#35 Vorder Grauspitz - Liechtenstein High Point

About a three hour drive west of Ehrwald and the Zugspitze, we arrived in another ski resort village called Malbun, in the tiny country of Liechtenstein. We had never visited this double land locked country (meaning the border countries of Austria and Switzerland are also land locked).  The country has no army, no airport and a population of only around 40,000 people. 

We checked in to the beautiful and charming Hotel Turna for two nights, giving ourselves a full day to rest after the long day on the Zugspitze.  We took advantage of the continued perfect fall weather to go for an easy hike and get eyes on our planned climbing route for the Grauspitz, the 8,527 foot high point of Liechtenstein.  Helga had already climbed this peak as well, and we appreciated her willingness to do it again with us.  The summit ridge forms the border between Liechtenstein to the north and Switzerland to the south.  However, Helga had not climbed from the north, our intended route, which was very steep, but a shorter/direct route and convenient to where we were staying in Malbun.  Just like the Zugspitze, the north facing slopes were now covered in snow. Although we had crampons, we did not bring a rope, and after seeing the slope for ourselves, we decided it was not worth the risk to attempt this route. 

Fortunately we had another option, to drive down and around into Switzerland and hike the sunny southern facing side from Malans. This similar change of plans worked well for us two days prior on Zugspitze, so we figured it was our best chance to get to the top safely.  Again similar to the Zugspitze, this would be a longer route, almost 13 miles round trip and a longer day.  There was also a cable car, a shorter one than the Zugspitzbahn, near the base of the mountains in the tiny village of Malans. It's called the Älplibahn and it was built during World War II to transport and supply soldiers stationed on the border. Luckily for us, it would shave a few miles and some vertical feet of climbing and descent from an already long day. 

The Vorder Grauspitz is not a commonly climbed peak and we only encountered one other person on the trail all day. As such, navigating the route is not exactly easy and none of the trail signs we encountered actually referenced the Grauspitz.  Luckily we had a GPS track to follow and of course Helga, who had been here before. 

Vorder Grauspitz high above (peak on the left)

Along the way we passed through some incredibly picturesque and peaceful valleys with a few farmhouses scattered throughout. The other unique aspect of this Swiss route was a long tunnel bored through the mountain, which was likely an old trade route and now used mainly by hikers and shepherds. 

Almost at summit ridge, Hinter Grauspitz (lower of two peaks) in background 

After five hours of hiking at a fairly fast pace, we finally made it to the summit ridge. This knife-edged ridge delineates the border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland and the views on this crystal clear autumn day were spectacular.  It wasn't difficult climbing but there were extremely steep slopes on both sides, so we took great care to stay focused and make sure each step was well placed and secure. Our summit celebration was brief and subdued, since all three of us wanted to get back down the exposed ridge and safely return to the trail below.  We also needed to get back to the Älplibahn station before the last cable car down at 5:00, and eventually to a cold beer and warm meal upon our return. 

We did make it back in time and Helga even organized a dinner party at her home near Munich with some climbing friends two days later.  Among other fun conversations, were ideas and plans for other mountains to climb next year...

Peter, Mary, Robert, Helga & two Bavarians

 

#34 Zugspitze! Germany High Point

Returning to Germany for a fourth time was not a difficult decision for us, considering the many good friends we wanted to visit. We also had some unfinished business with the Zugspitze.  During our 2011 trip to Germany we made an attempt to climb to the 9,718 foot summit of Zugspitze. As things sometimes go in the mountains, we were unable to make it all the way to the top, so we decided to turn around and we would have to visit again someday to finish the task of climbing to the summit. 

Fourteen years later, the best part of returning was getting to attempt the Zugspitze once again with our good friend Helga Hengge.  We first met Helga in 2009 while climbing the Vinson Massif in Antarctica, and over the years we have now climbed together to the highest peaks in eight countries and four continents.  Helga has also climbed all of the Seven Summits including Everest, and is the first German woman to do so.  She is a highly sought after public speaker and has written several books about climbing. We think the stories we share from our adventures together with Helga could fill their own book - albeit the stories might only be entertaining for a small group of characters and mostly the three of us.

This story of the Zugspitze, as with many tales in the mountains, was influenced  by snow and the weather.  We had a good plan and route figured out in advance, and less than a week before our scheduled date to climb the Zugspitze on Oct. 11th, an early season snowstorm dropped nearly two feet of snow in the Alps. Luckily for us Helga is a local and knows several guides in the area who were able to share firsthand knowledge of the snow conditions on the routes.  Most importantly they said the via ferrata cables on our planned route the Stopselzieher, or 'Corkscrew' were covered by snow and it would be dangerous to attempt it without that protection. Thanks to their good recommendation, we took the Gatterl Route from the Austrian / southern side of the mountain instead, which is longer but gets more sun and therefore most of the snow had already melted off in the days after the storm.  We started early from the Ehrwald Albahn, and for the first hour we hiked in chilly and cloudy weather with a brisk morning wind.  Luckily we quickly climbed up and out of the clouds into a beautiful clear day with sunshine, blue skies and almost zero wind for the rest of the day. It was fun to hike up through the ski resort while daydreaming of the upcoming ski season back home at Powder Mountain. The fact that the Zugspitze is a ski area and has a cable car practically all the way to its 9,718 foot summit, also gave us something to look forward to in a quick and easy descent back to the valley floor after our work going up the mountain was complete.  

It was hard work at times, especially the steep upper section of the mountain which fortunately had exposed via ferrata cables to clip into for safety. All in all it was an enjoyable, picture perfect day for hiking and catching up with Helga along the trail with stunning peaks of the Bavarian Alps as a backdrop.  After capturing the essence of the day with a few pics on the summit, it was time for the cable car ride back down.  The Zugspitzbahn has the distinction as the cable car with the greatest elevation gain in the world: 6,419 feet!  What took us almost 7 hours to climb up, took only a matter of minutes to get back down.  

And now that the unfinished business with the Zugspitze was complete, we were off with Helga to the next country high point of our trip...

#33 Mt. Fuji - Climb & Ski Descent

We've done some pretty neat adventures in our lives but this one was truly unique and super cool.  Visiting Japan and climbing Mt. Fuji had been high on our list for a very long time, but dealing with the huge crowds was always a deterrent. Considered a sacred place by the Japanese, well over 200,000 people make the journey up Fujisan every year, the vast majority in July and August when the mountain is actually "open" for hiking. In order to avoid sharing the trails with hoards of 3,000+ people per day (and to have some fun skiing on the way down) we decided to go in May before the official season begins and the very best month of the year for this kind of endeavor. The timing needs to be just right and having the proper gear is a must.  Japan also had an excellent snow year this winter so everything was shaping up quite nicely for a longer than usual ski descent.

6:15 AM at trailhead ~7,800' with Kenichi Minegishi

We found a terrific ski/mountain guide named Kenichi Minegishi who speaks very good 'Engrish' and whom we highly recommend (Instagram: @guide_kintoun and email: coastmountain72@gmail.com). Kenichi picked us up at our hotel in Hakone Gora (a beautiful mountain resort area only ~2 hours from Tokyo by train including a bullet train segment) at 4:30 AM and we drove 90 minutes to the trailhead of the Fujinomiya Route. We parked at about 7,800' and after getting our skis strapped onto our packs, we started hiking at 6:15.  The weather was perfect with clear skies, mild Spring temps and low winds. Kenichi had attempted to summit Fuji twice this season but in both cases he was turned around by harsh conditions.  Just three days prior to our attempt, he encountered a snowstorm and 75+ mph winds and only got about halfway up.

We were grateful for our ideal conditions, and after an hour and a half and about 1,000 vertical feet of hiking, the trail became steeper and now entirely covered in snow.  At this point we swapped our trail shoes for ski boots and crampons and continued up.  Along the way we saw the various mountain "stations" which were all closed and partially buried in snow.  At these outposts you can buy hot ramen and stay overnight in July and August when the mountain is technically open.

Torii gate just below the crater rim ~12:30 PM

After about 4 1/2 hours of climbing from our boot/crampon spot, we reached the iconic torii gate just below the crater rim.  Climbing for another 15 mins and about 200 vertical feet to 12,389', we reached the summit of Mt. Fuji!

It was now 12:45, time for a small sandwich, photos, and the super fun part - clicking into our bindings for the ski descent!  Kenichi is an excellent skier and guide in Hokkaido and the Japan Alps for powder hounds seeking the famous JAPOW in January and February.  He has also climbed and skied a surprisingly long list of the same mountains around the world that we have climbed and/or skied as well (Denali, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro and skiing in Switzerland, Chamonix, Whistler & Utah to name a few).

...back to the top of Mt. Fuji, the conditions were ripe so I knew Kenichi would be up for doing something I thought would make an already unique experience even more extraordinary- skiing down INTO the crater of Mt. Fuji!  The last time this volcano erupted was 318 years ago, so we should be good I figured.  Kenichi needed absolutely no convincing.  The drop in from the crater rim near the summit was steeper than I'm used to skiing at Powder Mountain, and falling would be suboptimal, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.  Luckily there were no mishaps and I didn't even mind the extra climbing required to get back up and out of the crater.  It was already a long day with over 4,500 vertical feet of climbing, so we didn't ski all the way down into the depths of the crater.  But we did ski enough turns to crank up the Fuji fun factor. It was well worth it and Kenichi was stoked too. 

Me and Kenichi getting psyched up to drop into the crater!

Then we hiked back up to the crater rim and completed the requisite fist bump. Now it was time for the true reward for hauling all of our gear to the top of Mt. Fuji.  A 3,000+ vertical foot descent on skis taking a fraction of the time and effort required to hike back down. We still had to hike down the last ~1,000 or so vertical feet carrying our skis and we returned to the trailhead around 4:30, only ~10 hours round trip.  With thanks to Kenichi and the weather gods, a bucket list adventure to climb and ski Mt. Fuji, while reaching our 33rd country high-point, is now complete.