27 Oct - 30 Oct: Berlin

A few days in Berlin to finish up the vacation.

Some highlights:

• We did a couple of tours with the Berliner Unterwelten group (Tours 2 and M) that were excellent. Tour 2, which we did with only four other people since it was a weekeday morning, was particularly good. Now we're going to have to figure out how to get tickets for Tour E and head back for that.
• Eating! Eating! Eating!

22 Oct - 25 Oct: Schwarzwald

A long weekend with friends in the Schwarzwald (in Lembach) as a pre-celebration of Greg's birthday this year.

Dolomites Day 6: in the Geislergruppe

What we saw of the Geislergruppe on Day Three made us really want to go back. Since the klettersteig to the top of Sas Rigais seemed to be above our level (i.e. it's a real klettersteig and not just a path with ladders and cables), we opted for a walking tour.
The day starts by repeating the end of Day Three backwards and climbing out of town past the Regensburgerhütte and into the valley at the foot of the Geisler peaks. The morning is cool (2-3 deg C) and the skies are cloudless and blue, hard to believe that a low pressure region is supposed to move in tomorrow and bring snow. At the fork we head left, up the Val da la Roa and through increasingly alpine terrain. Before leaving the last of the grass, we find a nice spot with a view in the sun for the day's first sandwich break. It's quiet and peaceful.

At the end of the valley the path lead us steeply up the last bit to the saddle (the Roascharte) where we meet the first hiker we've seen since we went by a couple of guys at the Juachütte. A quick break to appreciate the the views in both directions and then we head down the other side. Here on this north-facing slope the going isn't nearly as nice: the path down through the frozen scree is quite steep and narrow and the footing isn't everything one would hope for. We take things slowly and eventually get into something of a (slow) rhythm. Good thing Andrea talked Greg out of turning around after it became clear what the path was like. After 100m or so of descent, the path takes us to the left wall and around a corner a bit and becomes much more normal. At the corner we meet our second hiker of the day: she's getting ready to head up the slope we just came down.
After a bit more traversing the scree in shadow we reach the sun and, shortly after, turn left to head back up to the Wasserscharte. The path initially leads through rocks and some grass, so we do a sandwich break in the last of the sun and grass (a shortened break since the sun moves behind the wall while we're sitting there and leaves us in cold shadows) before continuing up, up, up. This trail is clearly not as heavily used and is in noticably worse condition: the markers are older and places where rock slides or erosion have taken out the path have often not been repaired. Still, our route is clear and it's no problem to proceed. The last bit of climbing to the Wasserscharte is somewhat scrambly, very steep with loose footing, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be at all fun to go down, but going up is doable.
As expected, the views are great in the saddle, but it's in shadow and windy, so we don't spend too much time up there before continuing on our way down into the high valley below (the Wassertal) and then down to the broad, grassy Plan Ciautier. It's our last day and we've still got some energy left in our legs, so rather than head straight back, we take the long way home: we continue on around the foot of the massif towards the Rif. Seceda, take a last sandwich break just past the Piera Longia, then head down past the Col Raiserhütte and the Sangonhütte before closing the loop at the Juachütte and the last stretch down to Wolkenstein.

From the track: 18.2 km, 1540m height change.

Dolomites Day 5: up to the Piz Boe

Another perfect-weather day. We start with the drive over the Sellajoch and down towards the next valley then back up to the Pordoijoch where we park in the mostly empty parking lot of the hotel and gondola station. We don't manage to find any signage for the trail at the parking lot, but there is a trail and the way to go is clear: up!

The path leads up and across the grass flanks of the Sella massif (no trees here, we're above the tree line) until reaching the scree, where the going get steeper and the day's climbing begins for real. Most people take the gondola up here, so aside from a few people in front of us in the last steep bit up to the col, we're pretty much alone. After the first 400m of climb, we turn off the main path to take the panorama path around the massif towards the Franz Kostner Hütte. This is a really nice path in the sun with panoramic views out over the Marmolata, the Fanes-Sennes Gruppe, etc. The path runs mostly right under the walls (except for one small diversion where we manage to lose the path and end up having to climb back to the wall) and is good going.
Past the start point for the Klettersteig up towards the Piz Boe (the beginning of which, at least, looks more serious than most of the other Klettersteigs we have seen), and further along. Around a corner we see the hut in front of us and enter a north facing bit of the trail; here in the shadow there is some old snow around, but the path is still no problem. Back in the sun we reach a fork that takes us either up through a steep chute or around to the hut. We're going, after a sandwich break, up through the chute. This is steep and at times scrambly, but no problem to get up through. The guy we see coming down looks like he's having a bit less fun, but it's always that way. On reaching the plateau we start a long gradual climb the last couple hundred meters to the Piz Boe. Above 2900m there is plenty of snow (some days old: it's had time to thaw and re-freeze a few times, so it's quite hard and sometimes icy). The last 100m or so are quite steep, so there's less snow and the going is easier.
The top of the Piz Boe has a hut (closed), a large billboard-looking structure that partially obstructs the view to the North, and lots of people. It's an easy >3000m peak with panoramic views that can be reached with ~300m of climb from a gondola station, so this is no surprise. It's hard to imagine what a zoo it must be in high season. We hang out for a while to rest, eat a sandwich, and appreciate the amazing views before continuing on towards the Bambergerhütte. This isn't the standard route down, so we're the only ones doing it. This is nice but it does mean that there's still plenty of snow/ice on the north-facing trail, so the footing at times leaves something to be desired. It's no problem until the hut comes into view below and we reach a sign pointing the way through a chute that is clearly all ice. That's not going to happen. Fortunately there's another option that leads around the corner a bit later. This one is also has a stretch that is quite narrow and covered with hard-packed snow and a bit of ice, but it's more or less level and secured with a cable, so though the footing is a bit dodgy, it's no problem to cross. We head down the rest of the way to the (closed) hut and wander around a bit to admire the canyon running to the southwest and the narrow valley towards the north (Val de Mesdi). That one provides a nice route down to the Grödnerjoch but it is at the moment full of snow and ice, so even with the cables it would be an adventure.
Our path leads us back towards the gondola station. Along the way we decide to avoid the crowds at the gondola and just walk down, so at the Forcella del Pordoi we enjoy a sandwich in the sun in front of the (closed) hut and then head steeply down to meet the path we came up in the morning.

From the track: 11.5 km, 1210m height change.

Dolomites Day 3: up to the Col de la Pieres

We had seen this peak at the end of the Puez massif quite nicely on both of our previous days of hiking. A hike promising great views that we could start directly from our flat was too good to pass up.

We get a late start (9:45) since we have to head to the grocery store first to get lunch supplies. The path starts pretty steeply out of town, through the woods for a while, and then turns to head up the Palota, the "Express" route up to the Steviahütte. This heads steeply up through the trees to the face of the Steviola, and then snakes its way up the face. The views are great, the temperature is good, we make excellent time: after an hour we're 600m up on the plateau. The path leads us across the plateau, around the end of the impressively narrow gorge down from the St. Silvesterscharte, and then up the other side to the Steviahütte. The hut is open, but it looks like they're closing up for the season, so we continue on (it's too early for a beer anyway).

After another bit of climbing we enjoy a sandwich break in the sun, with views out over most of Day one's hike as well as the Sella and Langkofel massifs. Up a bit more to the Pizascharte with its steep path down to the Regensburgerhütte and then around the bowl under the grass slopes of the Muntijela to the scree slope at the end. We have some fun during the stretch trying to pick out the path that leads up to our peak. The way through the scree slope is clear, but beyond that it's tough to really see. The path ends up being quite fun: steep but not particularly scrambly, secured by cables (not really necessary) in a couple of spots. They've clearly put a lot of effort into the trail.

The view from the top is spectacular. It's also not particularly windy... crazy! We head to the cross to have another sandwich break and enjoy the views before heading up a few meters higher to the true peak, where we have an amazing 360 degree panorama. There definitely are bonuses for going to the tops of things. ;-)

The path leads us steeply down, including a bit of scrambling, towards the Forces de Sieles saddle. From there it's down the scree slope (mostly frozen since this area won't see the sun again until next summer) into the valley below. On the valley floor we decide, with regrets, that it's really too late in the day to do the loop through the Roascharte and Wasserscharte, so we just head down the valley. Along the way, the sun on the grass ridge above is too much to resist, so we scramble up and enjoy our last sandwich in the sun, goggling at the teeth at the end of the Geislergruppe and wondering how difficult the klettersteig to the top of the Sas Rigais really is... the views from there must also be really nice. Ah well, that's for another day.
The path leads us down the rest of the valley to the nicely situated Regensburgerhütte (also still open), and then further down to Wolkenstein. We get back to the flat with our legs nicely tired and our eyes quite full. :-)

From the track: 15.1 km, 1345m height change.

Dolomites Day 2: around the Langkofel

Today starts completely cloudless; the views from the flat are amazing. :-)

We drive to the Sella Joch and park in the empty parking lot at the hotel before setting off along the path towards the Rifugio E. Comici. We've got great views across to the Sella massif, towards the Langental and Puezspitz (from day one), and, of course, up to the Langkofel massif over our heads. We follow the path in the sun along the foot of the massif, sometimes through woods, sometimes in the open around to the bergstation at Rif. E. Comici. Along the way we see a few deer and, later, what looks like a couple chamoix together with a sheep, though that seems unlikely.
From the bergstation we head down a bit through scrub forest before turning off to the left and following the path across the scree and into the shadow of the Langkofel. The path is wide and easy and the views are panoramic and wonderful. At the end of the scree slope we ascend a bit to a ridge and follow the path towards the next bergstation to get a good 270 degree view out over the Grödnertal, Langental, etc. This would be a great spot for a break, but not without sun: the temperature is around 6 degrees in the shade and there's still frost on the ground. Back on the path we follow the scree again for a while and descend a bit before taking a path that leads us up into the massif, to the Langkofelhütte. The hut is closed and we're still in the shadows, so we do a quick food break before the call of the sunny areas we can see below gets too strong and pulls us onwards. Down we go to pick up the path around the massif again, passing a few people along the way, finally getting into the sun again (ah... sun!). Down a bit more and then back up to another ridge and the Piz da Uridl, where we enjoy a food break in the sun with fantastic views.
Now we follow the gently rising path in the sun, with nice views, above the Murmeltierhütte, until the path joins the dirt road coming up from a parking lot at a bergstation. There are plenty of people around now. Upon arriving at the Plattkofelhütte we consider doing the 1.5 hour trip to the peak, but since the hut is still open we reject the peak in favor of liquid refreshment and enjoyment of the views of the Marmolata while sitting. ;-)

From here it's an easy walk without much in the way of height change around the massif. Just before reaching the bergstation over the Sella Joch parking lot we enjoy our last sandwich while watching masses of paragliders. During the last bit down we have an excellent panoramic view to distract us from the ski-slope-in-summer ugliness all around us. The parking lot itself is now mostly full, it's hard to imagine what this place must be like in high season.

Back at the car we maneuver our way past the tour busses and then head back down to Wolkenstein. The plan to pick up some groceries for dinner is thwarted by a festival in some other nearby town which has seemingly attracted all the residents of Wolkenstein: everything is closed. Doh! Ah well, we had a great day of hiking and improvising something for dinner won't be that hard.

From the track: 17.1 km, 905m height change.

Dolomites Day 1: to the Puez Hütte

We wake up to a mostly cloudless blue sky, which was a great relief after driving up through clouds to get to Wolkenstein on Saturday. Today we can actually see something and appreciate the views from the flat.

We start by walking a bit along the road to get out of town, past the ruins of the Wolkenstein fort, to a big parking lot (still almost empty except for a couple of RVs) at the end of the road. From here we follow a couple of people along the well-trod path across a meadow until our route leads on a less-used path across a stream and up through the woods. Now we climb and climb through the woods. We're under mostly evergreens with some larches mixed in that have already changed color. We climb out of the woods and the Chedultal opens in front of us: steep cliffs to either side with scree at the bottom and a bit of green valley between, typical Dolomite valley. The path leads us along the valley floor and climbs to the Crespeinajoch at the end. We see a couple of groups of chamoix up in the screes. We also start seeing more people here: there's a path coming through the right-hand wall (the Cirjoch) that seems to be more popular than ours, on that side you can do the vertical meters with a gondola. :-)

From the Crespeinajoch we have great views to both sides, including the Langental and the Puez Hütte, which we enjoy for a bit while having a quick snack before continuing with a bit of descent to the Crespeinasee (pretty dry and sad at this time of year). There are clouds threatening a bit, coming over the mountains to the right... no good for the views! The path leads us around the end of the valley, in and out of cloud, to the Ciampei Joch, a thin bit of land that serves as the end of the Langental and the valley leading down to Corvara. Then up again a bit to the plateau and along to the Puezhütte. The hut itself is closed, but it's still a popular stopping point and the sun is shining at this point.
We do another quick food break while soaking up the amazing views and then head off in search of the Col de Montijela, which should have another great set of views. There's no signage, so we had off on a path that goes in the right general direction for a bit before heading off across country for a rise that is topped with a bunch of stonemen. Our route leads across a landscape of crazily eroded rocks to the rise, which gives us nice views to the North down into the XXX tal. Theoretically we could see much more, but the clouds prevent that today. We head back towards the Puezhütte and then continue along the side of the valley, in and out of clouds, before descending steeply to the floor of the Langental. This is clearly a very popular daytrip destination: we're definitely not lonely as we follow the broad path out to the parking lot (now full) and then the road back into town.

From the track: 19.0 km, 1300m height change.