Ok folks, hope you have enough bandwidth
Decided just to post a selection of pics from a day Fabi, Stefan and I had on a fine mountain in the Garmisch area last October. Left the cars mid-morning and were finally on the summit at about 6pm just in time to catch some of the most beautiful sunset light on planet Earth. Of course, we ( I ) did plan to be up there at that time just to enjoy the light and take a few pics
The upper, and most gnarly section, I'd say Fabi rode about 70% of. There are some steeper rocky steps that really require some down climbing, are too steep and not worth bending your bike over. Stefan decided not to ride the upper section, or I should say, carry his bike to the summit, mainly due to some alcohol induced illness from the previous evening. I dumped my bike too and just carried the Nikon gear to the summit. We got off the top rocky dome to the scree slope and back to the other bikes just as it got dark, then we got geared up with the Lupines and torched our way down some very fine trail and through the Partnachklamm to return to the cars at about 9.30pm. Fabi went straight home (with my flashes still in his sack) and Stefan and I went for Pizza.
Is it a mountain that's going to take off with huge mtb traffic and popularity? Nope. The 1500Hm climb followed by grade 1 klettersteig then another 300 or 400m to the summit is going to self limit the numbers. Some parts of the klettersteig, especially the last section, do require some care with a bike on your back. Sections of riding below the summit also need one's balls to be well and truly screwed on tightly. But are there some people who are going to enjoy the challenge? Will it attract Dave and the usual Biking / Hiking suspects? HELL YEAH!!
Anway, I hope English is okay, if not, then perhaps Fabi can offer the Deutsch translation. Some of the pics I quite like, others are just okay. Photo equipment taken up that day included: Nikon D700 + lenses 70-200mm VR f/2.8, 14-24mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, two SB24's, Skyports. Light was so great that most of the pics were taken without flash.
