Hike Report – ‘Speer Westseite’ (C-104)

Stats

Description

Speer – Westseite (ascent from the west side) is one of the first custom routes I drew and followed through on. When I say custom route, I just mean I chose which official hiking trails to follow. I’m not mad (yet).

My route starts at the closest parking lot and takes the shortest distance to the top, then adds a little extra corner on the way down to make the descent a tiny bit less steep, while adding at least some new portion of trail. I’m not too keen on backtracking. In life and video games alike.

In terms of difficulty, it’s all red trails, meaning “normal” mountain trails (not the blue alpine trails that are only meant for pros and lunatics) so should theoretically not be too dangerous. That being said, there are a couple of spots where you could easily fall to your death if you slip, so beware. I did see building materials of sorts, so maybe the tail is more secure now.

Speer itself is a geologically interesting mountain as it is the highest conglomerate mountain of Europe, and the crown jewel of the Alpstein region.

Notes

• Not without risk. Be sure of your abilities.
• The south approach is safer.

Impressions

Some adrenaline inducing almost-slips aside, I had a grand old time on this hike. The views from the top are stunning, and as I came on a weekday, I was almost alone. I met one guy at the peak who had climbed the via ferrata trail, a ranger hunting for Gämse on the way down, and that’s it.

If you’re sure footed and looking for a short, but intense and rewarding hike in the Appenzell region, this might be an option for you.

Route Gallery

Note that these images were shot on my old HTC 10 phone, before I finally bought a “real” camera. Nonetheless, full size images without watermarks are available for licensing to interested parties. Check romans.pictures, or contact me for details.