The Alpspitze is a mountain, 2628 m, in

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. Its pyramidal peak is the symbol of

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

and is one of the best known and most attractive mountains of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. ...

. It is made predominantly of

Wetterstein limestone The Wetterstein Formation is a regional geologic formation of the Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians extending from southern Bavaria, Germany in the west, through northern Austria to northern Hungary and western Slovakia in the east. ...

from the Upper

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

Ascent

Several ''

klettersteig A via ferrata (Italian language, Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and ...

s'' run up the Alpspitze. The shortest ascent starts at the

valley station The valley station is the lower terminal of an aerial lift, cable car, gondola lift, chairlift, rack railway or ski lift. The valley station is the counterpart of a top station. Cable cars may be boarded at both stations. The valley station is al ...

of ''Osterfelderkopf'' (2,033 m) on the

Alpspitze Cable Car The Alpspitze is a mountain, 2628 m, in Bavaria, Germany. Its pyramidal peak is the symbol of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and is one of the best known and most attractive mountains of the Northern Limestone Alps. It is made predominantly of Wetter ...

from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From the

Osterfelderkopf Osterfelderkopf (elevation ) is a summit of the Wetterstein range in the German state of Bavaria. Alpinism The Osterfelderkopf lies below the northern ridge of the Alpspitze and the ''Höllentorkopf''. It is only a few meters away from the top ...

the Alpspitze may be climbed either directly along the Alpspitz-Ferrata, an easy, mostly protected and much frequented ''klettersteig'' (ca. 2 hours from the Osterfelderkopf) or the summit may be reached on the North Face Climb (''Nordwandsteig''), which runs in a curve to the east into the Oberkar

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

and from there along the left-hand edge of the cirque to the top. Another ascent runs from the col of ''Grießkarscharte'' (2,460 m), which is reached either from the Höllentalanger Hut in the Höllental valley via the cirque of ''Mathaisenkar'' (involving a ''klettersteig'') or from the lake of Stuibensee via the ''Grießkar'' cirque. The popular route from the Alpspitze via the arete of

Jubiläumsgrat The Jubiläumsgrat ("Jubilee Arête") or Jubiläumsweg ("Jubilee Way"), also nicknamed ''Jubi'' in climbing circles, is the name given to the climbing route along the arête between the Zugspitze (2,962 m) and the Hochblassen (2,706 m) (hence i ...

to the

Zugspitze The Zugspitze (), at above Normalhöhennull, sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Austria–Germany border runs over ...

is a long and difficult climbing tour, which involves

UIAA The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA, lit. ''International Union of Alpine Clubs''), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France ...

grade III sections.

Summit cross

The

summit cross A summit cross (german: Gipfelkreuz) is a cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or at least a weatherproof case. Various other form ...

was erected in 1946 by Richard Weber and Kaspar Jocher together with the Roman Catholic ''Kolpingsfamilie'' of Garmisch. On the 25th and 50th anniversary of its installation a commemorative plaque was fixed to the cross.

Observation platform

At its base is the '

AlpspiX Viewing Platform The AlpspiX is a steel viewing platform that is attached at an altitude of about 2050 m on the Osterfelderkopf, a 2057 m high secondary summit of the Alpspitze. The walkable, free-floating arms of the AlpspiX are covered with gratings and provide ...

', 2 curved metal walkways reaching out 13 metres (42 feet) over a cliff, crossing over each other, making the shape of an X. Garmisch 5

Gallery

File:Alpspitze_mit_Blick_auf_das_Loisachtal.jpg, The Alpspitze with a view of the Loisach valley File:GipfelkreuzAlpspitze.JPG, Summit cross on the Alpspitze with its

summit register A summit book or summit register is a record of visitors to the summit of a mountain. It is usually enclosed in a weatherproof, animalproof metal canister. Some books are maintained in an informal manner by an individual or small group, while ot ...

File:Alpspitze.JPG, The Alpspitze (right) and Hochblassen (left) from the Schachen ascent File:Alpspitze_mit_Gleitschirmflieger.jpg, The Alpspitze and paragliders File:Alpspitze0306.jpg, The Alpspitze in winter File:Alpspitze 1.JPG, The Alpspitze and the Osterfelder

top station A top station or upper stationFor example, se''Chairlift Blausee (upper station)''at www.outdooractive.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019. is usually the highest station of an aerial lift, a funicular, a T-bar lift or a rack railway. The lowest station is ...

References

External links

AlpspiX Viewing Platform
{{Authority control Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of the Alps Two-thousanders of Germany Articles containing video clips