Trettachspitze

Overview

The "Trettachspitze" or just "Trettach" is a well known and popular climbing summit south of Oberstdorf in the bavarian "Allgaeu", direct north of the most popular "Maedelegabel". In contrast to the "Maedelegabel" which can be climbed by almost every hiker, the "Trettachspitze" is a real climber's summit with the easiest route (the northwest ridge) UIAA Grade II and lots of routes ranging from Grade III to Grade VI. Very popular is the traverse via northeast ridge (ascent, Grade III) and nortwest ridge (descent, Grade II).
Although very popular among climbers in the 60s and 70s "Trettachspitze" fall into oblivion by the following "sports-climbing generation". But in the last few years the "alpine faction" discovered the mountain again, opened new routes and on sunny weekends there are now quite a lot of climbers.

Rock quality is not very good - the rock weathers easy and so there is a lot of scree and loose rocks in the routes. So it is recommended to always wear a helmet!

Because of it's shape - a real peak, not broad and massive like the most Allgaeu mountains - it is also called the "Matterhorn of the Allgaeu"!(Unfortunately I don't have photo of "Trettachspitze" but I will make up for this as soon as possible! :-)

On one of our visits to the "Waltenberger Haus" (the alpine "base camp" hut for "Trettachspitze") a native told us very proudly that the "Trettach" is the highest peak in the "Allgaeu"! At first we were surprised because there are other, higher mountains next to "Trettach" (for example "Maedelegabel", "Hochfrottspitze" and many more nearby). But then he declared that "Trettach" is the only summit with the whole mountain on german (and that is allgaeu) territory! All the other summits form the border between Germany and Austria - and so "Trettachspitze" might really be the highest summit of the Allgaeu! :-)

Getting There

By car:
On road B19 to Oberstdorf. Don't drive into the town centre but turn right in the direction to "Fellhornbahn" and "Birgsau". At the intersection "Spielmannsau"/"Birgsau" turn right and drive until the big parking site of the "Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze". Here the parking is free - if you drive on until the parking site of the Fellhornbahn they carge you 2,50 Euro per day!
From either parking site take the bus to "Birgsau" (the last bus stop) or walk along the road.

By public transport:
By train to Oberstdorf. At the train station there is also the bus terminal. Take the bus to "Birgsau".

"Base camp" for most of the routes onto "Trettachspitze" is the "Waltenberger Haus" (see below) which you reach from "Birgsau" in about 3 hours.

Take the bus until the final stop in "Birgsau" and walk straight on to "Einoedsbach". A good idea is also to bring a bike (either with the car oder the train) and ride to "Einoedsbach" - that saves a lot of time and makes a one day trip onto "Trettachspitze" or one of the summits nearby much easier!.
"Einoedsbach" is the southernmost inn in Germany and also the southernmost place which is inhabited the whole year round! You can also stay overnight at quite reasonable prizes! From "Einoedsbach" you reach the "Waltenberger Haus" in about three hours on a very beautiful and impressive hiking path.

Red Tape

No restrictions.
But they charge you a horrendous fee at the parking site at the Fellhorn cableway station - 2,50 Euro per day!!
So you better park your car a few kilometers before at the parking site of the "Skiflugschanze" (ski-jump). There the parking is free and you can go the last few kilometers to Birgsau by bus or just hike.

When To Climb

Best time to climb "Trettachspitze" is in summer, beginning with mid-June, and early fall. Earlier in the year there is a lot of snow in the ascent to the hut and further on!
But you have to be aware that even in summer there could be still a lot of snow in the northern ascents to "Waltenberger Haus". There even could be snowfall in mid-July making the ascents very hard and difficult!

You also should be aware that "Trettachspitze" is situated next to "Maedelegabel" and "Heilbronner Weg". Both are very famous and popular spots for hikers. So on sunny summer weekends there are really dozens of hikers on the path up to the hut and "Waltenberger Haus" could be crowded. So my advice is to climb "Trettachspitze" not on a weekend but during the week!

Accommodation

Base for "Trettachspitze" is the "Waltenberger Haus" (2084 m), a smaller hut of the DAV (German Alpine Club). It offers 75 places and is open from mid-June to the beginning of October.
Although it is not lying direct at the "Heilbronner Weg" it could be overcrowded on summer weekends!
Tel.: 0049/(0)8379/7486

Mountain Conditions

If you want to have a look onto the surrounding area of "Trettachspitze" you can use the following webcams:

Webcam from "Nebelhorn" onto the Allgaeu Alps
The "Trettachspitze" itself is not visible at the picture. It is just outside of the picture on the right. But it gives you a good impression about the weather and snow conditions in the Allgaeu Alps.

Webcam from "Fellhorn" onto the area southwest of the "Trettachspitze". The "Trettachspitze" itself is not visible at the picture. It is further to the left . But it gives you a good impression about the weather and snow conditions in the Allgaeu Alps.

Guides and Maps

The following guide book and the map should be essential if you would like to do some hiking or climbing tours at "Trettachspitze" or other mountains in the Allgaeu Alps.

Dieter Seibert / Heinz Groth
Alpenvereinsführer Allgäuer Alpen
Bergverlag Rother, München, new issue in May 2003
ISBN 3-7633-1126-2

Umgebungskarte 1:50 000
UK L8 Allgäuer Alpen
Bayrisches Landesvermessungsamt, München, 1998
ISBN 3-86038-011-7

And here are two special guide books offering selected climbing routes on "Trettachspitze" an other summits in the Allgaeu Alps.

Achim Pasold
Allgäu-Kletterführer - Alpine Klettereien und Klettergärten
Panico Alpinverlag, Köngen, 1998

Stefan Meineke
Allgäu Kletterführer
Akademische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig, 1998

Climbing History

On special request from Mathias I add a few sentences about the climbing history of the "Trettachspitze" which isn't uninteresting.
In contrast to most other summits in the Alps the "Trettachspitze" wasn't first climbed by foreigners accompanied or led by guides, but by natives. The two brothers Jochum climbed "Trettachspitze" for the first time in 1855 via the northeast ridge. In the same year one of the brothers climbed the mountain also via the northwest ridge.

The east face was first climbed in 1902. With a height of 440 meters it is one of the largest and most demanding routes in the Allgaeu.

In the 90's the guides Robert Jasper and Matthias Robl opened very hard and demanding routes up to UIAA Grade VII in the west face.

(to be continued ... as soon as I get new info :-)

External Links

• Report of a traverse (german)
  Ascent over the Northeast Ridge, descent over Northwest ridge. Report from www.gipfelstuermer.de
  

Images

View Trettachspitze Image Gallery - 15 Images