Hiking let alone, alpine hiking did not come naturally to me! I had the most sheltered childhood that anyone could ever imagine. Being a type A clumsy kid with a huge dollop of carelessness added into the mix, my parents were always scared of letting me out of their sight. Thus, as a kid, I was neither athletic nor sporty. I hated sports, I despised fitness and I absolutely loathed running. Therefore, believe me when I tell you that I was a baby hiker just three years ago. I know what it feels like to be an absolute hiking beginner thrown into the mighty world of mountains. However, if I can turn over a new leaf and fall head over heels in love with alpine hiking, so can YOU!
Therefore, in this blogpost, I want to spill some hiking secrets and share some knowledge regarding alpine hiking that helped me immensely. Hopefully, this will motivate you to get that first hike in the bag!
Contents
- What is Alpine Hiking?
- Alpine Hiking Difficulty Classification
- The Importance of Hiking Equipment
- Sturdy Hiking Shoes
- Hiking Poles
- Hiking Backpack
- All about Food, Snacks and Water
- Alpine Hiking Check List
- Plan Your Alpine Hiking Experience
- Pocket Guide to German Alps
- Choosing the perfect hike
- Tips and Tricks for your First Hike
- Ready, Set, Go!
What Is Alpine Hiking?
Alpine hiking is an outdoor activity which involves traversing long distance trails across the Alps. Back in India, when I used to climb mountains, I used to call it ‘trekking’ but in Europe, climbing mountains is unanimously called ‘hiking’. At one point, I was so confused that I ended up googling ‘Hiking’ versus ‘Trekking’. Shortly after, I found out that trekking refers to multiday hikes in the wild! Google says that treks are long and exhausting and involves off-roading from the designated hiking trails. I can assure you that all the ‘hikes’ I do are long ,vigorous, involves a lot of altitude variation, multiple instances of off-roading and is mentally very challenging. So, long story short, in my head, they are one and the same!
Classification of Alpine Hiking Difficulty
Normally, alpine hiking trails are very well signposted based on the varying levels of difficulty. Tiny yellow boards located along these hiking paths usually give information regarding this. The three main classification of the trails as per Deutscher Alpenverein (DAV) is as follows,
Alpine Hiking Difficulty Level: Blue (Easy)
These are simple mountain paths. They consist of slightly inclined terrain and barely any exposed sections. It can either be a steep tarred road or a steep path through a jungle. Either way, if a hiking trail is marked blue, there will barely be any passages with a dangerous vertical fall. Therefore, if you are a beginner hiker, choose a blue trail!
Alpine Hiking Difficulty Level: Red (Intermediate)
This difficulty level refers to narrow, steep mountain paths which are sometimes secured with a rope. There could be a few exposed sections with dangerous vertical drops. I recommend absolute surefootedness on these trails! Ideally, any trail marked in ‘red’ should only be attempted by someone who has prior hiking experience.
Alpine Hiking Difficulty Level: Black (Difficult)
The above classification into blue, red and black is only valid in Bavaria (except Allgäu), Tirol and Salzburg. However, in Vorarlberg, Allgäu and Switzerland, easy trails are marked in yellow, intermediate trails in red and difficult alpine trails in blue! Following the chart by DAV, I personally used to think blue is easy in Allgäu. Dangerous assumption to say the least! Thus, to help you avoid such crazy confusions, here is a handy chart to decode the hiking difficulties in all the different alpine regions,
In the event of bad weather (snow, heavy rain, landslides), none of these difficulty ratings are valid anymore. Heavy precipitation can considerably increase the difficulty of any hiking trail. Just last spring (and the spring before that), I went on ‘spring hikes’ and there was knee deep snow and multiple avalanches that blocked huge sections of the hiking trail. Therefore, if you wish to go hiking in early summer, it is always a good idea to get the latest trail information by contacting the landlords of the mountain huts along your chosen hiking trail. They will always have the most up-to-date information!
Alpine Hiking Equipment
If you want to pursue hiking as a hobby, a basic knowledge about hiking equipment is essential. Moreover, hiking equipment in Europe is no cheap affair. Thus, understanding the ‘whys and hows’ of a particular equipment can be extremely useful when deciding whether to invest in it or not! I already have a very extensive blogpost addressing this topic. Regardless, this section will feature some of the most basic hiking equipment and their utility.
Hiking Shoes
My first ever hike in Europe was in the middle of winter. I wore extremely heavy winter boots and set off to climb almost 1000 vertical meters (way too ambitious for a first hike). This was one of the worst ideas I have ever had because what I didn’t know was that every gram adds on to the weight you carry when you ascend. Therefore, heavy winter boots are not a hikers best friend!
Secondly, the grip of the shoe is extremely important! This is why sports shoes are again not recommended for hiking. Hiking shoes typically have sturdy, firm soles that do not twist or bend when you move your feet. Despite being heavier than regular sneakers, a few of them are designed to feel light as well!
Lastly, the mountains have crazy weather from valley to valley! There can be a raging storm in one valley and blazing sunshine in the other. In these tricky conditions, your shoes must be able to handle slippery rocks and slimy mud. Moreover, in winter the snow can melt, turn to ice and form a layer of black ice. Although in these conditions, having ice spikes on is the best way to navigate, a good pair of hiking shoes is better than your running trainers anyday!
Therefore, if you want to pursue hiking as a serious hobby, I would highly recommend investing in a light, sturdy pair of waterproof hiking shoes that is tall enough to cover your ankles! A mid – height boot will cushion your ankles, provide sufficient ankle support and help in keeping ankle sprains at bay.
Confused about which shoe to buy? I currently have MH100 Wanderschuhe from Decathlon. Head over to this blogpost more hiking shoe brand options!
Hiking Poles
Initially when I started hiking, I never used hiking poles. Somehow, I associated them with old age and weakness. God bless my delusional mind because hiking poles are a lifesaver!
If you are someone who is planning to hike occasionally, you should know that sustained downhill trekking is a nightmare for your knees. This is because when you hike downhill, your knees are under a significantly higher amount of stress (around 7 – 8 times your body weight according to recent medical research!). In such cases, a hiking pole can assist greatly in redistributing the weight to your arms and shoulders. Further, with the right posture, they assist in pulling yourself up while climbing up a mountain. Therefore, it is an indispensable asset when I am hiking.
If you don’t have hiking poles, fallen branches that are thick enough to not buckle under tension work like a charm! If you are looking for a cheap option, I used Wanderstock A200 from Decathlon for the longest time. They are very cheap and very durable. Another one I personally love is Leki’s Micro Vario Carbon Antishock Poles. They are a bit pricey but definitely worth it if you plan to hike week after week!
Hiking Backpack
If you have been hiking in Germany, you may have noticed Jack Wolfskin and Deuter backpacks everywhere! Almost every hiker carries a particular style of backpacks. Initially, I thought this was some cult thing but later on, I realized that there is a reason why these brands are popular!
My hiking backpack easily weighs between five and ten kilos. For a day hike, I usually carry at least 2 liters of water, sufficient food and my camera gear (which is probably the heaviest of them all). Rolling a suitcase up the hill to release the weight off your back is definitely not an option! Hence, a good backpack is a pre-requisite for hiking!
The golden rule when it comes to backpacks is to invest in a well-padded one with hip support so that the weight is evenly distributed between your shoulders and your hips. I almost killed my shoulders in my first year of traveling by regularly carrying a backpack with no hip support that weighed more than ten kilos week after week. Therefore, learn from my mistakes and invest in a decent backpack! Jack Wolfskin and Deuter make excellent 20-30 liter backpacks that are perfect for day hikes. Some of them even have a hydration pouch pocket inside which is great to stay hydrated throughout the hike!
Hiking Attire
During an alpine hike, it is very important to wear clothes that are light, warm, bright and cozy.
- LIGHT – Every gram you have on, you carry!
- WARM – Weather changes from valley to valley in the blink of an eye. Sultry and chilly are two sides of the same coin!
- BRIGHT – In the event of rescue activities, you must be easy to spot. This also why almost all hiking clothes are available in flashy, fluorescent colors
- COZY – Comfort beats everything
Irrespective of what the weather app says, you MUST always carry a jacket for unexpected rain or snow fall (yup! I had that in the middle of summer as well. Thank you, Global Warming, for the crazy climate change!). I highly recommend investing in a jacket that is both wind and water resistant.
If you are a first time hiker, you may not have any of these fancy hiking appropriate clothes. That is totally fine. You can wear a pair of joggers and a running tee so your skin can breath. Never hike in jeans! It gets really warm really quick 😉
All About Food, Snacks and Water
Food is fuel! Hiking burns a lot of calories, so it is extremely important to carry sufficient food and water. I carry at least two liters of water for a day hike on a sunny day.
A unique alpine hiking experience is the innumerous number of mountain huts strewn all over the Alps. These mountain huts serve regional, high calorie meals that will help you experience the local culture and fuel up for the remaining journey! For example, a very popular Austrian hiking meal is Kaiserschmarrn which is shredded pancakes seasoned with powdered sugar and served with sweet fruit sauce. Another popular German hiking meal is Käsespätzle which is pasta with lots of cheese served with fried onions!
There is also a very popular hiking tradition to end the hike with a beer or radler (beer with lemonade) from the hut close to the summit. Initially I refused to have a beer prior to hiking down because I didn’t want to lose focus halfway into the hike (Hello descend!). However, after trying it, I can confirm that it is honestly the most refreshing drink you can possibly have after an arduous climb! For a complete hiking experience, finish your hike with a beer straight from the barrel at the summit!
Snacks to Carry during a Hike
Although most alpine hikes have mountain huts along the way, you will always find apples and snicker bars in my hiking backpack in case I need an energy boost! If the hike is a bit longer, I carry sandwiches so I will have at least one meal covered. You never know if the hut is closed for maintenance. In that case, you need the energy to climb back down. Therefore, never rely on ‘hut food’. Always have a backup. Like I said, food is fuel!
If you are someone who is susceptible to muscle cramps, it is probably a good idea to carry some salty snacks, trail mixes, electrolytes with magnesium, and lots of water to prevent it. Hydration is really key and if you need a reminder to drink water, you can purchase a hydration pack and put it in your bag. Most hiking backpacks have the option to pull the hydration tube out. However, before purchasing, definitely cross check if your bag has that feature.
Alpine Hiking Check List
Before you embark on that elusive hiking trip, there are some things that you MUST have in your backpack! Despite having a checklist stuck on my wall, I still forget some of these from time to time. Nevertheless, my hiking checklist is as follows,
Irrespective of the hike, I will always have my hiking shoes on! On the other hand, hiking poles are a whole new story. I have forgotten them on more than one occasion. I also loan them to friends and forego them completely sometimes . Although the poles make life easier by reducing fatigue levels, it is definitely not an absolute necessity for every hike! The same goes with sunglasses. However, if you have light sensitive eyes like I do, please carry them always. Snow blindness is no joke! From personal experience, it takes DAYS to recover from it.
Some other things not in the list but I highly recommend is a change of clothes and a set of extra layers. Hiking in the summer can be very hot, draining and sweaty. It feels amazing to change into a freshly washed set of clothes after the hike. Likewise, in winter the temperature change is so drastic, it is advisable to carry a few layers (an extra T-shirt, a sweater) so you can layer up and down depending on the temperature.
Lastly, my mini medical kit consists of Band-Aids, painkillers, muscle pain relief sprays and a tube of pain relief gel. You never know when that weird, thorny shrub might prick you. Or when you might trip over that ugly root formation and fall! As the old proverb goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Plan Your Alpine Hiking Experience
In Germany, the Alps are located in the far south. Therefore, Munich is the closest big city that conveniently lets you explore the Alps as a day trip. The possibilities of day hikes from Munich are really endless. However, before diving into that, a bit of knowledge regarding the location of the different alpine ranges is extremely useful in narrowing down the hiking areas close to you.
The three broad categories of German Alps are,
- Allgäu Alps (Allgäüer Alpen)
- Bavarian Alps (Bayerischer Alpen)
- Berchtesgaden Alps (Berchtesgadener Alpen)
On the map of Germany, they are located as shown in the figure given below,
From a logistical perspective, Bavarian Alps is the easiest to reach from Munich using public transportation! Allgäu Alps and Berchtesgaden Alps are both easily accessible by a car but with regional trains, it can take close to three hours in one direction. Therefore, for a quick day trip from Munich, I always suggest visiting the Bavarian Alps. Garmisch – Partenkirchen, Bayerischzell, Lengrries, Kochel and Mittenwald are some examples of places that you can visit.
Nevertheless, my favorite region in Germany is Allgäu and Berchtesgaden! It is not because the mountains here are mightier and the landscape prettier, it is simply because some of my best memories were made here. Regardless, if you get a chance to visit either of these regions, take it! In Allgäu, Oberstdorf is my absolute favorite hiking town. There are numerous dreamy hiking trails in the mountains surrounding Oberstdorf. Other places in Allgäu worth visiting are Immenstadt, Oberstaufen, Oberjoch and Sontheim.
How to choose the perfect hike?
Personally, I don’t believe in ‘perfect hikes’. My very first hike in Germany ended up with me cramping my legs so bad that I could barely walk. Looking back though, it was absolutely perfect in every way! It propelled my love of hiking and motivated me to chase mountains in a way that I hadn’t even dreamt of. Long story short, I am eternally grateful to those cramps! The takeaway here is that no amount of planning can dictate the story that molds a hike. There will always be a twist in the tale which makes the experience all the more memorable.
Nevertheless, here are some websites that I use to plan my hikes,
Website Recommendation 1: Hoehenrausch
This is one of my most used sites for hiking in the Bavarian Alps. Although the website is in German, their hiking descriptions are very comprehensive. In their homepage towards the right, there is an option to find hikes that suit your difficulty level! A sample of the search feature is given below:
Depending on the parameters you enter, the website suggests a list of hikes. You can easily choose one that is most appealing to you after reading through the hike descriptions and browsing through the hike pictures!
Website Recommendation 2: Outdoor Active
This website has most of the marked hiking trails in Europe. Although the hike descriptions are not as comprehensive as Hoehenrausch, their database is much more extensive. Therefore, if you are looking for a particular hike and the different routes possible for this trail, this is the website to go for. In all transparency, I have never used Outdoor Active to filter hikes and find one that I loved! However, if I already know the name of the mountain I want to summit, then searching in outdoor active has always yielded good results with respect to planning the route!
A snapshot of a search result to Fellhorn in Oberstdorf is given below:
An overview of all the routes to the summit in their database is listed in the search window. Clicking on any of these will direct you to the dedicated page with all the relevant hike details!
Website Recommendation 3: Berg Tour
Berg-Tour is a German hiking website and is similar to Hoehenrausch in terms of its functioning. The database however does not contain a lot of hikes. Nevertheless, for a beginner hiker, I would highly recommend Berg-Tour as the hikes mentioned in this website are very well signposted and beginner appropriate.
However, the difficulty level mentioned here does not strictly adhere to the alpine standards mentioned earlier in this blog. If you are a seasoned hiker, keep in mind that a black hike in this website is at best a hike of medium difficulty.
Website Recommendation 4: All Trails
All Trails is a hiking website that is available all over the world! In fact, I am of the opinion that every hiker should have this app on their phone. If you want to find a hike in an area, simply put the location in the search bar (e.g., Mittenwald or Kochel) and choose a hike of your liking from the search results.
All Trails also has a ‘Pro’ version that is priced at 59.9 EUR for three years. They also provide huge discounts during Black Friday week! Using this ‘Pro’ Version, it is also possible to create a hiking route of your choice from the existing trails and generate a hiking profile map. This profile map consists of all the hiking details like altitude variation, duration of the hike, distance to be covered etc for the created route.
Website Recommendation 5: Komoot
Last up on the list is Komoot. I personally don’t use this website as much but they do have a very comprehensive directory. Moreover, since this website is international, there is an added advantage of setting the language to ‘English’ for ease of use!
Reminder Before An Alpine Hike
The very first hike that you embark on will always be very memorable. Although I have listed out all the materialistic tools that you will need for a successful hike in this blogpost, the most important tool of them all is plain pure grit and loads of determination. Hiking is definitely a mental game. It is not a race but rather a marathon, one that requires you to believe in yourself with the whole school of mountains and waterfalls cheering you on!
There will be moments of incredulity and disbelief, panic and hysteria, and above all, hesitation and self-doubt. Regardless, keep going because the view at the top is ALWAYS worth the struggle! It is not everybody’s cup of tea but perhaps, you will fall in love with the whole experience that hopping from one hill to the other might just become your new favourite hobby!
Hike Recommendations
Unsure of where to go? I have so many hiking recommendations that will totally make you fall in love with hiking!
If you are looking for another beginner friendly hiking experience, I cannot recommend the following summit hikes enough:
- Rotwand – An easy beginner appropriate summit hike
- Brauneck – Day Hike easily accessible from Munich
- Jochberg – Quick Beginner Mountain Hike in Kochel
- Seealpsee – Easy Lake hike in the Swiss Alps
- Archenkanzel – Hidden viewpoint over lake Königssee
If you are looking for a bit of a challenge accompanied by some spectacular views, I recommend the following hikes,
- Schrecksee – The highest mountain lake in the German Alps
- Rubihorn – A complete Allgäu Experience with postcard views
- Kramerspitz – The perfect day hike from Munich
- Olpererhütte – Austria’s best kept secret view
- Brecherspitz – Day Hike from Munich with lake views
These hikes are undoubtedly beautiful and worth every bit of struggle!
Ready Set Go!
On a parting note, remember, hiking is a sport. When you are in the mountains, FUNCTION > FASHION. Wear the right shoes, carry only the essentials, rock that flashy hiking jacket all the way to the peak and above all respect nature and all that it stands for.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below and I will be more than happy to assisst you in any way I can!
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