The German and Austrian Alpine Clubs have initiated a long-term plan to implement uniform signposting throughout the Eastern Alps. The new signs now indicate the degree of difficulty to be expected along the various mountain trails. A blue dot indicates an easy trail. A red dot indicates a moderately difficult trail and a black dot a difficult trail – here ‘difficult’ means that dangerous passages may occur quite frequently and sections of the track might require some ‘easy’ scrambling. This new grading roughly corresponds to the 1–3 grading in this book and should be taken into account. A fourth category, ‘Alpine Route’, goes beyond the scope of ordinary mountain walkers.
Grading of routes
The following grades are only intended as a rough guide to the difficulty of the individual routes. How hard or difficult a route is for any given person at any given time depends on such variables as the weather, track conditions and personal fitness. None of the walks described requires climbing skills or experience in snow or ice conditions – although snow may sometimes be encountered on the higher routes, especially in early spring or late autumn.
Grade 1 Clearly waymarked, involve no dangerous passages and suitable for anybody who is reasonably fit.
Grade 2 Clearly waymarked, but either longer or cross more difficult terrain. This may involve some shorter (moderately) exposed sections requiring greater care. A higher standard of fitness and at least sure-footedness is required.
Grade 3 Suitable only for those who are fit and have sufficient experience in high alpine regions. Terrain is often more difficult and may involve longer exposed passages which may also be more frequent. A good head for heights is essential and in some (very few) cases, pathfinding ability.
The walking times given are only approximate and do not take into account refreshment stops and so forth. Bad weather or track conditions can also prolong a walk and these factors should always be taken into consideration. As a rough guideline you could add 1–2hr for ‘enjoying the scenery’.
Clear signposting on most routes makes pathfinding easy
GPX tracks
GPX tracks for the routes in this guidebook are available to download free at www.cicerone.co.uk/929/GPX. A GPS device is an excellent aid to navigation, but you should also carry a map and compass and know how to use them.
Maps
The route maps are only intended to serve as an initial means of orientation. They should not be used in place of a proper walking map.
Beautiful baroque churches are a typical feature of the landscape
The relevant maps are listed at the start of each route description to enable walkers to quickly locate the map they need. The maps listed are all to the scale 1:50,000. In researching this guidebook the Kompass maps were used as a basis for describing routes, although it should be possible to follow them using maps from other publishers. All the maps mentioned are readily available at bookshops in Germany or from:
Edward Stanford Ltd 12–14 Long Acre, London WC2E 9LP www.stanfords.co.uk
The Map Shop 15 High Street, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcs WR8 OHJ www.themapshop.co.uk
Mapsworldwide (UK online map shop) www.mapsworldwide.com
Omni Resources 1004 South Mebane Street, PO Box 2096, Burlington, NC 27216–2096, USA; [email protected], www.omnimap.com
Apart from the two main series listed below there are also maps produced by smaller, locally based publishers, often in conjunction with local tourist offices. These maps are usually of a high standard and are often available at a scale of 1:25,000.
Kompass-Wanderkarten 1:50,000 (for certain areas also 1:30,000 or 1:25,000). A useful feature of the Kompass series is the fact that the map legend is in both German and English. All the trails are very clearly marked, and the maps frequently updated.
Kompass has also brought out some digital maps that are relevant to the area covered. Particularly useful is Über die Alpen, which covers the entire region described in this guide. The digital maps can be used in conjunction with a GPS device, and with suitable software the maps can be transferred to a smartphone (Android/iOS) or tablet.
Umgebungskarten (UK) Bayern (Area Maps Bavaria) 1:50,000. The Bavarian State Survey Office (Landesamt für Vermessung) puts out excellent maps. The topographical detail exceeds that of the Kompass maps, but there are not as many tracks shown with numbering. Maps published together with the German Alpine Club (Alpenvereinskarte Bayerische Alpen) are available at 1:25,000. For an overview of the areas covered, visit www.ldbv.bayern.de.
In the Hölltobel (Walk 7)
FAST FACTS
Currency Germany belongs to the Euro (€) zone, as does most of Central Europe including Austria. €1 = 100 cents.
Formalities Members of EU countries with either a valid passport or national identity card do not require a visa to enter Germany. Citizens of the USA, Canada, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Australia do not require a visa for stays of up to three months. South African nationals do require a visa.
Language German or dialects of German are spoken in Bavaria and Austria. English is widely spoken.
Health No special health precautions are necessary for travel in Germany. UK residents are covered by reciprocal health schemes while in the country – although Brexit might cause changes. In order to receive coverage a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is required, available via your local post office. For more information visit www.nhs.uk. Not all expenses are covered by these schemes and so it is wise to take out extra insurance in case of accidents.
International dialling code The international dialling code for calls to Germany from abroad is 0049 and to Austria 0043. When dialling the UK from Germany the code is 0044, then drop the first zero of the following area code. Most public phones in Germany are card-operated. Telephone cards (Telefonkarten) can be bought at post offices, newspaper kiosks and some bookshops.
Location The Bavarian Alps are located in Germany along the border with Austria. More specifically they are situated in Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria), the southernmost region of the state of Bavaria. The Allgäu, at the western extreme of the region, is treated as a separate entity. From the Bavarian capital, Munich, all destinations are quickly reached.
PART I: THE ALLGÄU ALPS
The ridge trail between Sonnenkopf and Falken Alpe (Walk 3)
The region is almost as well known for its cows as for its mountains (Walk 6)
The main chain of the Allgäu Alps forms the German–Austrian border between the rivers Iller and Lech and is located within the Allgäu, a popular tourist region encompassing that part