Zugspitze

The Zugspitze crowns Germany at 2,962 metres - a shark-fin of Wetterstein limestone on the Austrian border, reached with theatrical ease. The 2017 cable car from the emerald Eibsee set three world records at its opening - the tallest steel pylon ever built for an aerial tramway at 127 metres, a free span of 3,213 metres, and a rise of 1,945 metres in a single section - while the 1930 cogwheel railway still burrows its patient tunnel to the glacier plateau of the Zugspitzplatt. On clear days the summit terraces count peaks across four countries; the gilded cross stands a short scramble from the viewing decks, Germany's highest ski slopes spread below through winter and spring, and two nations' lift systems meet at the top, so lunch can change countries without changing tables.

History

The first recorded ascent was made on 27 August 1820 by a survey team under Lieutenant Josef Naus, though a map of 1770 suggests local people had reached the top over 50 years earlier; the mountain never belonged to Tyrol but to the lordship of Werdenfels under the Prince-Bishopric of Freising. The first winter ascent came on 7 January 1882, the pilot Frank Hailer landed a ski plane on the Schneeferner glacier on 19 March 1922, and on 29 April 1927 Ernst Udet took off from it in a glider and landed at Lermoos after 25 minutes; in the winter of 1931/32 a post office opened on the summit (Wikipedia, Zugspitze).

Highlights

• The record cable car - ten minutes from Eibsee to the summit on a single 127 m pylon.
• The summit cross - the gilded marker of Germany's roof, terraces alongside.
• The Zugspitzplatt - glacier plateau, chapel and Germany's highest ski runs.
• The Eibsee below - the emerald lake framing the descent's finest minutes.

When to go

Clear weather is everything - check the summit webcams before committing. June to September gives the walking and the terraces; deep winter and spring serve the ski plateau and the sharpest air.

Good to know

Summit tickets are genuinely expensive and midday cabins pack tight - go first thing. Cloud can erase the entire point of the trip, and the summit is cold even in August; the cogwheel-up, cable-car-down loop is the satisfying way to do it.

Nearby

Eibsee's shore path, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Partnach Gorge and Austria's Ehrwald side.

Key facts