27th March: Schierke Bhf. area including - Glashüttenweg and Ahrensklint Start/Finish at Schierke Bhf. 685m.    Highest point reached was circa 820m on the Glashüttenweg Distance circa 8 kms.    Vertical altitude gain of circa 250 m Total time from start to finish of 2 hrs 30 mins Weather was milder with a thunderstorm and heavy rain, then sunshine. Deep snow on ground. All on snowshoes

The day started with a ride up on the first train from Wernigerode, taken as far as Schierke Bhf. 27th March hike continued

27th March: Schierke Bhf. area including - Glashüttenweg and Ahrensklint continued

Before catching the train I had noticed the excellent winter ski/hiking routes map displayed outside of the Wernigerode railway stations. 27th March hike continued

27th March: Schierke Bhf. area including - Glashüttenweg and Ahrensklint continued

The bright sunshine enjoyed during the train journey was replaced by gloom and rain at Schierke Bhf. That should have warned me that the weather forecast sent to me by text by my wife that storms were likely was accurate. But I still set off via the Erdbeerkopf and Glashüttenweg towards the Brockenbett. 27th March hike continued

27th March: Schierke Bhf. area including - Glashüttenweg and Ahrensklint continued
As I reached a very open section of the Glashüttenweg a massive explosion occurred above me! There are conflicting views as to what do when caught in a storm, but I tried to find safe(ish) shelter but needed to keep using my Leki poles and snowshoes, (metal crampons), to try and get to a small copse surrounded by tall trees.
And progress across the deep and soft snow was slow as another massive explosion occured above me. But I got into the "cover" and then waited for the storm to clear before heading back to Schierke Bhf. Then decided on another snowshoe "loop" from the station past the Feuersteinklippe and up to Ahrensklint. 27th March hike continued

27th March: Schierke Bhf. area including - Glashüttenweg and Ahrensklint continued
At least my second "loop" kept me on snow nice and deep enough to continue on snowshoes, but soon back at the station and uncertain about the prospect of more storms I decided to catch the train up to a foggy Brocken.
28th March hike	Mar 2006 Trip Index	Key to route descriptions	Back to Main Index

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.
January 2006 Trip Index	Back to Main Index