Flashback: Germany's highest mountain (Climbing the Zugspitze)

August 28 & 29, 2010

Before we could set off, I first had to upgrade my non-existent gear. I got a backpack from my dorm mate Alex. It was too small for me and technically not suitable for climbing a mountain, but it was still better to take this backpack than to drag my hard-shell wheeled suitcase up the Zugspitze behind me… I got blister plasters and tape from the local pharmacy. We bought snacks and drinks for the way at the supermarket. That was it. Let’s go, then! Showered with good wishes for our tour by lots of lovely fellow Studienstiftung scholars, the five of us set off towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

As if on cue, heavy rain greeted us on the Autobahn and stayed with us for the entire drive.

That wasn’t going to faze us. With plenty of gallows humor on board, we (from left to right: me, Sven, Ruth, Asar, Daniel) practiced our sarcasm and worked out how best to swim up the Zugspitze…

When we arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we met the sixth member of our team, Leo (left in the picture), also a Studienstiftung scholar – not at the summer academy, but warmly invited to join our tour through Sven. In town I bought rain pants and a poncho, so that I’d at least have something water-repellent with me… OK, all in all we certainly looked anything but professional in the picture above, but we had the will to conquer Germany’s highest mountain… ;)

Passing the Große Olympiaschanze ski jump, we were…

… greeted in the Partnachklamm gorge by the rain, which had started up again.

I was really glad to have my waterproof camera…

…and marveled at the torrents of water crashing down.

All on our own, we made our way along the Partnach River through the Reintal valley towards the Zugspitze.

Even though the weather could have been better and we were already pretty soaked, it didn’t dampen our good mood one bit.

We were even rewarded, very briefly, with a patch of blue sky – the only cloud-free view all day…

After a few hours of hiking we reached the Reintalangerhütte mountain hut,…

…which had also set up tables and benches by the stream running past. Unfortunately, the weather kept any would-be tourists away.

That was the end of the easy part. The route got a lot more demanding.

The trails disappeared, and in places we had to find our own way.

Visibility got worse and the route steeper and steeper. More and more often we had to use our hands to keep moving forward.

The little sheep along the way didn’t have nearly as much trouble scrambling…

Luckily my boots were really good and gave me excellent grip. My fitness also held up surprisingly well, without any trouble at all. Slowly but surely, though, my right knee was making itself felt more and more. To avoid a slight rubbing on one toe, I had stupidly been walking with my right foot slightly askew for the last few hours – and now my knee was paying the price. We had started in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at 700 meters above sea level (NHN), and after 5.5 hours we were already at 1700 meters. In total, we still had 1300 meters of ascent ahead of us. A serious injury from a battered knee was definitely something I couldn’t afford before my trip. But turning back wasn’t an option either. Only 300 more meters of ascent to the next hut – surely I could manage that! … With every step the pain got worse. Eventually I was climbing the rocks left leg first only, dragging my right one behind.

An hour later, salvation finally emerged through the clouds.

The Knorrhütte at 2052 meters – the last outpost before the Zugspitzplatt plateau. Completely soaked and visibly exhausted, we peeled off our wet clothes in the extremely damp “drying room”, showered and warmed up. The only problem was that I had hardly any spare clothes with me and had to hope my things would magically dry overnight. Heading out onto snow-covered, windy mountain slopes in wet clothes – definitely not a good idea… But anyway, first there was the matter of my knee, which by now was slowly changing color. I got the hut warden’s last (much too short) bandage, and Sven wrapped my knee like a pro. As everyone knows, faith can move mountains – I’d have settled for my knee healing overnight for the last 910 meters of ascent.

Luckily we still managed to get a 6-bed room and didn’t have to sleep in the restaurant area. Granted, one of the windows was broken, which made it pretty cold,…

…but that didn’t dampen our spirits in the slightest. We were incredibly happy to have made it this far and to be able to rest. We enjoyed a pleasant evening with the supplies we’d brought along and fell into a coma-like sleep.

August 29, 2010

Goodness gracious – I’ve rarely had such an excellent, restorative sleep!!! Not a trace of exhaustion left, and my battered knee felt almost as good as new. On top of that, the rain had cleared and my clothes were more or less dry enough.

Fired up from head to toe, we set off.

We bid farewell to the last bit of vegetation and headed…

…into pure, rocky mountain terrain.

Long trails and narrow paths followed…

…with some icy climbing thrown in.

Although a lot steeper in places, the second stage was definitely more pleasant without the rain.

It’s definitely nicer to see a bit more of your surroundings than walls of fog. ;)

At some point, unfortunately, not even the beautiful view of the Alps could distract me from my knee pain, which was getting worse again. Still, I really enjoyed the uplifting feeling of climbing a mountain for a change, instead of standing in the lab or sitting in front of a computer.

Almost there! At the top in the background you can see the summit of the Zugspitze with its weather station.

Before the last 300 meters of ascent, we took a break on the Zugspitzplatt, and I gave my knee and myself a little time to think it over. Only 300 meters of ascent left – less than an hour. But it’s also a tough stretch. On this part in particular, sure footing was essential to avoid falling, and that was something I definitely no longer had with my right leg. But after all that effort, I can’t say “No” this close to the goal. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not that type – not even remotely, not in the slightest. Surely I can manage that little bit – the goal is right there, close enough to touch. Suddenly a few more brain cells started whirring. Should I really risk it? From deep inside came a clear “No!”. The risk of plunging into the abyss is too great. I had realized that this was real life (with no chance of a do-over), and not just some everyday situation at home or at work. I’m just short of the summit of Germany’s highest mountain. I may still have been in safe Germany – but a wrong decision could have had fatal consequences even here. Even a simple broken bone would quite simply have put an end to my planned trip. No, I chose to be sensible.
The moment I had decided on “No”, I knew it was right and felt a sense of relief rising inside me. By far my toughest taskmaster is myself. Apparently I’ve now got the maturity to say “No” when things obviously get life-threatening, even if I’m only a short way from such a significant achievement. Thanks! From that very moment on, I knew that I was now ready, from a common-sense point of view as well, to set off on my big journey, starting in less than three weeks. When things get serious for real, don’t cling to false hopes – make the right decisions, that’s what counts! For this insight and this test of good sense alone, the whole Zugspitze tour had already been worth it for me! :)

So I spent quite a while waiting at the cable car station and watched my fellow hikers take on the last stretch. They completely understood my decision and didn’t try to talk me out of it. In situations like this, misplaced pride is anything but advisable – that’s what makes a good team, so that in the end everyone reaches the goal safe and sound.

At least this way I got a picture from up in the gondola. :)

When I got to the top, the Zugspitze was shrouded in thick cloud.

The cold up here…

…and the winds were plain to see in the impressive…

…ice formations.

Later the sky cleared…

…and opened up a breathtaking view of the landscape and out over the clouds. This picture also shows why this flashback to the Zugspitze matters so much. After all, a section of the picture above has adorned every page of this blog ever since my travel reports began. Just scroll up and compare. A few times I’ve been asked what the picture in the header above the navigation bar shows. So here’s the answer: it’s the view from the Zugspitze. :)
A really wonderful feeling spread through me. I could feel my excitement about the upcoming trip growing. I wondered what heights might still be waiting for me…

Before I got the chance to drink to my excitement (you really do find beer gardens everywhere in Bavaria ;)),…

…the rest of my crew reached the Zugspitze after 55 minutes. Luckily they had been spared the thick clouds from earlier and arrived up here with a clear view.

Together we recovered in the hut up there and got ready for the very last bit. When we came out of the hut, the clouds had already closed in again, severely limiting visibility. My knee was still feeling suboptimal, but I wasn’t going to let anyone take the last few meters of climbing to the summit cross away from me.

If you ever want to experience a whole new kind of happiness, I can wholeheartedly recommend climbing the Zugspitze. Because of my knee, I didn’t make it all the way – so someday I’ll be back. ;)

View from the summit cross: the vast majority of tourists come up here by cog railway + cable car and don’t dare to tackle the last stretch to the summit cross.

Admittedly, the path up here was heavily iced over and…

…just a tiny bit adventurous. ;)

Back on level ground, we quickly took a photo as proof of my battered knee, with the summit cross in the background,…

…before heading back down to the valley, the comfortable way this time, on the Zugspitzbahn, through a seemingly endless tunnel…

…and past the beautiful scenery.
Once we were down, we said goodbye to Leo and headed straight back to Rot an der Rot.

When we arrived after just under two hours‘ drive, we ran into our academy director Hans-Ottmar Weyand in the parking lot. He was really glad, too, that we’d made it back in one piece, and quickly took a photo of us.

What an experience! Climbing a mountain like that really brings people together. I couldn’t have wished for better companions than Daniel, Sven, Ruth, Asar and Leo. Thank you so much for this unforgettable memory – and with it, a foretaste of my upcoming trip!

We also published a short but telling statistic about our weekend in the academy newspaper:
ZUGSPITZE CREW – TO THE ROOF OF GERMANY IN TWO DAYS
- Technical data -
Participants: 6 scholarship holders ; Route: Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Partnachklamm – Reintal – Knorrhütte – Zugspitzplatt – Zugspitze ; Distance: 20.9 km ; Elevation gain: 2302 m ;
Net hiking time: 10 hours ; Total weight: 0.5 t ;
Drinking water consumption: 20 L ; Ethanol consumption (pure): 0.46 L ;
Losses/injuries: swimming trunks, deposit bottle, one knee, two fingers, three toes
- Equipment -
Good hiking boots, waterproof pants (jeans turned out to be unsuitable), poncho (good alternative: garbage bag), socks as gloves for the steel cables, a surprising amount of money, four deodorants, one dirty knee bandage, wine, vodka, outdoor camera, two sets of dry spare clothes, lots of sweets (> 2 kg), blister plasters, two GPS devices and a map for orientation
- Conclusion -
A very nice tour. Well suited for sure-footed hikers with a head for heights.

Eventually the summer academy, Zugspitze interlude included, came to an end as well. In every respect, the two weeks were a complete success. Valuable experiences, memories and contacts – what more could you want? After a night of heavy drinking, Daniel and I finally headed home with Moritz and Stefanie, both from Frankfurt. I might see Daniel again on my trip, in Singapore, since he’s doing an internship abroad and traveling to the neighboring countries in between. Well, let’s hope there are a few mountains nearby, or other crazy things to experience. ;)
In the picture I’m raising a farewell toast with a glass of special Frankfurt apple juice, secretly already looking forward to a good long sleep… ;)

And that’s it for the two flashbacks. That I’d get to experience Mt. Everest just two months or so after the Zugspitze – I would never in my wildest dreams have expected that. Isn’t it wonderful, everything life can offer you? So don’t dawdle – grab it. :)

Further links:

1. Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Last town before the Zugspitze
2. Große Olympiaschanze – Has seen several world records (skiing and motorbikes…)
3. Partnachklamm – A gorge up to 80 m deep in places
4. Partnach – River that rises in the Zugspitze massif
5. Reintal – Valley between Partnachklamm and Zugspitzplatt
6. Reintalangerhütte – Last stop before the more demanding part
7. Normalhöhennull (NHN) – How high something is relative to NHN
8. Knorrhütte – The most important stopover on the way up the Zugspitze
9. Zugspitze – At 2962 m above NHN, Germany’s highest mountain
10. Münchner Haus – Mountain hut and rest stop on the Zugspitze
11. Summit cross – Marks the summit
12. Zugspitzbahn – One of the last four cog railways in Germany