Jennerstier 2026 – Weekend full of skimo races in Berchtesgaden

Warm-up or burn-out?

Upon arriving to the Jennerstier 2026 site at the car park at Königssee. The centre of Alpine tourism in Bavaria, Germany, which attracts almost three quarters of a million tourists a year. We found a convenient place to park our camper. We hadn’t even caught our breath or had a drink when Stefan, my partner, who had actually gently convinced for this event approached me as soon as we arrived and shouted. Come on, let’s go for a walk and check out the track.

I agreed, it seemed like a good idea. But who would have guessed that he would come up with another stupid idea. There isn’t much snow here, but it still looks like it will work. So I put on my gear and we go to check it out. We’re not going to take the cable car, we’re ski mountaineers, aren’t we? We zigzag between puddles of mud and rocks on the remaining snow. At times, we have to take off our skis and walk in our boots. Jennerstier 2026 It looks like it’s going to be a great race.

At the Jennerbahn intermediate station, where all the races are to start, we already have 600 metres in our legs. It’s a good warm-up, but Stefan keeps climbing. I know he wants to see how the track is and won’t give up until he’s satisfied. After 900 metres, I’m about to give up. I know what he’s up to, he wants to burn me out and beat me tomorrow, and he’s pretending nothing’s going on. So we turn around and take the same route down.

After two hours and 900 metres of altitude, skiing and walking, I feel more like I’ve been on a full-day hike than a light warm-up run. Stefan won’t leave me alone and recover and drags me to the pub for a beer. It’s clear now, he wants not only to beat me, but also kill me 😀 Strategically, I only have a radler mixed with water and we go to cook dinner. Eager to see what Jennerstier 2026 will bring, I send Stefan and Klára to bed at midnight. His strategy is obvious – also a sleep deprivation.

Morning jitters before Vertical

The night was awful. Some guy kept bothering us, saying we weren’t allowed to camp there. I don’t know if Stefan hired him to wake me up at night, but I didn’t get any sleep. Luckily, he left us alone… Yeah, vertical isn’t my cup of tea. So we make it for breakfast and I stuff myself with musli. It’s hard going, it’s like glue as you can barely call it food.

The start is not until 11:30, so we have time to pick up our race numbers. For total €150 in entry fees for two races, we received lots of gifts. Such as 5g of salt, 2 gels, a chocolate bar and a small bar of soap. Yes, a Jennerstier 2026 headband. How generous! The ladies scolded us for not giving our companions any tickets for the cable car. Having a German-speaking patriot with me paid off this time, and he managed to convince the ladies with his endless charm.

At 10:30, we all board the Jennerbahn cable car leading to the intermediate station, where the race is to start. Toni Palzer, the clear favourite, is already warming up here. He looks like a little spider that could be blown away by the first gust of wind. Looking around, I realise that I am probably the only one who weighs over 80 kg. Why are the races divided by age and not by weight categories?

Jennerstier 2026 – Vertical race

It didn’t take long before we were standing in the starting corridor. At that moment, I already knew that Stefan’s efforts yesterday had paid off. My legs were empty (not to mention my head), and we were supposed to run uphill in a few minutes? Everything was so professional. With spiders all around me and ISMF referees, I almost felt like a pro. Meanwhile, the weather had improved and the promised rain had turned into sunshine. The first hill was one big sheet of ice, but what could be worse than sliding back down to the start on my ass?

3-2-1-go. Jennerstier 2026 vertical has started! They’re running. Damn, they’re running, so I have to run too! It might look good in photos, but after a while, when my heart rate shot up to about 185 and the spiders were still running, I realised that this was not a friendly race. I’m running at my own pace, or rather slow pace, but I’m not last. Stafan is a few steps ahead of me, just as he wanted.

We had already talked about the ice, but no one told me that worn mohair skins wouldn’t work on it. At that moment, I was already sliding down the slope, holding on to my poles. Thank God it was all away from the refferees, because a lot of bad words were screamed. And as you probably know, according to ISMF rules, swearing is prohibited. I don’t know if the swearing or the battle with the grip exhausted me more, but it was quite a few positions. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one, and they were seriously sliding down the slope on knees. So I gain some positions. But I’m not a gloating person.

Heart pounding in my throat and foam at the mouth

After the icy passage, there was a calm and relatively flat “traverse” to the foot of Jenner. No one forced anyone, but everyone ran there. My legs are short, and when others walk, I run, and we’re still side by side. It’s a shame that you can’t speak at 180 bpm. My muse ran out after the bend when I saw how high the summit is after the bend. The orange blister on the blue sky began to interfere with my thermal discomfort.

We start climbing the ridge. Stefan is a few metres ahead of me, I’d say about 30 seconds. His plan worked, I probably won’t catch up with him now. So I’m going with Voleker Schoffle, who doesn’t know yet that tomorrow he’ll be the third German champion in the masters, and so we keep overtaking each other until we reach the ridge. Martin Hilpert is standing and shouting at me: “Go for it!” Does he thinks I’m not trying hoard or what? I show my determination and run a little faster. But after 20 metres, my body stops on its own because I can’t see anymore due to lack of oxygen.

Volker takes advantage of all this short run and overtakes me, while I stagger along, exhausted, in the final stretch. I reach the finish line at Jennerstier 2026 – a vertical climb of just under 600 metres – foam at the mouth and pale as a ghost, in a time of 37:44.62, a 40 seconds behind Stefan. Congratulations, mate, you’ve beaten me! Fortunately, only cheerleaders and sandwiches await us now.

Recuperation intermezzo

Squeezed like a lemon, I stagger around the hill for a while, watching the national teams patting each other on the back. Sure, I’d be there too if I were 20 years younger. So we descend into the valley. Laura takes the black slope on her cross-country skis, and we calmly take the rocky path down to the valley.

In the evening, we meet up with the Swiss pros at a restaurant below the hill. Beer glasses clink, schnitzel goes down as a butter, spätzle and bacon dumplings – carb loading is essential… Great! An Italian once told me: “If you want to be professional, you must eat like a professional!” But watch out, the Swiss national team has taken a different approach…They stuff themselves with rice and dry chicken. They can’t eat that shit much, so they wash it down with water. A strange team isn´t it? They stand up and go at the moment as our team orders another round of beers. Well, the guys aren’t going to win tomorrow like this 😀 Of course, we go to bed like professionals, around midnight.

Jennerstier 2026 – Individual race

There’s no point in being a hero after yesterday’s exhibition of slides down the icy slope, so I’m sticking with my fully synthetic training skins, which are about five years old. Sure, it doesn´t slide forward, but unlike the fancy pink ones, they have one negligible feature. They hold like glue! Stefan and I climb into the corridor to the third row and wish each other good luck for the last time.

The Jennerstier 2026 individual race starts off fast again. Obviously, the first 100 metres are for the spectators, which I could easily do, but if it has to be, so let it be. The first climb is on ice again, but surprisingly, the skins hold up well. Some ski mountaineers around us are not so lucky and are struggling with grip. It doesn’t take long before we reach the first switch backs. It feels good, this is going to be great! Unfortunately, there is only one track, so I have plenty of time to pick my nose.

First pit stop and descent. Hurray, some fun at last. Oh, there’s no snow… If you’re interested in what those yellow and black chequered flags mean, ask my skis. Sorry, skis! At the second depot, the ISMF referees are already watching. They are interested in a lot of details and apparently like to hand out penalties, so everything has to be just right! No blocking, poles nicely side by side, skins nicely in the pocket! Putting on the skins in 42 seconds is probably good.

Now comes an easy traverse down the slope to Mitterkasseralm. It is so easy and boring that you have to run here, so I keep an eye on my heart rate. Something tells me that I will still need my heart today, so I slow down to around 180 bpm.

3x wheel before climax

Yes, there is no snow here, so we chose one slope where there were a few centimetres and we had to ski down it three times as if it were a freeride descent. The skis won’t make it home in one piece! At Mitterkasseralm, I see a Czech HS jacket, and inside it is none other than Czech ski mountaineering legend Martin Hilpert. He yells at me to hurry up. So I make a quick move in front of him and start zigzagging my way to the top of the mentioned descent.

And here, ladies and gentlemen, the wheat is separated from the chaff. Temperatures above zero, loose snow and pink skins unfortunately discourage a large part of the starting field. I feel sorry for them when I see their red faces swearing loudly as they search through their rucksacks for their second set of skins. Yes, it came down to a few killers putting on their second straps. Unfortunately, this inglorious fate also cought Stefan, whom I see changing his skins at the bottom of the hill. Golden synthetics – with those, you could probably walk across the bottom of a lake and they would still hold.

I like the boots section. Put your skis on your backpack, step into stairs, and let your heart rate skyrocket! My quadriceps scream under the strain in a flood of lactate acid, but I´m on top of the world. I know now that this race suits me. Thanks to Jennerstier 2026, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a proper ski mountaineering race with all the good things. After the boots, let´s jump back on the skis and through a huge number of switch-backs up the mountain to the depot, where a dude with a chainsaw is cheering us up.

The descent is unexpectedly fast, perhaps because I´m used to such conditions at home. Slushy snow, rutted terrain and waist-high bumps. This isn’t just enough to break your legs, but it’s enough to break your spine too. Oh well… I sit back on my heels and fly like Boscacci, only the ski tips are flying up and down. I manage to pass a few people. Especially in the section where you have to fly over rocks. But down in the depot, I see that I still have all my edges, so let´s continue.

You don’t give, you don’t get

The next two laps up the slope in the sunshine and down the same tankodrome were pointless. It was more of a test of morale and fuel consumption. So, OK, a gel for every hill and a good drink every time. I put the hose in my mouth, take a deep suck and opps that familiar sip. Oh, I´m at the bottom of my camelbag. My psyche is immediately in collapes. Drinking a litre of water in 1.5 hours is a lot, but I only have the last climb up Jenner Mountain ahead of me, where the finish line of the entire race awaits us.

Halfway up the hill, I see the whole gang of German masters fighting for positions and chasing after me! After all, it’s the German Championships, and even the old guys want medals. My stomach is growling, but I tell myself that this would be a real shame. I put on my skis at the ridge and have about 100 metres of elevation left to climb. He’s a tough guy, pale as a ghost, and he’s already right on my heels just before the finish line. What’s he playing at, he wants a lead over me… He forced me to sprint the last 50 metres or so! Hit or be hit, but luckily today I hit!

I crossed the finish line of the renowned Jennerstier 2026 race in a time of 1:46:05. I was as happy as a clam. Although my position was terrible, somewhere in the first half of the field, the top ten were all professionals. But, in my weight category, I was definitely first, there’s no question about that. And what about my Stefan? He was tough, but after his dominance yesterday, I had to give him a return today 🙂

What else can be said about Jennerstier 2026?

Probably just that it was intense. Warmth, sunshine, snow, mountains, and fluffly skis. Are there better ways to spend a weekend? NO! Probably only thanks to the organisers of Jennerstier 2026 for a professionally organised event full of big names. Despite the lack of snow, they managed to put on a beautiful race full of adrenaline with a great atmosphere. If you don’t know this race yet, I recommend it. It’s rough-and-ready ski mountaineering a few hundred kilometres from the Czech Republic! I’m already looking forward to Jennerstier 2027.