Hiking (mountain trail, in places narrow and exposed)
Alpine route (equipped or very exposed section, snow field, blocks)
A65
Tannheim » Prinz-Luitpold-Haus
Trail crossing
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9h10 |
20.8 km
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1742 m
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1000 m
A long stage with a distinct alpine character offering wonderful vantage points lies ahead. From Tannheim, follow the course of the Älpelebach stream to the Älpele pasture. The trail takes you over the Geißhorn peak, which offers great views, and southwards around the Rauhhorn peak to the picturesque Schrecksee lake. Then continue over the Lahnerscharte gap and the Jubiläumsweg trail before arriving at the Bockkarscharte gap, and then walk down to the Prinz-Luitpold-Haus lodge.
From the town centre of Tannheim, head westward into the village of Kienzen and the valley of the Älpele-Bach stream. There, follow the forest road to the Älpele Alp (1,526m). The adjoining footpath first leads to the south west and then south in the direction of the Gaishorn peak. The gravel trail leads up along the steep northern flank to the summit ridge. The Gaishorn is an outstanding lookout mountain! The descent follows a southward direction to the Geiseck, which at the same times marks the start of the so-called “Jubiläumsweg” (Jubilee Trail). From there, continue down into the scree-covered terrain of the Geißeck and below the rocky precipices of the eastern face of the Rauhhorn up again to the 1,956 metre-high pass between the Rauhhorn and Kugelhorn. There at the Hintere Schafwanne mountain, the wonderful view and the far-ranging panorama over the Tannheim mountains can be enjoyed. Next, the western rock faces of the Kugelhorn (2,126m) and the grassy slope of the Knappenkopf are crossed. The trail now leads in the shadow of the western slopes of the Kirchdach past the Schrecksee lake standing at 1,802m and again gently up to the Lahnerkopfscharte pass. From here, the trail becomes somewhat easier. A gently undulating path leads around the eastern side of the Lahnerkopf, Schänzlespitz and Schänzlekopf peaks. There is a sweeping view over the majestic mountain scenery in the south to the Hochvogel area. The Kalter Winkel pass, the detritus of the Fuchskar ravine, the bizarre dolomite teeth of the Roßkarspitze and the Fuchsensattel pass can soon be clearly distinguished. To the right lies the northern face of the Kreuzspitze peak with its rocky outcrops falling away to the east. In front are the Balkenscharte pass and Fuchskarspitze peak. Under the Schänzlekopf peak carpeted in mountain pine, the almost horizontal path loops to the west. Your eyes will be repeatedly drawn to the glorious setting of the sprawling Schwarzwassertal valley and its woodland. The walk across green slopes of jagged scree over to the summit region of the 2,097m high Sattelköpfe peaks is very enjoyable. After the rock faces of the Notländ and in front of the Lichtalpe at the fork in the road, keep to the right and follow the sign across steep grass-covered slopes of jagged scree, to follow the gully in the shadow of the northern precipice of the Kesselspitze peak in sharp, scree-covered bends to the Bockkarscharte pass (do not confuse with the Heilbronner trail above the Waltenberger lodge!). Half way to the Bockkarscharte pass, an impressive view over the Tannheim and Lechtal mountains and the Zugspitz range opens out once again. On reaching the Bockkarscharte pass, a completely new landscape picture opens out before the hiker. On the left side, the Wiedemer with the Wildergruppe range towers up on the left with the Große Widderstein rising up in the background; the steep summit ridge of the Höfat and the extensive Nebelhorn-Daumengruppe range can also be distinguished. Directly below lies the Prinz-Luitpold lodge, in the shadow of the Wiedemerkopf and the strong shape of its dolomite stone. From the Prinz Luitpold lodge, head over the Bockkarscharte pass following the signs for the "Jubiläumsweg" trail to the Schrecksee lake and on to the Geiseck between the Rauhhorn and Gaishorn peaks. From here, 30min takes you up the southern side of the Gaishorn to its summit. The descent leads down the initially steep northern side in the direction of Schnurschrofen to the Älpele Alp and from there to Tannheim. (Matthias Hill, DAV-Section Allgäu-Immenstadt)
Natural and cultural heritage
Tannheim (“settlement near the fir trees”) is the main town and namesake of the Tannheim valley and the Tannheim mountains, which belong to the Allgäu Alps. Glaciers hollowed out the wide valley, which was used until the 14th century only for alpine farming. Then the woodland was cleared and the damp valley floor drained, thus creating ever more cultivation land, which with the dependence at the time on agriculture was important for survival. As the valley was sold to Tyrol in 1432, Bajuwaric (Tyrolean) influence was mixed with Alemannic (Allgäu) influence, and this is still reflected today in the languange and farmland names. The section from the Gaishorn peak to the Prinz-Luitpold-Haus lodge runs over the northern foothills of the Allgäu main ridge and is one of the most panoramic high-altitude trails in the Allgäu region. The flowery splendour already mentioned in the previous stage can also be admired on this stage. The alpine economy has the Allgäu to thank for the well-tended cultural landscape that reaches altitudes of 2,000 metres. There are over 600 Alps – as the pastureland is called – with around 30,000 head of cattle in the Allgäu, more than anywhere else in Germany. Without the grazing and maintenance of the pastureland, this cultural landscape created by man would quickly become overgrown and lost its attractive quality. The Allgäu mountain woodland boasts a diverse birdlife and with a bit of luck, a circling golden eagle may be spotted further up – their population totals about 10 breeding pairs. The alpine choughs are virtually always there when it comes to sandwich time. They enjoy showing off their flying skills in order to catch some of your meal. Other representatives of the Allgäu animal world are the marmots and ibexes in the area of the Allgäu main ridge, a very close community of chamois and red deer and the rarer mountain hare, alpine salamander, rock ptarmigan, black grouse and northern viper (to name just a few). Parts of the Allgäu Alps are marked out as nature reserves, in order to preserve the “mountain wonderland, which for many has become the embodiment of the Bavarian Alps”. (Michael Kleider)
Useful topographic maps
Allgäuer Alpen ~ Bayerisches Landesvermessungsamt München (1 : 50.000)
Nr. 4 Füssen - Außerfern ~ Kompass (1:50.000)
ÖK 50 84, 114 ~ Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen (1:50.000)
Useful guidebooks
Allgäuer Alpen und Ammergauer Alpen, Dieter Seibert ~ Bergverlag Rother, München (ISBN 3-7633-1126-2)
Favourites, criticisms ? Make your personal comments on this stage. For more general notes please use the comments section of the page Over to the Via Alpinists.
Gabriela Scheierl - 2014-08-26
Die Gehzeiten auf der Beschilderung sind sehr großzügig angegeben. Die Angaben der Via alpina gehen im Vergleich von einem schnelleren Tempo aus.
Es ist sicher sinnvoll, seine eigene Gehzeit zu kennen und sie mit den Tourenangaben zu vergleichen.
Automatic translation
[Google]
The walking times on the signs are given very generous. The details of the Via Alpina go out in the comparison of a faster pace. It is certainly useful to know his own walk and to compare them with the tour details.
Bernhard Schabel - 2014-08-09
Guten Tag an die Macher der via-alpina-org,
meine Frau und ich wollten gestern die Etappe von Tannheim bis zum Prinzip-Luippold-Haus gehen. Dabei mussten wir feststellen, dass die Angabe der Gehzeit deutlich zu gering ist. Der Weg zum Geißhorn ist mit 4 Stunden ausgeschildert. Dort findet man dann einen Wegweise zum Prinzip-Luippold-Haus mit 7 1/2 Stunden. macht in der Summe 11 1/2 Stunden. Da wir erst um 8.30 Uhr losgegangen sind und ca. um 12.30 Uhr auf dem Geißhorn waren, war das Prinzip-Luippold-Haus nicht mehr zu schaffen. Wir sind dann nach Hinterstein abgestiegen. Bitte um Überprüfung und Korrektur.
Außerdem stimmt der Pächter des Prinzip-Luippold-Hauses nicht mehr.
Mit sportlichen Grüßen
Bernhard Schabel
Automatic translation
[Google]
Good day to the makers of the via-alpina-org, my wife and I wanted to go yesterday the stage of Tannheim to the principle-Luippold house. We have found that the specification of the walking time significantly is too low. The way to Geißhorn signposted 4 hours. There you will find then a walk way to the principle-Luippold house with 7 1/2 hours. makes the sum of 11 1/2 hours. Since we are only gone off at 8.30 clock and about 12.30 clock were on the Geißhorn, the principle-Luippold house was no more to do. We then descended by stone background. Request for review and correction. In addition, the tenant of the principle-Luippold-house is no longer correct. With best regards Bernhard Schabel
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9h10 |
20.8 km
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1742 m
|
1000 m
Favourites, criticisms ? Make your personal comments on this stage. For more general notes please use the comments section of the page Over to the Via Alpinists.