__NOTOC__ At , the Hochwanner (formerly: ''Kothbachspitze'') is the second highest mountain in Germany
at en.tixik.com. Accessed on 10 Feb 2010. after 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 ...

(if the somewhat higher

Schneefernerkopf The Schneefernerkopf is a peak in the Zugspitze massif in the Alps. It lies at the western end of the Wetterstein chain in the Alps on the border between the German state of Bavaria and the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the dominant mountain in ...

is only considered as a sub-peak of the Zugspitze). In addition the Hochwanner is the highest peak on the main ridge of the

Wetterstein The Wetterstein mountains (), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps, crossing the Austria–Germany border. It is a comparatively compact range located between Gar ...

(''Wettersteinhauptkamm'') running from ''Gatterl'' to the Upper Wettersteinspitze (''Oberen Wettersteinspitze'') above

Mittenwald Mittenwald () is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria. Geography Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is situated in the Valley of the river Isar, ...

in an east–west direction.''Wettersteingebirge: Südseite''
at www.steinmandl.de. Accessed on 10 Feb 2010. From the Hochwanner massif there is an all-round view of the Rein valley (''Reintal''), the

Leutasch Leutasch is a municipality in the northern part of the district Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol about 30 km northwest of Innsbruck and 10 km northwest of Seefeld in Tirol Geography The village lies in the Leutaschtal, ...

valley in Austria, the

Gais Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The area of Gais is . In 1977, the village Gais received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. The ...

valley, the Zugspitze, the

Mieming Chain The Mieming(er) Range, Mieminger Chain () or Mieminger Mountains (''Mieminger Gebirge''), is a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps in the Eastern Alps. It is located entirely in Austria within the state of Tyrol (Bundesland), Tyrol. ...

, the

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 ...

, the

Karwendel The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. It is located on the Austria–Germany border. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part ...

mountains and far into the central

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. Despite being the second highest peak in Germany and having a north face which drops about 1500 m (one of the highest rock faces in the whole 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 ...

) the Hochwanner has remained a relatively unknown mountain. This is due to its relatively inaccessible location, behind the

Alpspitze The Alpspitze is a mountain, 2628 m, in Bavaria, Germany. Its pyramidal peak is the symbol of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and is one of the best known and most attractive mountains of the Northern Limestone Alps. It is made predominantly of Wett ...

and hidden by the Höllentalspitze. The more widely known, but lower

Watzmann The Watzmann () is a mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps south of the village of Berchtesgaden. It is the third highest in Germany, and the highest located entirely on German territory. Three main peaks array on a N-S axis along a ridge on the ...

is often wrongly cited as the second highest mountain in Germany. The easiest route to the summit is from the south from the Rotmoosalm (3 hours) or from Gatterl. Pathless in places or only recognisable by a faint trail it initially runs up steep grass meadows, later over a short rock climb (grade I on the UIAA scale) and then mainly over steep, laborious scree slopes to the summit. The route is sparingly marked with

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

s. The north face is a very long climb. Hochwanner was first climbed by

Hermann von Barth Hermann von Barth (5 June 1845 – 7 December 1876) was a famous German mountaineer. Life and career Hermann von Barth was born on 5 June 1845 at Eurasburg Castle. He initially studied law in Munich, where he was affiliated to the Corps Fr ...

in 1870.

Image gallery

File:Blick vom Hochwanner HQ.jpg, View from the summit of the Hochwanner towards the west File:Wetterstein Hochwanner.jpg, The north face of the Hochwanner File:Hochwanner 1900.jpg, The Hochwanner around 1900

References

External links

the Hochwanner
{{in lang, de Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of Tyrol (federal state) Wetterstein Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district) Innsbruck-Land District Two-thousanders of Austria Two-thousanders of Germany International mountains of Europe Austria–Germany border

Image gallery

See also

References

External links