Martin Zuther - 2024-09 - Tyrol and South Tyrol

Mileage:	4 activities, 57.1 km, 4.2 km↑ (DLOG)
Description:	As preparation for the Austrian Hiking Guide training, I walked in the Alps for three weeks. Despite being neither hills, nor moorland - planning, weather, navigation, and structure of the ground make these worthy entries of my DLOG.

Walking, Equals, 3-5 hours Quality day   Flagged
8.1 km, 600 m↑, 620 m↓
Showers - mixed / poor visibility / Moderate wind (DLOG)

Location and role:	Austria, Venedigergruppe. Circular tour as preparation for Hiking Guide training. Walked with a friend as equals.
Activity and conditions:	Mountain paths and pathless ground. From sunny start to foggy end.
Decisions and experience:	First tour I planned with an equal. Walking on pathless ground. Differences between online map, actual map, and reality. I decided to skip the last summit as it became too foggy. My friend would have walked on, but only “around the corner”.

Walking, Solo, 3-5 hours Quality day   Flagged
11.1 km, 980 m↑, 600 m↓
Clear - sunny - good visibility / Gentle breeze (DLOG)

Location and role:	Italy, Stilfser Joch. Alternative ascent to mountain hut “Zufallhütte”. Solo walker.
Activity and conditions:	Mountain and forest paths. Sunny autumn weather with a light breeze.
Decisions and experience:	First semi-professionally planned tour, taking the following into account: virtual group with certain abilities, their speed, alternative routes depending on the weather, and so on. Later used this tour as homework for my Hiking Guide assessment, making it fully professional.

Walking, Solo, 8+ hours Quality day   Flagged
21.0 km, 1,560 m↑, 1,550 m↓
Showers - mixed / poor visibility / Strong wind (DLOG)

Location and role:	Italy, Stilfser Joch. Circular tour as preparation for Hiking Guide training. Solo walker.
Activity and conditions:	Mountain paths and pathless ground. Harsh winter conditions until middle of the day, then wonderful sunny weather.
Decisions and experience:	Decided to abandon planned route, as it was too dangerous in winter conditions - especially alone. Returned to mountain hut for lunch and then started out again, partially on pathless ground. First time I ran on a trail (8 km and 700 m descent in exactly 60 min).

Walking, Solo, 5-8 hours Quality day   Flagged
16.9 km, 1,070 m↑, 1,060 m↓
Cloudy - poor visibility / Moderate wind (DLOG)

Location and role:	Italy, Stilfser Joch. Preparation for Hiking Guide training. Solo walker.
Activity and conditions:	Mountain paths and pathless ground. From sunny start via continuous cloud cover to beginnings of fog.
Decisions and experience:	First time I walked alone on pathless ground in the mountains. After leaving the second mountain hut (Italian espresso!), I did not meet a single person for remainder of the day. Path to the summit was only marked with tiny cairns, quite a few of which were definitely incorrect. Therefore, I decided to skip the summit, and to return before the fog became too dense to find my way back.