Besler and Beslerkopf ski tour, Allgäu 2015-02-17
The one kilometer long ridge of Besler, to the north edged with steep cliffs, offers a lonesome goal on busy days of high season. The snow on the northern slopes keeps fresh due to the shade of the ridge. Doing one of the summits includes no more than 350 height meters, counting in a small ascent on the way back. But if including Besler in the program, one shouldn't underestimate it. Both are condition dependent; due to the traverse directly under the Besler ridge, the avalanche risk must be low. If the conditions are right, however, Beslerkopf could be ascended by a beginner, and the difficulties of Besler is determined solely by the final ascent to its rocky summit.
Beslerkopf lies more to the west, and the traverse leads below it at first. If going to this summit, one continues east until Besler rises up directly ahead, and then turns straight up to ascend to Beslergrat. This smooth and easy ridge is then followed westward on flat terrain until the summit.
Besler, on the other hand, is reached by climbing. For real enthusiasts it's possible to crag climb on its south side, but without full climbing equipment, one can still do the via ferrata of the Besler north face. It goes without saying that the difficulties depend strongly on the snow conditions; if the ferrata wires are buried in snow or not.
During our ascent, the wires were useable a little more than half of the way. Two sections were completely oversnowed. It's very exposed and of course one cannot fall, but the snow was firm and provided good foothold for us. We used the skiing poles without snow plates for better grip.
Skiing down can be done either more to the east or back along the ascent route to the west. We chose the first, steeper alternative, knowing that after descent we must traverse longer with the skins back on. But the distances aren't great on this tour anyway…
To sum it up, the tour rewards with very impressive scenery for little work, and good snow on descent. We were amazed to be completely alone on one of the most busy days of high season in the Alps.
Read MoreBeslerkopf lies more to the west, and the traverse leads below it at first. If going to this summit, one continues east until Besler rises up directly ahead, and then turns straight up to ascend to Beslergrat. This smooth and easy ridge is then followed westward on flat terrain until the summit.
Besler, on the other hand, is reached by climbing. For real enthusiasts it's possible to crag climb on its south side, but without full climbing equipment, one can still do the via ferrata of the Besler north face. It goes without saying that the difficulties depend strongly on the snow conditions; if the ferrata wires are buried in snow or not.
During our ascent, the wires were useable a little more than half of the way. Two sections were completely oversnowed. It's very exposed and of course one cannot fall, but the snow was firm and provided good foothold for us. We used the skiing poles without snow plates for better grip.
Skiing down can be done either more to the east or back along the ascent route to the west. We chose the first, steeper alternative, knowing that after descent we must traverse longer with the skins back on. But the distances aren't great on this tour anyway…
To sum it up, the tour rewards with very impressive scenery for little work, and good snow on descent. We were amazed to be completely alone on one of the most busy days of high season in the Alps.
