Besler is a mountain of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

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 ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Unterallgäu and Ostallgäu, the Austrian states Tyrol and Vorarlberg, the district of Lindau, and the state of ...

, which connects Obermaiselstein 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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russi ...

and further with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , 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 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 (german: Allgäuer Alpen) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Tyrol and Vorarlberg in Austria. The range lies directly east of Lake Constance. Character ...

. 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 Bregenz Forest (german: Bregenzerwald, ) is one of the main regions in the States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a mountain range, range of the ...

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 may refer to: Transportation *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 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

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

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

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 small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

named after King Max II of Bavaria, one reaches the

Schwarzenberg Schwarzenberg may refer to: People * House of Schwarzenberg, Franconian and Bohemian aristocratic family which was first mentioned in 1172 ** Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (1771–1820), Field Marshal in Austrian service during the Napol ...

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: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

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 about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...

and aurikel.

References

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