Kreuzspitze

Start at the walkers' car park 'bei den Sieben Quellen' (Parkplatz Ammerwald) on the state road from Ettal and Linderhof, right at the German–Austrian border about 7 km beyond Schloss Linderhof and below the hairpin bends. Follow the Kreuzspitze signs into the woods, cross a dry riverbed and turn left into the forest. After a gentle start and a flat stretch the path climbs in many moderate zigzags. In the Hochgrießkar the trail becomes stonier and steeper and leads to the Schwarzenköpfel, a viewpoint at 1,897 m among dwarf pines. After a short descent the steep final section begins: switchbacks through broken, increasingly rocky ground where you use your hands several times, though it never becomes truly difficult. Red waymarks guide you; the upper ridge section is reported as poorly marked in places, and erosion makes the stretch from the cirque to the ridge slippery. Just below the top the path from the Kuchelberg ridge joins from the right; a few easy minutes lead to the summit. Descend the same way. There are no huts, springs or refreshments on the route. Avoid it in rain or on wet rock, and in snow or ice the north-facing upper section becomes serious. The alternative from the east over the Kuchelberg ridge (from the Kuchelbachtal car park near Graswang, about 1,280 m of ascent) meets the normal route just below the summit; its final section to the junction is harder (around T4-) and partly protected by a steel cable or chains.