Besler is a mountain of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Location and surroundings

Besler mountain is located on the southern side of the Riedberg Pass, a pass road in the district of

Oberallgäu Oberallgäu is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Unterallgäu and Ostallgäu, the Austrian states State of Tyrol, Tyrol a ...

, which connects

Obermaiselstein Obermaiselstein is a municipality and a village in the district of Oberallgäu in the German state of Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is t ...

with

Balderschwang Balderschwang is a municipality in the district of Oberallgäu in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the ...

and further with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

. The mountain lies between the mountain valleys of Lochbach in the south and Schönberger Ach in the north. In addition to the main or eastern summit, the Besler has a central peak (1655 m (5430 ft.) above sea level) and a western summit, the Schafkopf (1602 m (5256 ft.) above sea level). In addition, an inconspicuous elevation between Besler and Beslerkopf is referred to as Beslergrat (1668 m (5472 ft.) above sea level NHN).

Geology

The rocky peak of the mountain stands out in a characteristic way ("like a wall") from the surrounding mountain meadows. It consists of the sedimentary rock of the Helvetic Chalk, which is less widespread on the surface of the

Allgäu Alps The Allgäu Alps () are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located on the Austria–Germany border, which covers parts of the Germany, German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and the Austrian states of Tyrol (state), Tyrol an ...

. From this rock, for example, the Hohe Ifen, parts of the

Grünten Grünten (also, ''Watcher of the Allgäu'') is a mountain of Bavaria, Germany. On the summit is a Gebirgsjäger monument, dedicated to German mountain troopers killed in World War One. Not far from there, on the lower crest, is a radio tower of t ...

, the Diedamskopf in the

Bregenzerwald The Bregenzerwald (, ) is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a range of the Northern Limestone Alps, specifically the northern flys ...

and the

Säntis At above sea level, Säntis is the highest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. It is also the culminating point of the whole Appenzell Alps, between Lake Walen and Lake Constance. Shared by three cantons, the mountain ...

eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

are built. On the South Side of Besler there is a

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

landscape.

Ascent

Possible starting points for a mountain hike on the Besler are Obermaiselstein (859 m (2818 ft.) above sea level NHN), Tiefenbach (880 m (2887 ft.) above sea level NHN), Rohrmoos (1070 m (3510.49 ft.) above sea level) or Grasgehren (1450 m (4757 ft.) above sea level) on the Riedberg Pass road. The tour from Obermaiselstein leads past the nearby Sturmannshöhle, to which a detour is possible. On the Königsweg, a hunting

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

named after King Max II of Bavaria, one reaches the Schwarzenberg Jagdhaus. From there, the trail continues over the Upper Gundalpe via a short via ferrata ( difficulty A/B) to the summit.Klettersteig.de
retrieved 5 September 2013 This takes about three hours. About the same time is needed from the

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in German ...

district of Tiefenbach. Here the trail leads over the Lochbach valley to the Besler. From Rohrmoos you have a higher starting point, but first you have to switch from the Starzlachtal to the adjacent Lochbachtal valley. The total time required for the ascent is about two and a half hours. From the Riedberg Pass you first have to descend to the Schönbergalpe (1345 m (4413 ft.) above sea level) on the northern Beslerhang. The total time required for the summit is about one and a half hours. The Besler can be climbed well from mid to late May in terms of ice and snow conditions, whereby the south-facing variant is favored from the Lochbach valley. In early summer, a variety of mountain flower species blooms on the mountain, such as white silver root,

gentiana ''Gentiana'' () is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With over 300 species, it is considered a large genus. Gentians are notable for their ...

and aurikel.

References

Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of the Alps {{Bavaria-geo-stub