Zugspitze

The next day was perfect mountaineering weather, and we got going early for our trip to the peak of Zugspitze. We walked to a train station, where no trains stopped, and then found a bus station nearby. After singing Lauren a happy birthday (one day too early!!) we took the Seilbahn Cable Car to the top of the mountain. The view was spectacular and the clouds were hanging off just long enough for us to reach the top. From the viewing platform, we could see people climbing up on a path to the peak of the mountain. Being fair weather, we thought that’s fine – we can do that! Once we exited the safety gate – and entered ‘Alpine Conditions’, we had to traverse a steep icy path, complete with snow dropping steeply to one side, and a rocky cliff on the other, before coming to a vertical ladder, with a couple of safety cables to hold onto. It was a lot harder than it looked. We got halfway and sat down for a breather and considered whether we could continue to the peak. We decided to have a go, and started inching along the rockface, holding onto the safety cables with sweaty hands. We made it to the top and felt very accomplished! We hung around on the peak for a few minutes, savouring our little victory. We left a little piece of string tied to the top as a tribute to our first climb. Once we began climbing back down, Dee had a little panic moment, almost freezing on the cliff face, but managed to get back to safety in the end.

We took the next cable car down to Sonn Alpin Glacier where they have the large ski fields in Winter. Zugspitze is one of the best mountain areas in Germany during Winter. There was still snow around, and after traipsing through it in our waterproof multifunction shoes (!) we headed back to camp.