The Plattspitzen is a mountain in the

Wetterstein Mountains 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 Garmi ...

on the border between

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It is a very striking mountain and the southern companion of Germany's highest peak, 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 ...

, located at the opposite end of the ledge known as the ''Plattumrahmung''. The mountain has three summits: the eastern summit, known as the ''Gatterlspitz'' (2,680 m), the middle summit (''Mittelgipfel'', 2,674 m) and the western summit (''Westgipfel'', 2,676 m). It was first climbed in 1871 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 ...

, who conquered all three peaks alone departing from the ''

Zugspitzplatt 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 ...

'' ledge. At that time the mountain was also known as the ''Wetterschrofen''.

Location

The mountain is made of

Wetterstein limestone The Wetterstein Formation is a regional geologic formation of the Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians extending from southern Bavaria, Germany in the west, through northern Austria to northern Hungary and western Slovakia in the east ...

and lies just under 3 kilometres south of the

, forming the southern cornerstone of the Zugspitze massif. One kilometre to the west it meets the higher, but much less prominent Wetterspitzen (2,746 m). To the south, towards the valley of 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 ...

, the mountain has a very steep and rugged face, about 700 metres high.

Base and climbing

The Plattspitzen can be climbed from the Knorr Hut (2,052 m) to the northeast by crossing the ''Platt'' along the northwestern ridge, parts of which are medium difficulty (in places up to Grade III).{{Cite web , url=http://www.gps-tracks.com/gps-alpin-tour-wettersteingebirge-knorr-h%C3%BCtte-(2052-m.%C3%BC.m.)-H01136.html , title=gps-tracks.com , access-date=2010-08-14 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711122121/http://www.gps-tracks.com/gps-alpin-tour-wettersteingebirge-knorr-h%C3%BCtte-(2052-m.%C3%BC.m.)-H01136.html , archive-date=2011-07-11 , url-status=dead The duration of this route up to the eastern summit is about five hours.

References

Sources and maps

*Alpenvereinskarte 1:25.000, Blatt 4/2, ''Wetterstein- und Mieminger Gebirge'' Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of Tyrol (federal state) Two-thousanders of Austria International mountains of Europe Wetterstein Two-thousanders of Germany