Hike to Schöttelkarspitze, Germany

What: Relatively long, medium difficulty hike in the very beautiful Karwendel mountain in the Bavarian Alps. We did it by train and bus from Munich, but it is also good for drivers.

When: 30 August 2015

Who: Ajay, Amit, Tatyana, Svilen

Summary:

• Goal: Schöttelkarspitze (2050 m), Karwendel, Bavaria, Germany

• Length: 7.5h

• Difficulty: medium (red). Relatively long, mostly good trails, several slippery sections, some secured by rope. Not too advanced overall, but requires some conditioning and sure-footedness.

• Itinerary: Krün (852 m) - Schwarzkopf (1150 m) - Felsenhüttl (1570 m) - Seinskopf (1961 m) - Feldernkreuz (2048 m) - Schöttelkarspitze (2050 m) - Soiernhaus (1616 m) - Lakaiensteig - Fischbachalm (1402 m) - Krün (852 m)

• Elevation: 1300 m up and down

• Huts: Yes, Soiernhaus and Fischbachalm.
• Reachable for public transport: Yes.

• Suitable for drivers: Yes, start and end points are the same.

• Description, in German: http://www.hoehenrausch.de/berge/schoettelkarspitze/

Details:

We took the train at 7:59 from Munich Hbf and arrived at 10:00 at bus station "Gh. Post/Cafe Kranzbach, Krün" (with 2 transfers). After crossing the road, we headed east and after the bridge over the Isar we reached our hike's starting point. We turned right here and from now on were all the time following the signs towards Schöttelkarspitze.

The first 3 hours the trail led us through forest. At 11:00 we reached Schwarzkopf (1150 m), from where we could enjoy a wonderful view over the Wettersteingebirge and the villages down in the valley. We passed through the Felsenhüttl and around 13:00 we faced the full mightiness of our goal, Schöttelkarspitze. Soon we got out of the wood and at 13:30 reached Seinskopf (1961 m). From here one can turn left towards its highest point or take the left path that goes around it and is the actual path to Schöttelkarspitze. We did the latter as, because of the excessively hot day, we were a bit behind schedule.

The path that followed offered a great view to Wörner, Tiefkarspitze and back to Seinskopf. At 14:10 we reached Feldernkreuz (2048 m) and after a short break continued to our destination, stepping carefully through the somewhat slippery terrain. In a few minutes I was left speechless by the view to the two Soiern lakes and the summits above them (Krapfenkarspitze and Soiernspitze).

At 15:00 we reached our destination, Schöttelkarspitze (2050 m), and after the failed attempt to feed the overly capricious raven there with bread, tomatoes and cheese, we spent some time taking jumping photos, which, surprisingly, turned out to be an immensely fun activity.

In the first meters of the way down we followed the same way, but at the sign we took the direction to Soiernhaus. The occasionally slippery path initially goes through the ridge, then gradually down in gentle turns.

At 16:15 we reached Soiernhaus, had a Radler-break and at 17:00 headed down to the nearby lakes. Couldn't resist just passing them by and got in for a short but overly refreshing 10 min swim. The lack of proper swimming suit didn't appear to be a showstopper for me.

We went back to the hut and took the way to Fischbachalm/Krün from there. Shortly we reached a sign at which we preferred the more advanced but more scenic Lakaiensteig, instead of the forest path, and we regret nothing. We had a narrow, sometimes a bit slippery or missing, but very neat trail, and a wonderful view all the time.

At 18:35 we reached Fischbachalm (1402 m). From there we took the left road and followed it very quickly down, occasionally running, so that we can catch the last bus. At 19:30 we were back at our starting point, making it just on time for the last bus at 19:51.

But the bus didn't make it for us, delaying by 40 min, just enough to miss our connection and have a quick overview of lower body, power exercises at the bus station. :) We went to Garmisch, then took another, temporary bus to Uffing, got on to the train to Munich, and arrived at 23:30.