I have new gear and I urgently needed to test it. So I took one day off and went to the famous Olympic town Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria.
This is the new gear 馃槏: snowshoes from Maine in the USA. Never owned some before. Just tested another pair some weeks ago and ordered mine instantly online.
The snow situation was just perfect. Yesterday and in the night fresh snow fell in the Alps. White Christmas is guaranteed 馃檪
I decided to climb Mount Wank (Yes, I do know the English meaning of this name 馃槒馃槅). It's 1776 m high, so I had to make 1000 hight meters.
I chose the right day for this winter hike. Whilst in Munich the sky was grey all day long, the clouds tore apart in the Alps.
The Wank is a special mountain. It does have a funicular, but that doesn't run in winter. There's a nice mountain inn next to the peak that is open all the year. So it's a perfect spot for ski tourers and snowshoe hikers. P.S. I had a Schnitzel for lunch 馃構
The temperature was minus 4掳C which provided fluffy, powdery snow. Up on the mountain there's almost one meter of snow. But the snowshoes did a great job. I really enjoyed my new toy.
Oh, I almost forgot to show you the impressive Gipfelkreuz. Very often it's just a wooden or steely cross. But this one has a golden Christ Crucified.
It was a beautiful tour. On my way back downhills I noticed the ski jump site on the other side of the valley. It's part of the famous "Four Hills Tournament". Watch out for the TV live coverage on January 1st!
Days are short this time of the year. You can see the sun vanishing right behind the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, leaving Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the shadows. P.S.Before I arrived at my car I had a surprising encounter, but that's another Bavarian Story...
