Geierstein (also Geigerstein) is a 1,491 m high mountain in the western

Mangfall Mountains The Mangfall Mountains (german: Mangfallgebirge), or sometimes Mangfall Alps, are the easternmost part of the Bavarian Prealps that, in turn, belong to the Northern Limestone Alps. The name comes from the river Mangfall, whose tributaries, the Ro ...

, part of the

Bavarian Prealps The Bavarian Prealps (german: Bayerische Voralpen) are a mountain range within the Northern Limestone Alps in south Germany. They include the Bavarian Prealp region between the river Loisach to the west and the river Inn to the east; the range is a ...

, 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 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 ...

Geography

Geierstein is part of an east–west ridge with steep drop-offs to the north and south. It is the first prominent mountain peak coming out of Lenggries. The ridge is interrupted to the east by the Sommersbachgraben at 1,261 m. East of this drop, the ridge rises again to its highest peak,

Fockenstein Fockenstein is a mountain in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in what is called the Bavarian Prealps, west of the lake Tegernsee. Geography and Climbing The summit is on the border between the municipalities of Gaißach and Bad Wiessee. It is u ...

. The Geierstein is almost completely forested; only in the immediate vicinity of the summit does bare limestone emerge from the forest floor. The summit offers a view of the entire Isarwinkel, the Munich gravel plain (with a view of Munich on a clear day), the Tegernsee mountains, and

Wetterstein The Wetterstein mountains (german: Wettersteingebirge), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps. It is a comparatively compact range located between Garmisch-Partenkirc ...

and Karwendel.

Name

The name of the mountain is sometimes written as ''Geigerstein'' (literally "Violinist Rock"), instead of ''Geierstein'' (literally "Vulture Rock"). Both names are present in the

German Alpine Club The German Alpine Club (german: links=no, Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV for short) is the world's largest climbing association and the eighth-largest sporting association in Germany. It is a member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the ...

map and guidebook, with ''Geierstein'' in larger type. A legend about the mountain describes a violin-playing hermit whose eye was scratched out by an eagle.

Climbing

Geierstein can be climbed from the town of

Lenggries Lenggries is a municipality and a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the center of the Isarwinkel, the region along the Isar between Bad Tölz and Wallgau. The town has about 9,500 inhabitants. By area, it is the largest rural municipality ("Gemeinde" ...

to its west via Reitenbach or Markeck. The path via Reitenbach is a well-marked path that is almost entirely in the woods until the last 100 m below the summit; it involves 800 m total of climbing and takes about two and a half hours. The path via Markeck also requires about 800 m of climbing and two and a half hours' time, but is steeper and more difficult. Both routes require sure-footedness near the peak.

References

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