| 20th February: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee
Start at Taubenstation Bergstation 1613m, Finish at Spitzingsee 1080m Highest point reached was 1701m, Tanzeck summit. Round distance circa 15 kms Vertical altitude gain of circa 550 m Total time from start to finish of 5 hrs 30 mins Weather was cold and fair. Very deep snow. Snow shoes used for around 2 hours | |
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Monday dawned another superb day: so a quick breakfast and then the 08.46 RVO bus and to the Taubensteinbahn and up to the Bergstation. The first part of the hike was down the steep ski piste, snow shoes ready for later.
20th Feb hike continued | |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| The plan was to get down the steep piste and for Bobbie to walk up to the Schonfeldhutte, (above and under a rather stressed looking cornice), where she could base herself for the day. My targets were to get to the summits of the Tanzeck, and then, strength permitting, the Rauhkopf.
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| I went up a steep ski piste, then onto slopes covered with deep firm snow, (up to 2 metres): but I was breaking through the surface under a small layer of fresh powder. Snowshoe time, and I knew I was in for a long hard slog. Essential are knee length gaiters, and as my Grivel snow shoes don't have built in crampons I had my Grivel 12 pointers on. I wear these most of the time on snow and ice anyway: I feel much safer and can hike all day in them as my Scarpa Manta boots are semi rigid and designed to take them. I may opt for built in crampon snowshoes next year, as I didn't always get the right level of grip as the snowshoe pushed my boots and crampons up away from the snow. Extra heel straps kept my boots rigid on the snowshoes: I find this essential to being able to use snowshoes. |
| 20th Feb hike continued
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| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| It was hard work up to past the closed Schnittlauchmoosalm hutte, where the grade eased a bit giving good views West to the Jägerkamp and Benzingspitz. The partly covered tracks up here had come mainly from skiers who doggedly hike up on their skis, then get a fast descent!
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| I snowshoed on across the very deep firm packed snow, with the Tanzeck to the left and the Aiplspitz on the right. Getting to the Tanzeck summit I had to go over the top of a dwarf pine tree that was totally covered in snow, taking care not to slip down the side of it where the snow looked much less firm.
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| Looking back the way I had climbed was the snow covered Schnittlauchmoosalm hutte, and those mountains!
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| The view South was dominated by the Rotwand, (left), and Lempersberg.
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| North East the exposed ridge to the Aiplspitz. A few snowshoe tracks below, and then just animal tracks warned that some of that ridge snow could be very deep and unstable. Maybe if I knew the ridge from a summer hike I would have thought about crossing it, but without that prior experience such an attempt was not sensible. Especially alone.
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| It was a clear day, giving a very long distance view away from the Bavarian Alps and North towards München. The slight curvature in the picture is not due to me having climbed a great height, it's from the wide camera angle used!
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| I didn't stay long on the top of Tanzeck taking in the view South West once more to see the weather was changing. And to note the only places the snow was not deep was where the constant wind had blown it from the top of some of the ridges, and of course on the steeper rock faces.
20th Feb hike continued |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. | |
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| The Rauhkopf, 1689m, was clear above the ski piste but it was too steep on snow shoes to go direct, so I went down to near 1500m, took off snowshoes and slogged up a steep piste. The last part was steep in deep snow, "off piste", then over a very short ridge where I carefully used the single width line of footprints in the narrow wall of snow.
20th Feb hike continued | |
| 20th Feb: Taubenstein Bergstation - 1350m - Tanzeck - 1520m - Rauhkopf - Spitzingsee cont. |
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| Rauhkopf summit cross, with the Aiplspitz in view as the clouds arrived.
20th Feb hike continued |
| 21st Feb Photos | Feb 2006 Trip Index | Key to route descriptions | Back to Main Index |
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| Key to Route Descriptions
Throughout this web site I have tried to adopt a consistent approach to the way I show the summarised hike details in the blue text table shown at the start of each hike. Below is an explanation of how the various parts of that text table are arrived at. Start and Finish The main locations, usually a village or nearest village, from where the hike is started and ended. The altitude of the start and finish taken by comparing my exact starting point with the appropriate contour line or printed height from the relevant Topographische Kart 1:25000, Bayersisches Landesvermessungsamt München map. Round distance in kms The total distance actually hiked. Includes any "excursions" off the main route. The kms shown are a very broad estimate only. I have yet to find a way of getting anything like an accurate distance for my hikes even using the 1:25000 maps. Frequent zig zags and height gains and undulations are the main problems to deal with! Vertical altitude gain Not the height difference between the starting point and the highest point reached. It is an estimate of the total metres I have ascended during the hike. It will include all significant undulations and all "excursions" off the main route. Using the detailed 1:25000 maps as above, it is possible with a little care and effort to get quite close to an accurate figure. Total time from start to finish Time from my gasthof back to my gasthof after the hike if no public transport is involved. Or from leaving a bus stop or railway station and back to a bus stop or railway station at the end of the hike. Includes all breaks. My ascent rate is slow, never more than about 300 metres per hour, so most other people would complete the hikes quicker. I often complete a hike with no stop lasting longer than a few minutes, but picnic stops and visits to huttes taking longer than that will be mentioned in the text. Weather A broad description of the weather conditions during that hike. Any temperatures usually taken from the nearest weather recording site that I can find, (done on my return to England), or from local TV reports. | |
| February 2006 Trip Index | Back to Main Index |
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