„Why climb the highest mountain?”, US president John F. Kennedy asked on September 12th 1962 in Houston, Texas, in order to motivate his listeners to support the Apollo program, which eventually resulted in the moon landing. He answered the questions just a few sentences later: “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard […].
While people like me liked hiking before the pandemic, the pandemic surely transformed us in more experienced and more trained hikers. Throughout the months I went on uncountable hikes in my home region, the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura, two beautiful low mountain ranges. I do miss adventure abroad, but one can also feel some sense of adventure at home. During the very first lockdown, I chose to hike up the Feldberg, with 1,493 meters in elevation the highest mountain of Baden-Württemberg, the federal state I live in. Already during that time, the idea came up to conquer Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, 2,962 meters in elevation. When it comes to the perfect company for such an endeavour, Thomas, a friend I knew from Colombia and Western Canada, seemed to be the perfect fit. In July 2021, we finally found a time slot to give it a try. Or to put it into JFK’s words again: ”[…] that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone […].”
We were sitting in a restaurant in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, enjoying schnitzel and beer, and discussed the general framework of our intended undertaking. The hike was expected to be around 24 kilometers in length, with an elevation gain of approximately 2,300 meters. The massive elevation gain worried me a little as I never gained more than around 1,500 meters within one day. Fortunately, it was clear that we would take the cable car down the mountain. Ascending and descending more than 2,000 meters within one day is probably impossible time-wise or, at the very least, quite painful. The internet told us that the earliest attempts start shortly after 5 a.m., but that well trained hikers are expected to need between eight and nine hours. As we only have low mountain ranges next to where we live, we are well trained hikers, but not extremely experienced mountaineers. Still, we decided that eight to nine hours should be sufficient, deciding to start at 7.30 a.m.
Somehow, our hike effectively started at 8 a.m. sharp, after having a huge load of calories for breakfast. With plenty of water in our backpacks, four bananas and some sweets, we were ready to roll. The first seventeen kilometers lead us through a valley without much elevation gain. The sky was cloudy and there was some rain in the beginning, but the trees mostly saved us from getting soaked. Eventually, we reached the point where the major part of the ascent starts. We went through steep scree fields up and up, reaching after more than 1,000 meters a stone with the writing “push it to the limit!”. It was time for a decision: Would we make it to the top before the last cable car down? Now was the time to turn around if not. We were a little nervous about the schedule as the first hiking signposts with a time designation suggested otherwise. But our way through the valley was very fast and smooth, enabling us to catch-up with other wanderers, who started way before us. We continued and reached the Knorrhütte, and by that, we knew that we successfully managed to overcome approximately two-thirds of the elevation gain. Hikers, who do not want to do it within one day or who want a proper break, can use the Knorrhütte as a last stop before the peak.
The trail from the Knorrhütte to the Zugspitzplatt, a plateau only a bit below the peak, was quite smooth compared to the previous ascent. We literally reached the clouds and continuously gained some elevation walking through them. The landscape became more and more moon-like and we walked through a few small snow fields. The last bit of the trail from the Zugspitzplatt to the peak was more exhausting. We went up another extremely steep scree field, this time with much smaller scree. With every second step, I slided a few centimeters down, turning the ascent not only into a physical but also a mental challenge. Things got way better when we reached real rocks. The trail was still steep and became increasingly narrow, but was well secured with steel ropes. We reached the peak after 24 kilometers in length and 2,320 meters in elevation – and all of that within just eight hours including a few small breaks. We had so much time left before the last cable car, that we were able to really enjoy the views and drink the obligatory peak beer.
Was it worth it? Definitely. Obviously, one does not tackle such a long and exhausting hike just for the experience of the surrounding nature and nice views. Maybe those things cannot even be properly enjoyed at all times due to the exhaustion. But for people like us, there is undoubtedly some pleasure in the physical pain. Next to that, we met some incredibly nice folks on the way up. Wanderers are usually always nice people, and tackling the same steep scree fields turns people who never met before into companions in fate. Seeing the peak, such people smile the brightest in the moment of maximum struggle – an experience, which will burn into one’s mind.
In the morning I was thinking about a famous speech of Winston Churchill. On May 13th 1940 he spoke to the House of Commons, trying to convince the listeners to support him as a prime minister in troubled times. He told the house that he has “nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat“. I thought that we would need to bring exactly those sacrifices. While it was exhausting, is was not too difficult. For conquering Germany’s highest mountain within just one day, we definitely needed some toil and sweat, but no blood and tears. Who knows, maybe we will need the latter two for another endevour some time, some place.
@sebel_tours 