Sunrise on the Zwölferkopf

5:00 a.m. at Omaela, the alarm clock rings.

Then it's time to get up, go to the bathroom, grab a quick coffee, pack our rucksacks and off we go.

At 5:30 a.m., Andreas (who is accompanying me today) is already waiting at the Gul-Kurve, where we tackle the route via Alpe Rendl to the start of the hiking trail up the Zwölferkopf in a Defender.

The Defender is practically “the optimal choice” here - with it, the path up to the avalanche barriers (where the hiking trail begins) is quick and easy to master. Otherwise, at least an off-road vehicle is recommended.

At 6:00 am we park the car at the top, strap our rucksacks on our backs, switch on our headlamps and then we walk up to the summit cross of the Zwölferkopf above St. Anton am Arlberg for about 50 - 60 minutes. The path up is very steep in places and in the dark it's not always easy to see where to go next - there are several paths in places, but as long as you're going uphill, you're on the right track.

We weren't quite sure what to wear because it was already below freezing in the morning.

However, with hiking trousers and 3 light layers on our upper bodies, we were very well equipped for the hike. The only important thing is to have enough warm, dry clothing in your rucksack so that you can change into fresh clothes at the top - because it can get a bit chilly, especially in November. A pair of gloves is also a good idea to keep your fingers warm for camera equipment etc. 

Sunrise was scheduled for 7:05 a.m. and by then we still had a little time to take our first photos in the blue hour...

What we honestly hadn't considered: at this time of year, the Zwölferkopf lies in the shadow of the Gamskarspitze & Co for a loooong time - so we waited in vain for the long-awaited rays of sunshine. But the drone helped us a lot here and gave us some great shots...