The Alpspitze is a mountain, 2628 m, in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany. Its pyramidal peak is the symbol of

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

and is one of the best known and most attractive mountains of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the ...

. It is made predominantly of Wetterstein limestone from the Upper

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

Ascent

Several ''

klettersteig A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other Alpine locations. The protection includes steel fixtures such as cables and railing ...

s'' run up the Alpspitze. The shortest ascent starts at the valley station of ''Osterfelderkopf'' (2,033 m) on the Alpspitze Cable Car from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From the Osterfelderkopf the Alpspitze may be climbed either directly along the Alpspitz-Ferrata, an easy, mostly protected and much frequented ''klettersteig'' (ca. 2 hours Another ascent runs from the col of ''Grießkarscharte'' (2,460 m), which is reached either from the Höllentalanger Hut in the Höllental valley via the cirque of ''Mathaisenkar'' (involving a ''klettersteig'') or from the lake of Stuibensee via the ''Grießkar'' cirque. The popular route from the Alpspitze via the arete of

Jubiläumsgrat The Jubiläumsgrat ("Jubilee Arête") or Jubiläumsweg ("Jubilee Way"), also nicknamed ''Jubi'' in climbing circles, is the name given to the climbing route along the arête between the Zugspitze (2,962 m) and the Hochblassen (2,706 m) (hence i ...

to the

Zugspitze The Zugspitze ( , ; ), at above Normalhöhennull, sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border ...

is a long and difficult climbing tour, which involves

UIAA The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union internationale des associations d'alpinisme (UIAA; ), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France when 20 mountaineering associations met for ...

grade III sections.

Summit cross

The

summit cross A summit cross is a Christian cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or other weatherproof case. The practice originated in the Ge ...

was erected in 1946 by Richard Weber and Kaspar Jocher together with the Roman Catholic ''Kolpingsfamilie'' of Garmisch. On the 25th and 50th anniversary of its installation a commemorative plaque was fixed to the cross.

Observation platform

At its base is the ' AlpspiX Viewing Platform', 2 curved metal walkways reaching out 13 metres (42 feet) over a cliff, crossing over each other, making the shape of an X. Garmisch 5

Gallery

File:Alpspitze_mit_Blick_auf_das_Loisachtal.jpg, The Alpspitze with a view of the Loisach valley File:GipfelkreuzAlpspitze.JPG, Summit cross on the Alpspitze with its

summit register A summit book or summit register is a record of visitors to the summit of a mountain. It is usually enclosed in a weatherproof, animal-proof metal casing. Some books are maintained in an informal manner by an individual or small group, while oth ...

File:Alpspitze.JPG, The Alpspitze (right) and Hochblassen (left) from the Schachen ascent File:Alpspitze_mit_Gleitschirmflieger.jpg, The Alpspitze and paragliders File:Alpspitze0306.jpg, The Alpspitze in winter File:Alpspitze 1.JPG, The Alpspitze and the Osterfelder

top station A top station or upper stationFor example, se''Chairlift Blausee (upper station)''at www.outdooractive.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019. is usually the highest station of an aerial lift, a funicular, a T-bar lift or a rack railway. The lowest station is ...

References

External links

AlpspiX Viewing Platform
{{Authority control Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of the Alps Two-thousanders of Germany Articles containing video clips