Night hike in the Rofangebirge

Published on 2011-6-6 by Michael Stanton

Sometime around 5:30 in the evening I left Munich for the mountains. I wasn't completely sure where to go for a hike, but when I saw that the expected afternoon thunderstorms were holding off well, I drove a bit further to the Rofan Mountains. I hiked up to the Kotalm on a steep trail, then back into a valley to the abandoned upper Kotalm farm. Here I turned due north, walking uphill on grassy slopes (no trail) to reach the ridge crest right at the magic time. Booming ridges of clouds filled the sky to the north, and outliers of that massive system strafed the south and west. Pink, red and golden rays of sun shafted through the vapors, highlighting lonely crags and far-off snow peaks. In the cold wind I snapped as many pictures as I could. Before complete darkness, I resolved to scamper down as many meters as I could. I made it to the lower Kotalm before getting out the headlamp. 3 hours and 10 minutes round trip, for 1200 meters elevation gain/loss. Lots of fun!