Schärtenspitze

Overview

Thanks to SP member EricChu for providing some great photos for this page!

Schärtenspitze is a nice day-hike from Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. It is situated in the Berchtesgaden National Park in the southeast of Germany, near the Austrian border. Geographically it is part of the Hochkalter Group within the Berchtesgaden Alps.

At 2153 m it gives with good weather excellent views of the surrounding higher peaks, such as the Blaueisspitze, Hochkalter and Watzmann. The climb to the summit is nothing technical and can be done up and down in less than two hours from the Blaueishütte. Some parts do have a fixed rope to pull yourself up to, which is necessary in some parts.

Most people actually hike up to the blaueishütte and walk on to the Blaueisglacier, the most northern glacier in the Alps, which is only 20 minutes away from the hut. Before reaching the glacier the trail splits up in three: to the summit of Schärtenspitze, to Hochkalter, or to the glacier.

To get to the Blaueishütte the trail is also well indicated from the several trailheads from Ramsau all the way to the top.

Getting There

The departure point for most mountains in the area is Berchtesgaden. This is where buses leave (in front of the train station) to Ramsau and other neighbouring villages where you find the trailhead. Berchtesgaden can easily be reached from Salzburg (about an 1,5 hour by train) or Munich (three hours by train). You will, in both cases, probably have to change in Freilassing, where you take a connecting train further on.

The center of town of Berchtesgaden lies on a hill behind the train station. There is a bridge going over the railroad tracks and a path takes you in a few minutes to the old town center. Here you will find the tourist information office and also the Nationalpark Haus (open from 9 to 5, see the link below) where you can get info and maps about the national park.

For a timetable of the buses from Berchtesgaden to Ramsau check
www.rvo-bus.de (see also the link below). Buses run every hour or hour and a half. When I had to wait to long I tried hitchhiking and got a ride within a couple of minutes to Ramsau, which is only ten minutes away.

The best thing to do is either to get off at the stop Seeklause at Ramsau-Hintersee or at the church, and continue a few minutes along the road untill you reach a parking at the Pfeiffenmackerbrücke, where the trail is indicated. In both cases you pass the Schärtenalm where you can get some food and drinks, although I believe not in winter. From Seeklause it should take about 2,5 hours and from Pfeiffenmackerbrücke 3 hours to the Blaueishütte.

Red tape and camping

Schärtenspitze lies with the Berchtesgaden National Park with the usual restrictions.

Camping within the National Park is forbidden. There is a camping at Ramsau, but it is also a few kilometers away from most trailheads.

However, if you intend to explore more of the area your best option to camp is at Schönau am Königsee, because there is no campsite at Berchtesgaden.
A nice campsite is the Grafenlehen camping, a short walk from the Königsee parking, where the bus stop to Berchtesgaden is.

It is also possible to stay at the Blaueishütte from May untill October, (more info at http://www.blaueishuette.de)

The Schärtenspitze can also be included in larger day hikes. When you, for example, summit from the Blaueishütte and descend on the other side towards the Hochalm and from there on either head back to Ramsau or continue into the Wimbach valley and hike to the Wimbachgrieshütte to spend the night (http://www.wimbachgrieshuette.de).

When to go

Schärtenspitze can be climbed all year round although the best seasons are probably summer and autumn.
Consider that in winter and early spring it can be covered in lots of snow.

Below a weather sticker of the nearby weather station of Anif, Austria gives an idea of the weather in the area.

External Links

Link to the local bus Berchtesgaden-Ramsau:
Timetable Berchtesgaden-Ramsau

Link to the website of the Berchtesgaden National Park:
Berchtesgaden National Park

Link to the website of Ramsau village:
www.ramsau.de

Images

View Schärtenspitze Image Gallery - 30 Images