Most easterly of the Chiemgau Alps near Germanys border with Austria, 20km from Salzburg, 140km from Munich. The peak can be reached after a 2-4 hour steap climb, categorized as easy, non-professionals sometimes need to crawl on all four limbs though!
View from the touristic town of Bad Reichenhall
Infamous for its many climbing fatalities (worst rate in Germany) not because its extremely difficult to climb but rather thats its easy accessible, many paths, climbed by thousands every year, yet some underestimate the dangers, its stoney narrow paths and steep sides not for those that easily get dizzy. Bad weather, specially fog has resulted in most accidents so mid summer is the safest to climb, winter best for only the well experienced and equipment.
Possible routes to the peak, 1771m ASL: 1) from Padinger Alm, 667m ASL, north of Bad Reichenhall. Parkplatz (most common/popular and well marked) 2) Anger/Aufham (the route we took) 3) Inzell, 757m, or forest road passed Frillensee (920m) with quite a height advantage 4) Piding (Klettersteig) only for mountaineers and with equipment.
www.derchiemgauer.de offers a nice chart (map) of the area
Favourite spots:
Hochstaufen summit
- sitting on the terrace of the guest house near the peak and enjoying the panorama over a well earned lunch and beer
- the small chapel in a grotto near the peak is unexpected and unusual.
What's really great:
Decent!
Climbing a mountain again! A lot of the mountains in the area have cablecars for the tourists but getting up there on ones own two feet was very rewarding....
Geology: the Alps are formed by the continent Africa pushing against the European/Asian plate. The mountain is of limestone and chalk layers, even containing fossils from shells of a once large lake. Lead was mined in the 18th century, salt is still mined nearby!
Legend: two climbers were turned to stone by choosing to go hunting one sunday instead of attending the customary church service.
Sights:
Anger Festival
Towns directly nearby: Bad Reichenhall Piding Anger/Aufham Inzell
City: Salzburg
Accommodations:
Reichenhaller Haus
Open mid-May to mid-October
6 Beds, Bunks/Floorspace for another 24
Tel. 49-8651-5566 Valley Base: 49-8652-62812
Post: DAV S., Postfach 2352, D-83425 Bad Reichenhall, Germany
Nightlife:
For Hiking, Mountaineering Clubs and guided climbs the Tourist Information Center at the city hall (Rathaus) in Bad Reichenhall offers pamfletts and advice.
Restaurants:
Hochstaufen from a neighbouring Alm
Reichenhallerhaus offers basic bavarian food and drinks. (supplies are flown in by helicopter!)
There are lot of guest houses (Alms) on the slopes and neighbouring hills also guest farms, hotels mainly in Bad Reichenhall
Other recommendations:
Exhausted!
For non-climbers the adjacent Predigstuhl mountain is accessable by cablecar and offers an equally superb panorama of the region.
Other related links: www.roberge.de www.wandertipp.de/Monatstipp_01_2001.htm- www.rsberge.de/touren/chiemgau/ www.alpenfuehrer.de/alpin.htm
Brilliant pictures by others: http://cmeerw.org/photo/staufen/ http://hgoetz.mb-cc.de www.digitalpin.de /2003_touren/hochstaufen_03/ www.biberkopf.de/bergtouren/
Mountainbiking around the mountain: www.gps-tour.info
Hi Rudi,
That was good to read. Did you write it for the mountain competition? Unfortunately I could not enter as we were away and have only just returned.
Marianne
Wonderful report Rudi.For me it absolutely will be out of question to climb so steep-i'm terrified of heights of any level.It was a great effort .I would imagine myself instead of you-NO,NO,NO .Not for Boris! *****+
Rudi ......anyone who enters this mountain database promo competition deserves ***** for effort in trying to promote GLOBO's facilities. The least anyone of us can do, to my mind, is try to utilise and promote the facilities that are so generously donated to us by GLOBOsapiens.
Glad you decided to support the effort!
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