The Alpspitze (not to confuse with Alpspitz) is a mountain in the alps with one of the simplest via ferratas. It was my first one, too.
I documented what you need for it so that you can easily hike / climb the same route.
I planned the route as a 2-day route. One day to get to the starting point, the second day to take the route.
Equipment ¶
I'll put the German word in brackets, as I'm not totally sure about the best translation.
- Climbing helmet (Steinschlaghelm): The more expensive ones are more lightweight. Everything with EN 12492 should be good. 30 - 80 Euro ("Edelrid Zodiac" was 55 Euro and weights 359 g)
- Sit harness (Klettergurt): The more expensive ones are more lightweight / more comfortable. ("Ocun: Twist Basic XS - M" was 55 Euro)
- Ferrata set ("Elliot: Forril Tech Klettersteigset mit Bandfalldämpfer" was 65 Euro)
- Carabiner ("Mammut: HMS Bionic Twistlock Plus basalt" was 19 Euro)
- Webbing loop ("Elliot Bandschlinge 60cm" was 3 Euro)
- Travel Sheet (Hüttenschlafsack)
- Headlamp ("Moorhead Stirnlampe", about 15 Euro)
- Cycling gloves
- Map
I like the following cloths for hiking. They are comfortable in a wide range of temperatures and they don't stink that much / feel bad when you sweat:
- VAUDE Herren Hose Farley Stretch Pants II (ASIN B01HL94DU0)
- Icebreaker Herren T-Shirt Tech Lite Short Sleeve (ASIN B00L6EHH4Q)
- Odlo Herren Pullover Midlayer 1/2 Zip Sun Peaks (ASIN B00DG1BOK0)
- FALKE Herren Trekking Socken TK2 Short Coool (ASIN B001E11Y1I)
- Icebreaker Herren Unterhose Anatomica (ASIN B016D9ZS9Y)
Don't forget that it will be much colder up there than on the ground.
Other things you need / might want to take with you:
- Food (e.g. an apple, sausages and several cereal bars)
- At least 1 L of water (can be refilled at the house)
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Money (25 Euro for sleeping at Kreuzeckhaus, 60 Euro for food and miscallenious stuff, 32 Euro for the cable car)
- Medicine and hygiene stuff (For example, I always want to have tissues and dental floss with me)
- Camera
- Smartphone and loading cable / power bank
Route ¶
Day 1 (Friday, 23.09.2016) ¶
- 06:01 - 08:25: From Karlsruhe to Reutlingen Hbf via train
- 08:30 - 12:00: From Reutlingen to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (station Kreuzeck/Alpspitzbahn) via car
- 12:00: We hike to Kreuzeckhaus
Day 2 (Saturday, 24.09.2016) ¶
- 07:30: Start from Kreuzeckhaus (description)
- 12:30: Osterfelderkopf (3 km from Kreuzeckhaus and 350 m height; at 2033 m)
- 15:00: Alpspitz-Gipfel (at 2628 m)
- Going down again
- over the Ostgrat, down to the Oberkar
- Nordwandsteig
- 17:00: back to Osterfelderkopf
- with cable car down to the valley
- Going back to Karlsruhe