Watzmannstock - Watzmannstock

The Watzmann from the east over the valley of the Königssees (under fog)

The Watzmann is a famous mountain stick in the Berchtesgaden National Park and is in the center of the Berchtesgaden Alps.

Regions

The Watzmann stick can be further subdivided:

  • On the Main ridge there are the three peaks Hocheck (2,657 m, north summit), Mittelspitze (2,713 m) and Südspitze (2,712 m, also Schönfeldspitze) and the Watzmann east face on the Königsee side.
  • The is also on the east side of the Watzmannstock and directly on the Königssee Little Watzmann (2,703 m also Watzmannfrau).
  • Little Watzmann is through what is in between Watzmannkar clearly separated from the main ridge, on the upper edge of the Watzmannkar as the connecting ridge to the main ridge are the Watzmann children.

places

Valley locations are Ramsau near Berchtesgaden (670 m) and Schoenau upon Kings sea (630 m) in the north of the Watzmann and the hamlet St. Bartholomä at the Koenigssee and in the east of the Watzmann.

background

classic Watzmann view from the northeast (from Lockstein, 684 m, above Berchtesgaden from): Watzmann (center right), Watzmann woman (left), in between the Watzmannkar with the Watzmann children; far right Hochkalter, in between the Wimbachgries; front: New Kirchleitn chapel

The Watzmann is the central mountain range of the Berchtesgaden Alps and thus belongs to the Northern Limestone Alps. It is dated to the east Koenigssee, in the south of the Steineren Meer, in the west of the Wimbachtal and bordered in the north by the valley of the Ramsauer Ache.

The extension in the broad side as the east-west direction is approx. 5 km, that in the longitudinal direction from north to south-west approx. 7.5 km. The highest peak is the Mittelspitze at 2,713 m and the base of the mountain range is around 500 m (Königssee).

The Watzmann is the highest mountain, the area of ​​which is completely on German land. In the order of the highest German mountains, it is usually behind the statisticians Zugspitze (2962 m) and the Hochwanner (2,744 m, both border summits to Austria) in second or third place (the Hochwanner is a Tyrolean mountain because of the development / first ascent and use). Sometimes and depending on the definition, the Höllentalspitzen (2,745 m, completely on German territory) in the Wetterstein are counted as higher peaks. For mountaineers, however, these surveys do not count as independent historically from the history of the first ascent or from the access during an ascent, because they are only climbed in the course of an ascent of the Jubilee ridge.

Most beautiful mountain in the world: In May 2014 the Watzmann from the mountain magazine "The climber", the oldest mountaineering magazine in the world, voted the most beautiful mountain in the world with 445 of 1313 reader votes. They landed in second and third place Three Peaks (2,999 m) in the Dolomites and Ama Dablam (6,814 m, Himalaya). There were ten candidates to choose from, including the K2 (8,611 m, Karakoram) and the Eiger (3,970 m, Aletsch area).

geology

The Watzmann is made of lime. The rocks of the Watzmann were formed as deposits of a sea during the Triassic period around 220 million years ago. Occasionally fossils such as corals and shells can be found in the limestone of the Watzmann.

The upper part of the Watzmann consists of Dachstein limestone, the base of dolomite.

Dolomite is also a limestone, but it contains high proportions of magnesium and therefore does not weather as quickly, the dolomite weathered by frost splintering as a result of penetrating water. The product of the weathering of the dolomite is the rubble at the foot of the mountain, e.g. in the Wimbachtal.

The softer Dachstein limestone in the upper part of the Watzmann is simply dissolved by the carbon dioxide in the rainwater and carried away and thus apparently removed without a trace. The rock then shows deep gullies on the surface as a karst surface. There is this karst in the upper part of the Watzmann, for example. on the way to the Hocheck.

The Watzmann calls

"Big and powerful - fateful ...": The Viennese rock bard Wolfgang Ambros set to music and staged in 1972 "The Watzmann calls"as an" Alpine musical "and" Rustikal "about the struggle between the mountain and the people. The mountain farmer drama parody came from the artist colleagues Manfred diving and J. Prokopetz, the theme of the tragedy is the lure of women and mountains: the mountain Watzmann calls the son of the mountain farmer, who leaves the Gailtalerin, follows the call of the mountain and finds his death in the rocks.

"... chasing around its summit ... wafts of mist ..."

In 1974 Ambros released the concept album of the same name, in 1982 the extremely successful stage version of the play followed and in 1991 an even more successful new production followed, since then numerous other Watzmann versions have been made.

In the musical, the actually serious theme is staged as a parable and ironic, quotes like "Aufi muass i!" Or "the mountain of wüll be victim" are legendary today, as is the whole piece, it made the musician and the mountain throughout German-speaking countries and beyond.

Wolfgang Ambros himself was also lured to the Watzmann: in spring 2012 he climbed the mountain for the first time and together with TV presenter and musician colleague Werner Schmidbauer and reached the Hocheck. The whole thing took place as part of Schmidbauer's "Summit Meeting" series for Bavarian Radio and was broadcast on television.

Say

St. Bartholomä (603 m) and Watzmannfrau (2307m, far right), Watzmann Südspitze (2713m, back left with the banded east wall and apparently slightly lower), in between the Watzmann children (a little to the right above the church)

One of the best-known Watzmann sagas is that of the cruel King Waze, who ruled the Berchtesgadener Land and, together with his wife and children, spread fear and horror. As a punishment, God then turned the whole family to stone, and so the clan still stands today as a clearly visible “stone reminder”.

getting there

The Watzmann is located in the southeastern corner of Upper Bavaria, right on the border with Austria and can only be reached from the north, except on foot.

The central "transport hub" in the access to the Watzmann is the 1 Wimbach Bridge (620m) on the B305 (German Alpine Road) via the Ramsauer Ache with parking lot, national park information point and gastronomy in the south of the village Ramsau near Berchtesgaden.

By plane

  • The airport can be reached even faster Salzburg (42 km, approx. Half an hour by car);

By train

The next train station is in Berchtesgaden. The bus route with a stop at the Wimachbrücke is bus route 846 to Ramsau.

In the street

For long-distance travelers, we recommend arriving via the A8 motorway (Munich-Salzburg):

  • Coming from the west (Munich): Symbol: ASTraunstein-Siegsdorf, continue on the federal highway 306 over Inzell and on the federal highway 305 over Ramsau to the Wimbachbrücke.
  • Coming from the east (Austria): Symbol: ASSalzburg-Süd (in A) and via the federal roads 160 (in A) and 150 (in D) to Berchtesgaden and further in the direction of Ramsau to the Wimbach bridge.

There is a chargeable parking lot at the Wimbachbrücke, which is often well occupied on beautiful summer days.

Tourist Attractions

Peaks and walls

  • Watzmann-Hocheck (2657 m);
  • Watzmann central point (2713 m);
  • Watzmann southern tip (2712 m, also Schönfeldspitze);
  • Watzmann east face, with 1800 m highest wall in the Eastern Alps; third highest in the entire Alps;
The Watzmann east face with the Ice Chapel (at the foot of the wall at St. Bartholomä am Koenigssee) is part of the project started in 2002 "Bavaria's most beautiful geotopes"(Bavarian State Office for the Environment) listed.
The mountain guide Heinz Zembsch, who was born in Regensburg and lives in Bischofswiesen, is considered the "king of the east wall" and until 2006 the innkeeper at the Purtschellerhaus. Zembsch climbed the face for the first time on October 4, 1957, when he was 14 years old, and in September 2013, at the age of 70, it was the 400th ascent of the east face.
  • Watzmann woman, also little Watzmann

Watzmann Glacier

The remains of the Watzmann Glacier (47 ° 33 ′ 21 ″ N.12 ° 55 '49 "E) are located in the Watzmannkar and below the Watzmann-Mittelspitze and the Watzmann-Ostwand.

It reached its greatest dimensions in our time around 1820 and again around 1856 and 1888 with approx. 30 hectares. Since the middle of the last century, however, the Watzmann Glacier has declined sharply in size, today's firn area still covers around six hectares.

The classification of the ice field as a glacier is controversial among glaciologists because the ice does not "flow".

activities

The Watzmann from the northwest with the summit ridge in the alpenglow: the Watzmannhütte is located on the small lower spur on the far left on the edge, above from left to right the summit ridge with Hocheck, Mittelspitze and Südspitze;

Watzmann crossing

The crossing of the Watzmann is deemed to be "Big Mountain Tour", it traverses the entire main ridge and all of its three peaks. The part from the Hocheck to the southern tip corresponds in character to a via ferrata, but because of the longer sections without a fixed rope, the requirements are already higher than those of an alpine via ferrata. In particular, the part from the central point to the southern point is particularly exposed in longer sections (risk of falling) and not insured.

Because of the length of the tour, the exceedance is usually referred to as Two day tour Completed with an overnight stay in the Watzmannhaus, as a day tour it is only recommended for really experienced mountaineers who are in good shape.

Since there are no emergency descents are good weather conditions Unconditional prerequisite, in the summit region and also below there is an absolute danger to life as a result of lightning strikes. It is not advisable to take the tour if it is wet or has even fresh snow.

Because of the difficulties of the terrain in the long and arduous section from the southern tip to Wimbachgries, the route is only recommended in a north-south direction.

The individual sections of the crossing:

  • Hut approach see at Watzmannhaus (1928m), approx. 3 - 4 hours of ascent.
Watzmann crossing
Hocheck: north ascent to the summit
  • Watzmannhaus - Hocheck (2,657 m, north summit): The section corresponds to a high mountain hike without any particular technical difficulties, but the route becomes increasingly rocky upwards. Even for reasonably practiced low-mountain hikers to the Hocheck, it is easy to do, walking time approx. 2.5 to 3 hours.
  • Hocheck - Middle point (2,713 m): this is where the via ferrata-like part begins: the more difficult passages are secured with a fixed steel rope and defused, but are partially exposed. Walking time approx. 0.5 - 1 hour
  • Middle point - Southern tip (2,712 m, Schönfeldspitze): Anyone who had difficulties before should turn back now at the latest, this section is technically a step more demanding, and there are also some longer uninsured and exposed passages here. Walking time approx. 1.5 hours to the southern tip. Then one more note: The ringing of the bell in the summit cross of the southern tip is reserved for real east face conquerors, for the others the wide view from the summit should be enough of a reward.
  • descent Southern tip - Wimbachgrieshütte (1327m): the arduous descent takes place over steep crags and several rocky steps, it remains exhausting for the knees up to the valley floor with the Wimbachgries. In the upper part it is difficult to orientate yourself when it is foggy, the lower part still forms some unpleasant erosion channels (secured with steel chains). Total descent time at least 2 1/2 hours. From the valley floor to the hut it is another 20 - 30 minutes, depending on your condition.

The entire route is continuously marked, total walking time of the tour from hut to hut at least approx. 7 - 8 hours; Difference in altitude: 900 mH on the ascent, a few counter-climbs and then another 1300 mH on the descent almost in one piece to Wimbachgries. It is another ten kilometers to the Wimbachbrücke and around two and a half hours of walking.

MTB routes

  • Route to the Kührointalm

kitchen

Alpine pastures
Stubenalm

In summer there are mountain huts with refreshment stops, no regular accommodation:

Boarding in about 1.5 hours from Königssee or from the Hammerstiel hiking car park (path 445) in Schönau am Königssee.
  • 2  Stubenalm (1150 m) (on the approach from the Wimbachbrücke to the Watzmannhaus).
  • 3  Mitterkaseralm (1420 m) (on the approach from the Wimbachbrücke to the Watzmannhaus).

accommodation

List of mountain huts of the German Alpine Club (DAV) and des Austrian Alpine Club (OeAV) as well as private huts for hikers and mountaineers. The huts are only managed in the summer season, due to the high occupancy by hikers and mountaineers, a reservation in advance and especially on the weekends is generally advisable.

Morning optimism at the Watzmannhaus
Hut sign
The Watzmannhaus is the most important base for the Watzmann ascent. The first brick-built hut was built in 1887/88 on the Falzköpfl, a spur on the northern flank of the Watzmann, which is safe from falling rocks and avalanches. The current building was built between 1908 and 1911. A photovoltaic system has been in existence since 1991, and in October 2006 an environmentally friendly combined heat and power plant and a waste water treatment plant were put into operation.
Furnishing: 50 room dormitories, 162 mattress dormitories, drying room, separate washrooms, no shower (water is scarce), open winter room (12–15 dormitories). Cell phone reception in front of the hut.
Managed from mid-May to mid-October, the hut is always well occupied during the season with up to 8,000 overnight stays, and overcrowded on nice weekends. It is strongly recommended to make a reservation.
Approaches: the Watzmannhaus can be reached after a strenuous (around 1300 mH) but technically easy mountain hike on several paths:
Furnishing: 10 room dormitory places, 18 mattress dormitory places.
Managed from the beginning of June to the beginning of October;
The Archenkanzel is a lookout point a little south of the Alm with a view of the Königssee.
Boarding of Schoenau upon Kings sea / Hinterschönau (697 m) 2 hours, from Koenigssee (St. Bartolomä) (602m) in 2 1/2 hours, from the Wimbach Bridge (620 m) in approx. 2-2.5 hours
Wimbachgrieshütte
Hut sign
The "Griesalm" or "Windachütte" stood in the place of today's hut in Wimbachgries, that is the rear part of the Wimbach valley, since around 1546. In 1919, the nature lovers of the Munich local group leased the Alm from the Free State of Bavaria and built it from 1922-1924 a new accommodation hut, which has been constantly expanded and improved since 2001. In 2001, extensive measures for ecological drinking water treatment and for an environmentally friendly energy supply and waste water disposal were carried out.
Furnishing: 52 camps, 20 beds,
Managed from the beginning of May to the end of October;
Boarding of the Wimbach Bridge (620 m) through the Wimbachgries as an easy hike in the valley floor and approx. 2 1/2 - 3 hours walking time;
Unmanaged, key to the hut in St. Bartholomä;
  • Hocheck shelter hut: Emergency accommodation at the summit of the Hocheck (2650m);

climate

Thundercloud in the summit region of the Watzmann

For general information on the climate, see the appropriate section in the article on the Berchtesgaden Alps.

Practical advice

  • See also the article Rockclimbing, it also contains information on the topic Mountain hiking;
  • Avalanche warning service for Bavaria;
  • Avalanche warning service for Austria;

literature

  • Wolfgang Pusch: Watzmann. Bergverlag Rother, 2009, ISBN 3763370528 ; 127 pages. Illustrated book on "all sides" with practical tips, descriptions of ascent and topos

cards

  • German Alpine Club (DAV) (Ed.): Alpine Club Card No. BY 21 (1: 25,000) Berchtesgaden National Park, Watzmann. 2010, ISBN 978-3937530468 . 9,80 €.

Web links

KöSee landing stageBartholomä.jpg
Berchtesgadener Land
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