Wimbachbrücke - Watzmann Hocheck

Access to starting point:
From Slovenia, we head towards Salzburg on the motorway. Just before the town, we choose the exit Grödig and follow the signs for Berchtesgaden. In Berchtesgaden, we head towards the settlement Ramsau (the road follows the river Ramsau Ache) and soon arrive at the starting point Wimbachbrücke. Here we park on a paid parking lot. The driving time from Ljubljana is approximately 3 h 15 min.

Path description:
From the parking lot Wimbachbrücke we head towards the mountain hut Watzmannhaus. The sign otherwise says 4 hours of walking, but at a moderate pace we will already reach the destination after three hours. The path at the beginning ascends along the stream Wimbach. The path is steep but well-maintained, so that it can also be tackled on a mountain bike. The path ascends in the shade of trees. After approximately one hour of walking, we arrive at the alpine pasture, where a view opens up on the northern side. The maintained path continues all the way to the fenced pasture, where cows are grazing and a hut stands. Here the path becomes steeper and rocky. After two hours of walking, we leave the forest and arrive at the next wooden hut - emergency shelter. Here there is also a turn-off for the path towards the lake Königssee - we continue towards Watzmannhaus. The path becomes even more rocky and winds steeply towards the top of the ridge. Before the destination, some wooden steps await us and after more than three hours we finally arrive at the mountain hut Watzmannhaus. We have covered 1300 elevation meters.
From the mountain hut Watzmannhaus we continue along the ridge in the direction of Watzmann-Hocheck. The path starts to ascend steeply. We ascend in switchbacks along the right side of the ridge. The path is indistinct at times, but the blazes are quite frequent. Several different paths are possible, which intertwine with each other. We follow the one that suits us best. After one hour of ascent, we arrive at the steel cables. A self-belay set is not necessary. Here we know that half of the ascent still awaits us. On the left side, a view opens up on Watzmannfrau, on the right on the neighbouring mountain Hochkalter. After approximately two hours, we arrive at the summit of Hocheck, on which two crosses are placed (one with and the other without Jesus). The summit is narrow and exposed. On the southern side, we can descend to the bivouac, where a view opens up on Mittelspitze. We return on the same path.

On the way: Watzmannhaus (1930m)