Day 3 – Memminger hut to Zams

6. September 2015

climbing: 850 meters

descending: 1890 meters

Where are my shoes?

In the morning I went into the room with all the hiking shoes to get ready. My hiking shoes are blue and therefore I could easily spot them most times. And so it happened this morning. While putting some blue shoes on I was wondering: did I leave them in the shelf so dirty? And they were also a little bit big. I checked the size but wasn’t sure if the size displayed in the shoes was the size I bought. It took me a while to realize that the shoes I was trying to put on were not mine!

I was instantly awake and looked around: Where are my shoes? Someone else must have taken mine. Like an insane I was running through the hut and through all the people getting ready. All of a sudden a girl called her friend back from outside the hut. She had put on my shoes this morning and just wondered a little bit about them being too narrow. I was shocked. But anyway, I had my shoes back!

Remember the hut rule of binding your shoes together?

Climbing and scrambling over the “Seescharte”

After my lessons learned our group got ready to go. We had to put on our small crampons for the first and only climb of the day. At an elevation of 2599 meters we would cross the “Seescharte” which is basically a gap inbetween the mountains. You could also call it a mountain pass. It was a climb of about 400 meters from the hut and we made good progress thanks to our small crampons.

Crossing the pass was a bit of a scamble. But with the help of our mountain guide and the securing metal ropes we all managed the climb. But there wasn’t much time to celebrate our big achievement. Once we reached the other side it didn’t get much easier. Carefully we lined up and made our way down along a very scenic and snow covered mountain side.

Climbing over the pass called "Seescharte"

Descending into the valley “Lochbachtal”

The descent of in total more than 1800 meters was not easy. After we left the snow fields behind and could take of our small crampons it was still very steep in many sections. Not easy for the knees and further along the way not too easy for someone like me who is afraid of the heights. The trails got more narrow and the drop-off was nearly 90 degrees. But after a while of hiking next to the drop-off I got somehow used to it. Right in the middle of this trails a young local guy from one of the small mountain huts was racing past us. Our guide told us that his hut is a very small hut and all foods and drinks had to be carried up that trail. I was impressed!

Lining up to walk along the mountain side

The narrow trail with the steep drop-off

Zams in the Inn valley

Short before we reached our goal of the day – Zams in the valley of the river Inn – it was time for another break. We sat down on a green mountain meadow and enjoyed the afternoon sun. It was a well-known meadow for the locals and a place for young couples to hang out.

After loosing some more elevation we finally made our way into the village of Zams. Our tour operator had organized a stay in a local hotel for us. We all welcomed the rest and the comfort of a private room for two.