and lead it.

Barbara at Bad Heilbrunn.

Barbara on the slabs.

Looking up to Schwarzer Riss.

Martinswand with Werner and Helmut

May 18, 2023

Werner, Helmut and I climbed Emmentaler and then Bronchitis. A very nice use of Father's Day. As it turns out, we are all dads. :)

Werner prepares to climb.

On the first route, "Emmentaler."

Higher on "Emmentaler."

A friendly Gämse.

Somewhere on "Bronchitis."

Me with Werner and Helmut.

Point 2265

May 7, 2023

I hiked from the town of Walten to the summit of Point 2265 (my name for it, though there is a summit cross). I followed roads up to the west, then trail from the Fleckner Hütte. A bit of scrambling at the end to reach the top. The peak Fleckner looked difficult without boots and maybe an ice ax.

Views to mountains in the northwest were spectacular. I'd like to explore that area more...1120 meters up/down.

Mutspitze

May 6, 2023

A great walk from my hotel in Dorf Tirol to the summit of the Mutspitze. Two weeks before, I attempted it, but deep snow turned me around.

From the summit, I thought about traversing the ridgetop to the Taufenscharte and descending it to the Leiter Alm, but the snow looked unappealing. I'm so allergic to snow these days! So I retraced my steps. What a beautiful summit.

1941 meters up/down.

Glaitner Joch (attempt)

May 5, 2023

I hiked from a little museum building a bit above the town of Sankt Leonhard towards the pass. A nice man let me park, essentially, in his yard where he was doing carpentry. He was there when I got back too, and also let me have water from his spring. Really nice, because I was dying of thirst.

Snow stopped me about 150 meters below the pass. It was knee deep soft stuff. Reminded me of the San Juans last year. Quite interesting, the near-vertical town of Glaiten, whose yards I huffed and puffed through between clearings in the forest. The high meadows were gorgeous. I love the brown grass of this Texel-adjacent region. 1534 meters up/down.

Mutspitze (attempt)

April 22, 2023

I found myself in Meran, and attempted to hike from town to the Mutspitze. However, snow on the upper ridge got me to turn around. A great dinner of Knödel in Dorf Tirol afterwards! Then a walk down through the vineyards as the sun went down.

Still, 2000 meters up/down.

Gantkofel

early April, 2023

Before meeting Jong for a climbing trip, I had a partial day. So I hiked and scrambled up the Gantkofel through a narrow, icy gully to the Kematscharte. Then down a different scharte (pass/gully) which was still very steep! 1300 meters up/down.

Heimgarten

January, 2023

A fun hike after staying overnight with Alexander in Weilheim for his birthday celebration. Lots of fresh snow, and snowing on and off. Up the normal route, where folks at the Murnau DAV Huette invited me in to eat lunch! Down via the long ridge, sometimes breaking trail in deep snow.

Stanser Joch

January 7, 2023

I'd never done the hike straight up from the town of Stans. It was fantastic! I thought it would be 1500 meters up through latschen but it was pleasant, if very steep, forest and occasional meadow. Only in the last 300 meters were there periods of time spent in the latschen, and of course the final 150 meters were wide open. I enjoyed a chat with a woman who lived in Schwaz, hiking up here from home, preferring not to drive anywhere.

Scheffauer

January 6, 2023

A great hike up Scheffauer from the south. I carried snowshoes up to the point it was clear I didn't need them. I was glad for hiking boots on tricky, icy steep parts in the last 200 meters to the summit. Beautiful day. Pictures to come...

Plessenberg

January 1, 2023

A great hike up Plessenberg from the Ascherjöchl, then down the west side to the Jocheralm and to the ground. I listened to the great album Static Deviations by Jameson Nathan Jones.