Roßstein and Buchstein Hike

Published on 2006-5-25 by Michael Stanton

Roßstein and Buchstein

May 25, 2006

Timing: Left house at 10:45, traffic was heavy. Parked car at trailhead at 12:00 pm, on summit of Buchstein at 1:15, and Roßstein at 1:30. Back at car at 2:15. Battery dead! After jump, left parking lot at 2:30, home at 3:30.

Bad weather for the weekend depressed me, forcing cancellation of a fun plan. Also the kids got sick with a high fever, cancelling the secondary plan to take a family trip to Italy. Darn! So, I figured I should at least get some exercise, so I picked a likely looking peak nearby: The Buchstein. The trail wastes no time, climbing up through forest in many tight switchbacks. With my late start I was amazed at all the people on the trail . I passed everyone I saw. I don't think I was mister speedy or anything, but I found it strange how much clothing everyone was wearing. I mean, folks hiking up in blue jeans, wearing a sweater and then a "Gore-Tex" jacket over that. Huh? I think you'd have to hike very slowly to avoid overheating. I don't think I saw anyone else dressed as I was in a short-sleeve shirt.

Once above the trees, I was impressed by the neat rock climbs on the Roßstein and Buchstein. I saw a few parties climbing and envied them! Still, the trail is fairly exciting, because it goes up a steep flank of the Roßstein and you need to use your hands on nice (but polished) rock. The way was also "protected" with a cable, but it wasn't necessary to touch. I followed the trail along the side of the peak to the charming Tegernseer Hütte. How neat, the way it is perched on the edge of a cliff! It was very crowded - I might have gotten an apfelstruedel but the line snaked out the door. Instead I walked behind the house to begin the scramble up the Buchstein. This was really fun, kind of like "The Haystack" on Mount Si back in Washington. Happily there were no cables snaking along the way. The rock was very polished, and if the holds weren't so positive and rounded that would have been a little bit unnerving. This scramble also looks much steeper than it is - it looks vertical from a distance. I saw a man gingerly going down and I honestly thought he was on 5th class terrain (maybe III+/IV-), but it's more like II+, or 3rd/4th class.

Then I headed down to the hut and back up to tag Roßstein, which had great views to the south. An uneventful descent to the car followed, after some more wistful looks at the climbing parties, undeterred by a few drops of rain.

On the way down from the Sonnberg Alm, on the trail to the Roßstein.

There are some 1 and 2 pitch climbs on this little tower shortly below the summit of Roßstein. Indeed, the whole area abounds in nice looking rock climbs. Some people were top roping a steep slab just out of sight on the left.

Looking north on the Buchstein and the lovely Tegernseehütte at it's base. Photo taken from the summit of Roßstein, late May 2006. A funny note (September, 2007): A friend of mine met his girlfriend at this hut...she works there. Lately, he disappears every Friday night to hike/bike up in the dark, and comes back Monday morning after a screaming bike ride down at 6 am. Currently, they have a 1/2 meter of snow around the hut.

A close up of the Tegernseer Hütte, from the summit of Roßstein. The "trail" to climb Buchstein goes directly up the intimidating-looking crack behind the house. It's not as steep as it looks, happily.

The warden of the Tegernseer Hütte apparently has strong feelings about cell phones! "Please disable/destroy your cell phone here." (Although it's not a mountain picture, I submit it because it is part of the mountain experience in Europe, where huts abound and everyone has to be a little polite to keep a feeling of wilderness. It is a commentary on contemporary mores, and/or a humorous reflection on the trials and travails of being a hut warden in the mountains.) :-D.

From the summit of Buchstein, the Roßstein is easily seen and must be hiked. :-).