One of the most memorable experiences I’ve had this year was a hike to the Benediktenwand, where I encountered a remarkable creature: the Alpine ibex. Join me on this adventure as I share my journey, the beauty of the Benediktenwand, and the wonderful encounter with these magnificent animals.
Over the past few years, my family has developed a tradition of going hiking a few days together once a year. This september, we were out and about in the Karwendel. Since we had a great time there, my mum and I decided to stay in the alpine region for longer. We did some research and found out that the slopes of the Benediktenwand offered a good chance for spotting Alpine ibex. As neither of us had ever seen a wild Alpine ibex in our lives, we decided to go there.
Nestled in the Bavarian Prealps, the Benediktenwand is a 1,800 m high mountain ridge. It is known for its picturesque landscape with rugged rock formations and cliffs rising from green mountain meadows and coniferous bushes.
The next morning, we started our tour from Benediktbeuern. From there, we went up a wide path next to a small river. After a while, we left the river behind us, walked along a couple of forest roads, crossed an alp, until we came to the final ascent, which went steeply up through a beautiful old beach wood. Finally, we reached our first destination, the mountain hut Tutzinger Hütte (1327 m). From there, you have a great view of the Benediktenwand. This would be the place were we would spent the night, as we wanted to have more time up here in the nature.
After lunch, we set off for the summit on the western route, hoping to see the ibex on the way up. This route is more demanding than the hike up to the mountain hut, so after ⅔ of the distance, my mother decided to start the way back. We hadn’t seen any ibex up to that point, so my hopes were somewhat ceased. But I wanted to get to the top for the view, so I kept going. In any case, the surroundings were beautiful and well worth the effort.
A few dozen meters later, I turned a corner and there it was: the Alpine ibex, just 15 meters away, at the edge of a clearing. But before I could even realize, the ibex disappeared between the bushes that cover most of the hillside here.
“Is that all?”, I thought. “No! There is a chance it will come back.” So I got my camera out and waited. To my surprise, it didn’t take long until the ibex returned from the bushes and continued to graze. Now I finally had the time to enjoy this magnificent mountaineer. It was a beautiful specimen with full-grown horns.
The ibex was not timid and got even closer to me while grazing. At one point, I was only about four meters away from it, what an experience! I had never been this close to a wild animal of this size. Photographically speaking, it wasn’t easy to get good shots, as the ibex had its head down in the grass for most of the time. It also wasn’t possible to find some good perspective with background separation.
The Alpine Ibex, or “Steinbock” as it’s known in German, is a symbol of the Alps. These magnificent creatures are characterized by their distinctive curved horns, which can grow to impressive lengths. They can reach a weight of 120 kg and are very good at moving on even the steepest slopes. Once on the brink of extinction in the 19. century, conservation efforts have allowed their population to recover. It was in 1959 that the ibex gained a foothold on the Benediktenwand. Currently, the population comprises about 100 animals there.
I was lucky enough to spend 25 minutes with this individual. In the end, a hiker coming down scared the ibex, it was not very comfortable being surrounded by two people.
With the ibex gone, I continued my way towards the summit. On the way, I spotted another ibex in the bushes, but there was no chance of getting a good photo, since there was just too much scrub between us. At the peak, the conditions were incredible: I was above the clouds. The ridge of the Benediktenwand was like a ship sailing across a sea of clouds.
Since the sun was already low in the sky, I did not have much time to enjoy the panorama. So I made my way back. At the place where I had my first ibex encounter, I met the individual again. I was in a bit of a hurry, but I could not miss this opportunity. This time the light was great and I managed to get some nice photos:
With only 15 minutes to go to get back to the hut, I suddenly had to stop because an ibex was blocking the path. I looked around and noticed that there were several ibexes grazing in the area. Wow!
After some time the ibex let me pass and as the light was fading, I reached the cozy Tutzinger Hütte for dinner. My mother told me, that she had also crossed the herd on her way back, so we both got to see the ibex. What a great day.
The next morning, we got up early, had a quick breakfast and took the eastern route upwards. This time we did not see any ibex, but we had a great hike nevertheless. On our way back to the Tutzinger Hütte, Bavarian folk music was being performed, and we could hear it echoing from afar on the towering rock wall of the Benediktenwand. I have to admit that this music goes very well with the pre-alpine landscape. After enjoying the music with our lunch, we began the long descent to our car.