(aus dem 
Heft 2/2002:)
Flying Shoes And Other Misadventures
(Kletterkurzurlaub in Germany and Austria)
Wednesday was a holiday, Labor Day, so Torsten and I had planned a Kletterkurzurlaub (short climbing vacation). I picked him up late at the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof and we drove back to Esslingen following the Neckar river. The Fruehlingsfest (spring festival) on the Cannstatter Wasen or town fairgrounds was ablaze with lights, radiating beery cheer and a kitschy atmosphere of carnival rides, beer tents, game stands, and frying Bratwurst. It was already way late so we had a quick respite at my place and fell contentedly into our racks.
The next morning we hit the road at six sharp to Nesselwang in the Tannheimer Gebirge in Austria, right on the southern border of Germany. They are part of the Allgauer Alpen, not too far from Kempten. Traffic was nonexistent so we made good time, arriving in about 2 hrs 15 minutes. We had decided to go to the Tannheim because of the unusual weather conditions – there was a strong Foen, or wind from the south. This caused all the bad weather to stream north and crash into the Alps, causing cool temperatures and bad weather in the western and southern Alps. We had originally planned to go to Tessin, but they had a half meter of rain in 48 hrs! There was even lots of snow down to 1400m. The Tannheimer mountains are not so tall, up to about 2100m, so they were mostly snow-free and due to the Foen we had temperatures up to 25°C!! The climb up to the hut was quick, only an hour and a half, so we soon deposited our extra gear and wound up the narrow trail through the grassy hills to the base of the first climb. We were a bit dismayed at the large number of people we saw on the trail – it was a regular Autobahn, but luckily the climbs turned out to not be so crowded.
The Tannheimer are part of the northern limestone mountains (noerdlicher Kalkalpen) with a very characteristic gray limestone. It offers quite good friction as long as it is not climbed too often. Very popular routes acquire a marble-like sheen that is incredibly slick, especially when wet. Luckily the routes we did were still in good shape. Tannheim also has the reputation of having lots of loose, poor quality rock, and there was a fair amount of Schrott around but most everything was bomber. You did have to watch what you pulled on and also tread very carefully on the small ledges covered with scree so as to not shotgun people below. After a tragic accident in 1997 where a party of three climbers cratered when their belay anchor consisting of old pitons failed many routes have been retro-bolted. The pro was quite good, with some long run-outs on the easier pitches but plenty of shiny new stainless steel glue-in bolts or SS expansion bolts at the cruxes. If you started seeing old rusty pitons you knew you were off-route.
We started climbing fairly late, after twelve, but had plenty of time to do the seven pitch 5+ (about 5.7+) route. The views of the Allgauer Alps and the Wetterstein mountains from the top were awesome. We rapped down and retreated to the hut for a tasty dinner and good night of rest.
Thursday dawned with interesting weather – a dense fog carpeted the valley floor, reaching to just below the hut. It was an amazing panorama of dark mountains rising majestically out of a dense white blanket, with snow-capped peaks throning in the background. Strong winds would occasionally blow the fog up side valleys, obscuring all views with an impenetrable whiteness. Despite the fog we headed up to the Gimpel, a 2176m peak with some longer routes. We did a great 11 pitch route with a fun mix of arete, face, and slab climbing. The difficulty was fairly consistent between 5 and 6 (5.7- and 5.9+) but well-protected. It was awesome! The fog lifted and we were rewarded with gigantic views of the mountains and steep limestone cliffs. The route topped out on a small peak, due to the snow remnants we decided to rap down instead of downclimbing the easy descent route. I also had a problem with my Schuhwerk (shoes) which made the descent a bit more difficult. I had clipped my trekking shoes onto my harness with a quickdraw. As I stood up at the last belay station one of my shoes somehow unclipped itself, bounded twice down a low-angle slab and hurled itself into the abyss. Yikes! I had been wanting a new pair of trekking shoes, perhaps it was Fate that caused the poor shoe to end its life in such a spectacular fashion. Luckily we were the last party on the climb so there was no danger of other climbers being zapped by flying articles of clothing from the heavens. Due to my oversight I had the privilege of doing all five 50 meter rappels, a downclimb through old snow fields, and 1.5 hours of hiking with a heavy pack wearing one trekking shoe and my poor Scarpa rock climbing shoe. My dogs were barking when we finally reached the car – it felt heavenly to pull on my sandals.
Since the weather forecast was predicting bad weather, the only place left to go was the eastern Alps. We drove through Bavaria on small country roads, making good time as it was late and there was no traffic. We arrived in Koenigsee at 12:30 am and bivied next to my car on the edge of the large, asphalt parking lot. It was not the most comfortable spot but we slept well anyway. Koenigsee is near Fuessen and the other famous royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. It's a very popular tourist spot but as we're there during the week it was not so crowded. The weather was awesome – quite warm, mostly sunny. The views of the Watzmann and its impressive 1900m tall Ostwand were incredible. Berchtesgarten has a scenic Altstadt, though a bit touristy, and a plethora of bakeries – it is amazing that they can all stay in business. We had a good hike up to the Kührointalm hut where we had a hearty lunch with a view of the Watzmann group. The wildflowers are starting to bloom, lining the meadows with blazes of color. There was still a fair amount of snow at the hut at 1400m. We decided to trek down to a scenic cloister halfway down the lake. The trail was steep and occasionally had wooden ladders and a steel cable for the not-so sure footed Tourists that frequented the trek. The views of the emerald-blue lake were incredible – it was one of the most scenic hikes I have been on in years. Once at the chapel we relaxed in the sunshine, soaking up the warm rays and occasionally dipping our feet into the icy water. It was quite warm when the sun was out but windy and cool in the shade. We finished the day by taking the ferry back to Koenigsee and driving to a campsite on the Chiemsee near Prien. We cooked dinner on the beach enjoying the quiet rhythems of the lake and evening stillness. The weather was threatening but held out until we were on the road back to Stuttgart. We stopped in Prien on the way back and checked out a Hundertwasser exhibit – it was quite good. All in all it was a great trip filled with fine days in the mountains and a bit of culture as well.
Gabe Williams
