Ready to join me in my mountain adventure that will make your heart race faster than a caffeinated squirrel? This is the story of when I, without any proper gear, without checking the weather nor hike difficulty levels, I went up the Zugspitze (highest mountain in Germany) through the forest, completely off any trail! 😱
This story will make you question your life choices – in the best way possible. The Zugspitze: where the air is thin, but the adventure is thick.
Let me tell you how we, after getting lost, crossed the country's border on foot, by accident, and almost ended up in the middle of nowhere with no proper clothe for the dangerously cold weather.
Disclaimer: Hike Safe, Adventure Responsibly
Before I start my story, let me clarify something important – this is not an instruction manual for recklessness. The stories shared here are not sage advice on how to outsmart Mother Nature or become a mountain ninja.
Consider this your virtual campfire, where we share jaw-dropping experiences, but don't forget that these stories are for entertainment purposes only. They're the "what NOT to do" saga, if there were to be any purposes in these stories other than entertainment only it would be to make you think twice before doing something similar.
Click on the banner above if you're curious about the stunning views from the top and want a glimpse of how the journey to the peak really looks like, I highly recommend watching the video of the ascent. It's a fantastic way to experience the beauty and the thrill of the climb!
So, dear reader, remember, the decisions made in these stories are often the kind your grandma would disapprove of – reckless, wild, and probably involving questionable choices. We're not your trail guides; we're your virtual adventure buddies, sharing stories.
When you hit the trails in real life, be the responsible hiker everyone secretly envies. Plan your routes, check the weather, pack the essentials, and for the love of sturdy hiking boots, let someone know where you're going. Safety first.
Consider this disclaimer your compass – pointing you in the direction of caution and common sense. So, enjoy the story, but remember, the real adventure happens when you hike smart and stay safe.
The Zugspitze: The call to adventure
This beast, Germany's highest peak, isn't just a mountain; it's the Everest of the Alps, except for the overcrowded base camps.
The Zugspitze isn't your average stroll in the park and it demands proper hiking gear. You don't want to be that person — me, hobbling up in just some regular leather boots, trust me.
Oh, and did I mention the weather? The Zugspitze can have mood swings like a hormonal teenager. One moment it's all sunshin, the next, it's a blizzard. Pack properly, on this hike layers will be your new best friend, right after double checking the weather forecast before leaving home. Luckily on the day of my adventure I got blue sky the whole time, although it was a bit chilly.
Departure
It started with a coworker and I planning on a hike. He suggested the Zugspitze, we would take the cable cars and hike up there. It sounded fund and straight foreword. So we drive to the Alpes, but after checking the price of the cable cars and also realising we would have to wait two hours for it to open, we decide to just do it on foot.
Because I was new to hiking, inexperienced and unfamiliarised with difficulty levels, I accepted and thought it would be OK. I was confident, I grow up with a lot of contact to nature, I was sure I would be able to handle whatever came my way. Forgetting that the landscape and seasons here are a lot different then where I come from.
Refusal of the call
So now comes the second obstacle on the way, all the Wanderungen to the peak were closed. We have to make a decision, driving back home and learn to check online the situation at the place next time. Or jump over those temporary construction fence panel and hike anyways.
The mountains on the Crown of Europe are graded from 1 to 5. The easiest level is 1, the Zugspitze is level 4. But having no knowledge of that, you can already guess, we went for the second option: climbing over the construction fence panel and hike anyways.
Actually I insisted in going back home at first, but eventually my colleague convinced me to — in his own words, "live a little".
Now, this was about 6 years ago, I don't remember why the trails were closed, nor what month exactly it was when we went on this hike, but this is how everything happened.
Crossing the threshold and tests
So we start walking up the mountain through the easiest areas, where there were no trees and the ground was less rocky. But after about 4 hours walking we had to go in the mountain's forest. The ground became tricky, the carpet of moss covering everything turned wholes, rocks and small tree stumps into traps, just waiting to sprain someone's ankle. With no more phone signal, trails closed and no one really knowing where we were, we did not want to get badly hurt over there.
That wasn't at all in our minds though. Quite unaware of any danger, we were enjoying the hike a lot. I always liked to sort of bushwhack better, then walking on the trails, so you can imagine my excitement that day.
Eventually we accidentally found a little resting stop place to take a break. It had places to sit and flags from German and Austrian areas, as well as a mini bell-tower kind of thing. I didn't know, and I still don't know where that resting stop was or how it was called, all I know is that we were clearly close to the border of both countries. If you can recognise the place please let me know, I would love to know it.
The ordeal and the approach
It was about noon now, so after eating and resting we decided to head back to the bottom. On that same day I was going to a concert with my wife and I didn't want to be late. We had no clue what direction to go to go back, we could take one of the trails in that resting stop place, but we didn't know if any of them would lead us to the place where we parked our car. So instead we once again decide to go back to bushwhacking and just head down using the cable - the steel wire rope, from the gondola lift as a guide back to the parking lot.
So we did that until we reached the cable car station, only to realise that we were not in the same place we started at. We quickly noticed all the car's license plates were from Austria and once we've confirmed our location, now knowing that we have crossed the border on foot, we started to figure a way back to Germany.
The area is a bit isolated and there were not really anyone there. In the middle of nowhere, all public transports were way too far or would take way to long to come. We would need to change transportation three times and maybe we wouldn't even make it to catch the third transport, the last bus of the day. It was about 4PM, and now I'm no longer worried about being late for the concert, instead, all I think about is how fast the temperature is dropping and rather we can make back to Germany or not today.
So on the long walk to the first bus — after already have walked up and down hill for about 10 hours, we walked with our arms extended towards the road, with our thumbs up, not really hopeful hitchhiking still works, but it was worth trying it. Luckily a senior citizen stopped and after explaining the situation we were driven not to the next train stop but all the way to our parking lot. It was such a nice gesture, I wish I had be more able to express my gratitude to that man. If you're this person and you're reading this please drop me a line.
The road back
Once back in the car I drove my colleague home and still made it on time for the concert. My wife, extremely worried the whole time was glad to see me and although she was afraid I would be too exhausted to attend a concert, in the end she was the one actually suggesting we go home earlier.
The return, the resurrection, the reward and the freedom to live
Against the odds, I emerged from this hike unscathed and a wiser adventurer. Nature taught me the importance of preparedness and respect for the wild. Every step carried a lesson, in the end, the reckless adventure transformed into a tale of resilience and wisdom gained, leaving me with a newfound respect and appreciation for the unpredictable dance between risk and reward.
Footnote:
If you've got curious about the Zugspitze and would like to know more, head over to my FAQs page – it’s packed with more info. Can't find what you need? Just hit me up. I’m always here to help out. Cheers for checking this out!
For a glimpse of the stunning views from up high and to experience the journey to the peak itself, I highly recommend checking out this video of an ascent to the top. It's a fantastic way to see what the journey is really like!
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