The Alpspitze (not to be confused 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 weighs 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 clothes 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 miscellaneous 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 charging 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