Kofel

Peak: Kofel (1342m/4403ft)
Area: Ammergau Alps, Germany
Although its dimensions are small, the sharp limestone spire of the Kofel is very much the signature peak of the famous Bavarian town of Oberammagau. It made an ideal short outing this morning, as our Alpine trip got off to a soggy start and Sunday's long race was still in my legs. Vic had some things to sort out, so I set off alone from our excellent pension near the station in the middle of town, jogging along the river in the rain as the limestone spire of Kofel intermittently emerged from the mist directly above. An Alpine meadow lies above the car park and leads to broad zigzags as the forest is reached. Dank and atmospheric in these conditions: I had it virtually to myself, unsurprisingly. The forest was wreathed in mist and the zigzags gave good running up to the Kofelsattel, an obvious col below the final summit spire. A short level path leads to the spire (the Kofelsteig), which is a polished limestone scramble, easy and replete with chains. A short traverse leads to stepped rock, then a slabby open groove to the summit (less than an hour from the hotel). A brief clearance gave views of Ettal and I could hear cowbells below, but most of the time the Bavarian landscape was obscured by low cloud. It stopped raining, at least, and I jogged down under dripping trees with some spectacular clearances as I neared the bottom of the forest. We abandoned plans to climb nearby, and headed instead into Austria, over the Fernpass and a late lunch in Oetz as the weather began to gradually improve.