Alpspitze

Every year at the end of the season, PowderGuide invites all authors, ConditionsReporters, testers, snowstormers, PowderAlerters - in other words, the large PG community - for a weekend in the mountains as a thank you. It's not just about socializing, but also about sharing and discussing, as well as reviewing the season with all topics related to freeriding and ski touring - and of course being out in the snow. On Saturday, it is a tradition to offer one or more workshops - this winter, PowderGuide was able to win over snow rummager Lukas Ruetz, Lorenzo Rieg and Fabiano Monti and Walter Steinkogler from ALPsolut. This time they were invited to the very cozy Stuibenhütte, beautifully situated below the Alpspitze.

The Alpspitze stands strikingly above Garmisch-Partenkirchen - so striking that it has become the symbol of the northern Limestone Alps. With its north face visible from afar and the dead-straight south-east ridge, the Alpspitze has long since overtaken Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze. Every ambitious ski mountaineer should have climbed the landmark of Garmisch-Partenkirchen at least once in their life - and ideally early in the morning before the lifts open, directly from the Stuibenhütte. The descent over the eastern flank with the sweeping view as far as the Bavarian Alpine foothills is breathtaking and unforgettable!

This somewhat unusual ski and mountain tour starts at the mountain station of the Alpspitzbahn, which can be reached either from Garmisch-Partenkirchen via the Alpspitzbahn or from the Kreuzeck ski resort via the Hochalmbahn. A sporty alternative is to climb the first 1250 meters in altitude on skis or snowshoes via the Kreuzeck (1650 m) to the mountain station, saving some energy for the Alpspitz-Ferrata (via ferrata). Below the Osterfelderkopf summit, you have a wonderful view of the remaining 650 meters of altitude that lie ahead: The steep ascent through the north face to the 2628 m high Alpspitz summit.