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Ken Roberts - - Bicycling what's hereearlier in this year
see also: more Europe stories | public discussion | more on Europe via ferrata in northeast Italy with less down-walking09sept : see more current version
Less downhill walking -- why? Many people feel that downhill is easier and prefer more of it. But Sharon and me and some of my American friends have strong legs from bicycling which they can use for climbing up on rock mostly with smooth moves, while going down steep mountain slopes requires putting sudden impacts on the leg muscles -- which our leg joints and muscles are not well trained for. So we find that our legs and feet are sore for the next couple of days after walking down from a mountain climb which was rather fun for going up on steep rock. Hiking poles -- using poles for going down definitely helps absorb some of the impact -- I highly recommend them for bicyclists who want to do some climbing or mountain walking in Europe -- but it's not enough. So I'm looking for VF climb routes with either (a) less down than up, so we can get a big accomplishment and burn more calories without so much impact; or (b) shorter routes. My personal guideline for "Less Down" is: < 600m : less than 600 vertical meters (2000 vertical feet) of down-walking and down-climbing. < 350m : "very little down" guidebook in EnglishJohn Smith and Graham Fletcher: Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites (2 volumes) (Cicerone Press, revised to 2006, 2005). So far I've found both volumes accurate and very helpful. For me, the second volume has proved even more important than the first, because it opened up a whole world of options outside the "obvious" famous Dolomites around Cortina - Corvara. And not just for climbing (also road-biking) But these volumes do not (as of 2010) include latitude-longitude of critical route and escape points for GPS navigation. Nor latitude-longitude for car navigation to trailhead parking. Some of the routes are described in the downhill direction, likely what many cable-grabbing via-ferratists would prefer. But climbers who love to move with their hands directly on rock and use the cable only for protection tend to prefer the uphill direction -- as do bicyclists with legs well-developed for pushing them upward. Has not been a problem for me, just reverse my reading and thinking. The climbs below are just possible ideas for via ferrata with less downhill -- I haven't actually tried most of them. So don't rely on these ideas: Do your own research, buy the guidebooks and some maps. volume 1 -- North, Central, and East Dolomites
map: Kompass 624: Hochtabei / Alta Badia 1:25000
map: Kompass 624: Hochtabei / Alta Badia 1:25000
map: Kompass 624: Hochtabei / Alta Badia 1:25000 or
map: Kompass 624: Hochtabei / Alta Badia 1:25000 or
map: Kompass 617: Cortina d'Ampezzo / Dolomiti Ampezzane 1:25000
map: Kompass 617: Cortina d'Ampezzo / Dolomiti Ampezzane 1:25000
map: Kompass 617: Cortina d'Ampezzo / Dolomiti Ampezzane 1:25000
volume 2 -- southern Dolomites, Brenta, and Lake Garda
latitude-longitude (approximate with my GPS)
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via ferrata in Germany + Austria with less down-walking09sept : see more current version
warning: The info below is way out of date because it does not take into account the new climbs and new information in the new German-language guidebooks.
Less downhill walking -- why? see above I'm looking for VF climb routes with either (a) less down than up, so we can get a big accomplishment and burn more calories without so much impact; or (b) shorter routes. My personal guideline for "Less Down" is: < 600m : "little down" = less than 600 vertical meters (2000 vertical feet) of down-walking and down-climbing. < 350m : "very little down" 10july note:
guidebook in EnglishPaul Werner, Klettersteig: Scrambles in the northern limestone Alps (English translation by Dieter Pevsner) (Cicerone Press) -- first published in 1983, but I've found it still mostly accurate -- and more complete than I would have guessed for "moderate-grade" via ferratas (? though it might be missing some of the newer harder ones?). Nice maps of the routes themselves. If you can't understand the German descriptions of routes available free on the web, then this book is well worth buying. Of course the book does not include latitude-longitude of critical route and escape points for GPS navigation. Nor latitude-longitude for car navigation to trailhead parking. Big problem is that I had to really dig around in it -- with a detailed topo map alongside -- to get key route selection + planning info out of it in a form useful to me and Sharon. So I did a lot of digging, and thought I'd give other folks a head start on planning for themselves, and wrote some of it here . . . below. added 10july: Klettersteigführer Österreich, 3rd edition (AlpinVerlag.at 2010) has short English descriptions of each climb, and is overall easier to use than the Werner guidebook, and has lots more climbs in a much larger range of Austria. It also includes southern Germany). mapsKompass 1:50000 topo maps might not be the best, but they're easy to find and purchase at kiosks and autobahn rest areas. I've found that the maps for the southern German mountains tend to offer substantial coverage of nearby Austria. I think maps like these are essential to have in advance for planning for non-German-speakers, because the English-language guidebook isn't that helpful for planning without a detailed topo map. Note that many of the lifts shown on the Kompass 1:50000 topo maps are only for equipment + food supply to a hut, not for people to ride up to the hut. Check the legend of symbols carefully so you can tell which of the lifts are really available for you to use. (Several interesting VF routes would be much easier to approach or descend from if we could ride the equipment + food supply lifts). The Kompass 1:50000 maps I've bought recently came together with a mini-guidebook in German which included a page or two of via ferrata routes ("Klettersteig") and cable-protected hiking trails ("gesicherte Route") with short descriptions which are helpful for planning if you know some key German phrases like "sehr schwerig" (and mostly agree with the Werner guidebook). VF around Oberstdorfwith less than 600m of down-walking + down-climbing . . . (my map: Kompass 1:50000 Allgäuer Alpen Kleinwassertal)
Some short sections are American class 5 (or 6?) and do require holding onto a steel cable and stepping on metal supports in order to make the climbing moves (not just for protection). There is cable protection on lots of the harder class 4 + class 5 sections. What's usually not protected by cables is much of the exposed class 3 (including down-climbing which is often harder and scarier than up-climbing) and perhaps easier class 4. (There's so many hand-holds on the rock that the cable is usually only required for protection (clipping VF kit to it), but I saw people using the cable to hold onto to help make climbing moves, especially down-climbing). Great route (on an uncrowded day) for climbers solid on American class 3 + 4 terrain (especially down-climbing) with substantial exposure, and with previous experience using via ferrata equipment. Not a place for people without solid experience or who aren't sure about how they'll handle serious unprotected exposure to deadly fall. Great for climbers who want to make lots of moves directly on the rock (using the cable only for protection). My feeling was that the first section (between Nebelhorn top station and first official escape trail) in the normal diretion was easier than the later sections. The later sections had more sustained sections of thoughtful climbing with exposure, and some significantly harder individual moves. Also seemed that perhaps the first section was better protected with cables (or over-protected?) than the later sections. I even saw a couple of eye-bolts not connected to cables in the first section (but none later) which I assume were for anchoring belays with rope. I'm guessing maybe that's so guides can get unqualified clients thru that section, declare victory, and take the first escape trail. Crowded? Even outside summer season on a mid-week day in mid-September, I had to wait in a 30-minute line at Hoefenblick station mid-afternoon, for the lift to take me back down to the valley. Actually first lift ride up and the Hindelanger VF were nicely uncrowded (I met some local residents seizing the day to do the route). I guess the problem is that hikers and sightseers rode the lift up at various times during the day and spent varying amounts of time up high -- but many had a similar idea about what time to ride back down. Anyway after a great day of climbing I was feeling pretty mellow, and I had some extra snack food + drink, so the wait didn't really bother me. Local hiker/climbers I met said: Don't do it on weekends, just a continuous snake of slow-climbing people. Less Down: 300 meters altitude difference between Nebelhorn top station and Höfatsblick second station. But . . . the ridge route itself has lots + lots of short downs + ups, so I was already getting lots of impact on legs and ankles and feet even before main descent. Then the return trail down to the second lift station has additional ups, and therefore additional down sections -- and the return trail is pretty rocky, not easy hiking. So there's lots more downward impact than I would have guessed from a simple calculation from the topo map. Just climbing only to the second official escape trail might already be more than 600 meters downward, I'd guess. (Going to the unofficial third escape trail or to the northeast end of VF is clearly more impact than than any bicyclist who doesn't do lots of mountain climbing needs. I did it, and I was sore the next two days.) Less Down: alternate strategy is to do the route in the opposite direction, from the second station to the top, so start by hiking out northeast on the hiking trail. Two problems with this: (a) unless you're sure it's an uncrowded day, there will be armies of people coming in the other direction who will be irritated that you're making them wait at crux sections where there's only one way to do the route -- and who will gladly instead make you wait as penalty for doing it the "wrong" way; (b) If you hike out too far, and then don't have time or weather to make it climbing all the way along the ridge to the top station, then you have to walk down one of the escape routes, so you end up doing all the down-walking, and even more distance on the rocky hiking trail, then you would if you'd done on it in the normal direction. A way to help with the second problem is to sleep the night before at the Edmund-Probst-Haus by the second lift station, and start hiking out very early -- but it doesn't help with the first problem, since the biggest "traffic jams" are likely to be earlier in the day and closer on the ridge to the Nebelhorn top station - (because farther out and later, climbers will be spread out more, and many will have given up and taken an escape route). Less Down: yet another strategy: Do only part of the route in the normal direction, then turn around and do the same part in the opposite direction, return to the Nebelhorn top station and take the lift down. Likely this can only work on an uncrowded day, and likely it helps to wait and start a little later after the initial wave of climbers has made it thru the first section.
Less Down: Best approach is see for minimizing downhill is to hike up from the valley, do the VF route north-bound, and ride the lift down. This could be done either from the west side (Kleinwassertal by Mittelberg) with the Kanzelwand lift or from the east side (Stillachtal by Oberstdorf) with the Fellhorn lift. I think I would favor the Kleinwassertal side because: (a) less hiking distance and upward vertical if start from Wildental trailhead; (b) if decide to return to lift by way of the ridge, there's more escape trails to the west side; (c) less horizontal going to lift because the Kanzelwand lift top station is farther south. The disadvantage I see with the Kleinwassertal strategy is that the trailhead is much farther from the lift bottom station, so it requires making a shuttle with a bicycle (or taxi, or possibly bus?). Less Down per day: Riding the lift both ways up and down reduces the uphill climbing, but that way I doubt it's possible to do the whole thing with less than 1300 meters of downward vertical -- also very ambitious to try do the whole thing in a single day if take the lift both up and down. If decide to sleep in a hut and use the lift, then there might be ways to split the downhill vertical between the days so that each day it stays under 600 meters. I think I would favor doing it from the west side (Kleinwassertal) using the Kanzelwand lift, likely doing the VF south-bound on the first day and sleeping in the Mindelheimer hut. VF around Füssen + Reutte
Less Down: then continue north along ridge over Laeuferspitze (1956m) to top of gondola lift at Füssener Joechl (~1810m) and ride that down to Grän (about 5km WNW from Nesselwänger). From my reading of map: Total downhill about 500m (with total climbing up around 1350m) my map: Kompass 1:50000 topo Füssen - Außerfern
VF around Oberammergau
VF around Garmisch
We did it by climbing up the new VF route, descending the old one - (see Werner guidebook description). Seemed to me that most of the climbing is American class 3. Mostly not very difficult climbing moves for experienced climbers, and mostly not such obvious dramatic exposure -- but very sustained. Descent is mostly steep rocky hiking, with a ladder or two, some cable-protected sections, and two short tunnels. [S] Less Down: No "less" -- Just ride the lift as high as possible, and then there's not much "approach" left -- the focus of the ascent is almost all on rock scrambling protected by cable, with a few ladders or other steel assistance. So if you like class 3 scrambling get lots of rock clinbing without lots of total upward vertical -- and therefore not so much downward vertical.
Höllentalanger hut (1387m) -- hike up to it from Hammersbach (750m) about +650 meters uphill - (or hike mostly down to it from the top of the Alpspitz lift (Osterfelderkopf 2033m), but that would exceed my chosen downhill budget of downhill of 600 meters). From the hut it's about +1600 meters or more of uphill to reach the top of the highest peak in Germany. Less Down: The lift comes up to almost the summit, so a short (mostly cable-protected) climb down and up goes from summit to top station of lift, which goes all the way back down to the valley.
VF around Ehrwald, Austria
base of lift (~1220m), Wiener Neustadt hut (2213m), so if split it into two days it's about +1000m uphill the first, +750m the second. With very little downhill. Advantage of being on the west side is that you often can see bad weather coming. Disadvantage is that it's sunless and perhaps cold for much of the morning.
VF around Mittenwald (Germany)
VF around Seefeld, Austria
VF around Berchtesgaden
? Perhaps could be continued with hike by way of Kürointhaus to St Bartholeme (but more up, and steep down in the Rinnkendlsteig section) and return to Königsee by ferry boat.
Perhaps the best way to keep it interesting and minimize down is to start from the Rossfeldring road, hike up first to Purtschellerhaus, then climb up the Schusterweg to junction with Mandlgrat route: (optionally go to summit of Hoher Göll for views, which adds down vertical, but not steep), then descend Mandlgrat VF (makes sense to do it in this direction because it's less steep than Schusterweg), then descend to Kehlstein (perhaps with assistance of lift) and take bus down to Obersalzberg (with a bus- or bike- shuttle set up to get car -- or else one person can just hike from low on the Manndlgrat near Kehlstein on some trails back to the trailhead for Purtschellerhaus on the Rossfeldring road. Other options: (a) If only go to the top of the Mandlgrat climbing section and turn around and go back the same way, then it’s likely less than 600m descent (especially if use the lift?). (b) If go only as far as the junction with the Schusterweg climbing path (instead of going all the way to the summit), then descend to the Purtschellerhaus, that might not be more that 600m descent, but the problem with this approach is that the descent is steeper.
VF around Kufstein, Austria (Kaisergebirge)
(also see the castle in Kufstein)
more . . .see also
concept words: roberts Europe European visit trip vacation holiday American visitor report reports bicycling: bicycle bicycling bike bikes bicycles bicyclist cycle cyclist cycling touring riding rider riders routes: route routes ride rides tour tours map maps places: place river valley state country region regions area areas city town village fahrrad rad radfahren radtour touren routen velo tour tours route routes velotour cyclisme bici bicicletta percorso itinerario visita giro turistico |
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