Alpine Exploratory Zugspitze Tour Guided

Holiday Notes 2018

Zugspitze Tour (Guided)

Please email us at [email protected] to ask about this trip. You’ll find all the latest information at www.alpineexploratory.com/holidays/zugspitze-tour-guided.html.

Our approach entirely solid, allow an improbable course high above the gorge (head for heights needed). Your route Flatter wood and meadow trails lead to the Our trip gives a complete circuit on foot from spread-out, relaxed, villages that make up Garmisch-Partenkirchen, along our Zugspitze Leutasch. This valley is popular for health Tour. On completion you will also have walked (‘wellness’) retreats. a section of the long-distance trail the Adlerweg Hotel in Weidach in Leutasch through the Austrian Tyrol. On the trek itself, no transport is taken except for any that you would Stage 3: like to add in, to skip certain sections of valley Weidach in Leutasch to Ehrwald walking or to descend by cable car. We offer (21km with 540m ascent) an optional day to climb the Zugspitze from the We walk West to Gaistalalm and the top of the highest point reachable on public transport – Ehrwald cable car (optional), straight along the At the Ferchensee, descending to Mittenwald other than the summit itself – which is a difficult Southern flank of the Zugspitze. The mountain 430m ascent. This Zugspitze ascent involves looms above especially in the second half of the funicular railway or cable car, payable the walk. Ehrwald is a ski and mountain town About these Holiday Notes at a junction of valleys. locally. Hotel in Ehrwald These Holiday Notes help you decide whether this holiday is right for you. Before your trip we Guided walks Each day your leader guides the group along Stage 4: send you final detailed information. Ehrwald to Garmisch-Partenkirchen the stage. On some days there is a choice of route; which route we take depends on what (21km with 640m ascent) Details people prefer and on the local conditions. Our last stage re-enters the woods, climbing steadily to a viewpoint over the Eibsee, a lake Start Garmisch-Partenkirchen Getting there and back in the valley above Garmisch. A cable car Finish Garmisch-Partenkirchen Your holiday starts and finishes in the mountain option via the Zugspitze summit is a way to cut Region Zugspitze town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Travel to and the distance and see the high views. The walk Country Germany, Austria from Garmisch-Partenkirchen is not included in down into Garmisch-Partenkirchen is gentle Length 4 walking days, 1 extra day the holiday price - we leave it to you to make and completes our circuit. Total distance 79.5km (49.5miles) the arrangements that suit you best. Munich is Hotel in Garmisch Typical day 20km with 525m ascent the most convenient airport, with good quick Highest altitude 1,590m trains to Garmisch-Partenkirchen; Innsbruck Optional day: Grade Red3 airport also works, with a good train link, but Ascent of the Zugspitze Group size 4 to 8 people plus leader has fewer flights. Full information on flight and (1.5km with 430m ascent) transfer options will be sent to you on booking. The last 430m of the Zugspitze has a scree and Introduction ridge path, popular as the sharp end of the ascent from Garmisch. Taking the funicular Itinerary Trek a circuit of the Zugspitze (2,962m), the railway to the glacier ski area (a popular day trip in its own right, with a cable car going right highest point in Germany. We link the four main Arrival day: towns that surround the Zugspitze. These are to the summit) lets us start this optional ascent. Arrival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen The difficulty is substantially higher than the Garmisch-Partenkichen, Mittenwald, Leutasch Evening arrival in Garmisch, the main and Ehrwald. Zugspitze Tour itself, calling for confidence on mountain resort of Germany and the Bavarian loose and steep ground. It is not a via ferrata Alps. The group goes to dine out in the centres The terrain is predominantly forested and on but at some points metal handrails and cables of either Garmisch or Partenkirchen. Hotel in help on the steep zigzagging path. Descend to lower open hillsides, through meadows and Garmisch along country lanes. Two highlights come in Zugspitze by cabel car and train to complete a super day. the form or narrow gorges, the Partnachklamm Stage 1: and the Leutaschklamm. Solid, sometimes Hotel in Garmisch Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Mittenwald precipitous, walkways take us high above the (23km with 660m ascent) water in both of these gorges. Departure day: We start from Garmisch through the local Departure from Garmisch-Partenkirchen gorge called Partnachklammm, tall and deep. Your leader takes the group on four stages that Departure from Garmisch after breakfast. The path climbs to the open hillside for views make up the circuit. We include a fifth day’s and then dives into woodland, stretching out to outing, optional for those who wish, to the top the Ferchensee and Lautersee. These two of the Zugspitze. There is a funicular railway lakes give a charming descent into Mittenwald. that takes us to 430m below the summit, from Painted houses line the bustling main street. where it is difficult and loose final ascent that Hotel in Mittenwald nevertheless avoids via ferrata or climbing, or a cable car to the summit. Stage 2: Mittenwald to Weidach in Leutasch (14.5km with 250m ascent) Our shorter second stage has the highlight of the Leutaschklamm. New metal walkways,

Zugspitze Tour (Guided)

Food sheet liner. No via ferrata equipment is needed. We will send you an equipment list on booking. Meals included are all breakfasts plus 1 Please also see the Equipment page of our evening meal (in Weidach). website for more information.

For lunches there is lots of opportunity to stock Local expenses up on ingredients along the route. You will often find huts and cafés during the walking, Local expenses include food and drink other useful for lunch stops. Your leader will give than those meals that are included, plus any information about food shops and refreshment local transport, attractions and extras. stops along the route. Hazards For eating out on the nights when dinner is not

included, there are good options in the village Health Our normal schedule of accommodation might or town. Germany and Austria do not require tourists to not be available, especially for busier times or take any vaccinations. However, it is at shorter notice. We book accommodation as Insurance recommended to keep tetanus vaccines up to close as possible to this itinerary and give you date. a schedule to check before we proceed. Clients must have insurance to cover

themselves for helicopter search & rescue, Safety Accommodation medical expenses and repatriation. We This is adventure travel! This holiday takes you recommend, but it is not compulsory, that you to some wild and remote areas, in particular Our standard schedule of accommodation also have cover for personal liability, some areas of upland mountains where consists of 6 nights in 3- or 4-star hotels. cancellation and your baggage and money. navigation can be difficult in poor weather. The You might find that your annual multi-trip travel weather can also be a hazard in itself. During You will have a private room each night, with insurance covers these items already. We will any walking, whether following a guided walk an ensuite bath/shower room. send you details of suitable insurance policies or a routecard or making your own route, you on booking. are responsible for your own actions and safety Your info pack contains full details of your and you should join the trip with suitable skills, accommodation including contact details and Passports and visas experience and equipment. directions.

Passport holders of the US, Canada, Australia, Further information The walking New Zealand and Singapore do not need a visa to enter Austria or Germany. Please email us with any questions at Terrain [email protected]. The Zugspitze Tour’s terrain is at the gentler Weather end of the spectrum of Alpine walking, staying Disclaimer below the 1,600m contour on our main route. The weather in these parts of the German and Much of the distance is completed on forest Austrian Alps from mid-July to mid-September This information is given in good faith and is paths and tracks (wider). There are stretches is generally highly suitable for Alpine walking. believed to be correct at the time of issue. on good, solid, mountain paths with hardpack While snowfall is possible on higher ground all Alpine Exploratory cannot be liable for any loss – or mud – and occasional roots and rocky year round, it is unlikely in the Summer season. or injury incurred. steps. Completing the picture are country lanes on tarmac. During cold spells in summer, rain can fall as

snow on the higher cols and even down to The optional day to climb the final 430m to the valley level. This is unlikely on the Zugspitze Zugspitze summit (2,962m) is at a different Tour. Additionally, patches of snow left over grade altogether – we give it our Black2 grade from Winter and Spring might linger into July, for the highest difficulty of terrain on our routes but should not pose problems. July and August – and suits those who are comfortable on loose are commonly the hottest months but with and steep paths including scree and narrow greater amounts of rain and greater risk of ridges. afternoon thunder storms; the first half of

September can be stable, with the chance of The Zugspitze Tour has no via ferrata or some beautifully clear days. climbing sections and is a trek throughout.

Thunderstorms are a particular danger in Self-guided days summer, occurring most often in the On this guided holiday there is the option each afternoons. day for participants to walk by themselves instead of joining the group's walk, either on This all means that it is sensible to come their own route or following one of Alpine equipped and expecting all the types of Exploratory's routecards. weather that might be experienced in a typical

summer in the UK: from heavy rain storms with Your own routes a chill in the air, to hot sunshine. While your guided walks and the optional routecards make up the walking for the trip, you are of course free to walk wherever you Equipment choose, taking side trips or going by a different route of your own choice. Please note that if You will need the usual equipment for you follow your own route you will have left the mountain walking in the Alps. Especially holiday for the duration. important are good walking boots, good waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers, and sun protection. For any huts you will need a