Hochwanner

Hochwanner south wall

The Hochwanner (obsolete: Kothbachspitze ) is a mountain in the Wettersteingebirge. It is 2,744 m, the second highest mountain in Germany after the Zugspitze (if you look at the even higher Schneefernerkopf and also slightly higher Weather peaks as minor summit of the Zugspitze ).

Location

The Hochwanner is located on the German - Austrian border between Garmisch -Partenkirchen and Leutasch. He is the highest peak in the weather stone main ridge, which is pulling them from Gatterl to Upper Wettersteinspitze above Mittenwald in west-east direction. From Hochwanner massif down to offering a magnificent panoramic view to the Reintal, the Austrian Leutaschtal, Gaistal, the Zugspitze, the Mieminger chain, the Jubiläumsgrat, the Karwendel mountains and wide in the central Alps into it.

The Hochwanner has remained a relatively unknown mountain despite his great height and his spectacular, more than 1,400 m sloping north wall ( one of the highest cliffs in the entire northern Limestone Alps ). This is due to its inaccessible, behind Alpine peaks and Höllentalspitze hidden layer. Erroneously, the much better-known but less high watzmann is therefore often referred to as the second highest mountain in Germany.

Since the Hochwanner summit lies exactly on the border, it forms 2,744 m at the same time the highest elevation of the municipal boundaries of the Tyrolean Leutasch. The summit cross was erected by a Leutascher donor family.

Ascent

The easiest summit rise is from the south of the Rotmoosalm (3 hours) or from Gatterl. Partial pathless or recognizable only as a faint trace you drive on steep lawns, later a short climbing section (up to I on the UIAA scale) and predominantly steep, tedious scree slopes to the summit. The route is sparsely marked with cairns. The north wall is a stunning, very long climb.