caligirl56

Wondering what the driving time is from Fussen to the Garmisch area?

Also, is this way too much to do in one day:

Leave Munich and drive to Fussen (2 hours??). Visit Neuschwanstein Castle (do this rather early--and buy tickets in advance).

Then drive to the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area and hike one the of following gorges: the Partnahklamm or the Holentalklamm (which would be better?). Possibly take a cable car to the top of the Zugspitze or Alpspitz.

We would then overnight in the Tegernsee area.

We are finding so many things that we want to do--the days just seem to be getting fuller and fuller. Will this work out?

enzian

caligirl---are you strong hikers? Betweent the two "Klamms", I prefer the Hohentallerklamm---it is less crowded, and a bit more rugged. (We did the Partnachklamm in laps, twice around, because it was not strenuous enough!)

If you start early, you can do a wonderful hike up the Hohentallerklamm, to the hut a short walk beyond the top, and from there a traverse and over the Rinderscharte to the top of the Alpspitze cable car, for a ride back down. Don't miss the last descent!

There is no cablecar to the top of the Alpspitze, but there is a "Klettersteig" (path secured with cables) across the face to a shoulder, from which you can scramble to the top. It is a great hike and a lot of fun, with no scary exposure but looking back afterwards you won't believe what you did! And another Klettersteig takes you straight up to the top, but I haven't done that one---you need equipment to clip in (harness and carabiners, plus helmet), I believe.

Going up the Zugspitze is nice too, but it doesn't connect with these hikes as well.

I'm afraid I can't help with the driving times---I've only traveled around there by train. But I'm pretty sure you can't leave Münich, drive to and visit Neuschwanstein, drive to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and do a hike all in one day. It took us a full day to go from G-P to the castle and back, with no wait time for the castle. We caught a 3:25 bus/train connection back to G-P, and it would have been too late to do any hikes when we got back.

caligirl56

Enzian, I have heard of a similar hike and have been trying to find someone who knows about it--with no luck until now.

The hike I have heard about involves taking the gondola to the upper station on the Alpspitze (this is at 1651 meters).From here you ascend to the crest of the northeast spur of the Alpspitze which is at 2120 meters. You then traverse the North Face through the klettersteig section. I guess there is even sort of a short tunnel section up there.

Then you descend through the Hollentalklamm. The whole hike is about 13 kilometers.

It sounds like you have actually done most of this. My son (21 yrs.) has trouble with heights sometimes. He actually had a bit of trouble on Mt. Dana in Yosemite (I think I remember you saying you'd been there (on another post) once). How do you think this compares?

Also, we are only medium-strong hikers these days. For example, we don't like to climb much more that 2000 feet--we can do it, but we're too tired the next day. (We did 3000 ft. on the Harding Icefield last July--worth it but pretty difficult for us). How difficult is the Alpspitze? (Although it sounds like you hiked up the entire thing, and took the cable car down--you must be in amazing shape!!).

ira

Hi C,

For routes and driving times see www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com

Bird

I think it's too much for one day. Take a break between the activities with a night stop in Garmisch or Mittenwald. Spend the next day hiking.

J62

Way to much to enjoy in one day, but possible to do if you are drive to rush and say you've done it.

You could also take the ski lift to the summit of the ski area right near Fuessen then trek back down to the base. Supposed to be great views of the Alps from the summit. I forget the name but they have a Sommerrodelbahn at the lower part of the mountain.

If I remember correctly it took me ~3hrs to drive from Fuessen to Garmish - not because of the distance, but rather because I stopped at a nice Feinbaeckerei for goodies, stopped at the strawberry farm on the way to pick fresh strawberries, market for ham, gasthof for a beer..... Made a day of it enjoying southern Bavaria as we came upon it rather than rushing here and there.

RufusTFirefly

If you don't stop or gawk or run into highway problems, the drive to Hohenschwangau (where Neuscwhanstein is located) is about 1-3/4 hours, and then the drive to Garmisch is about 1 hour.

Assuming you'll be there sometime from April thru September, the castle opens at 9 AM. So if you make online reservations for around 9 or 9:30 AM and leave Munich early, you'll be done with the tour by 9:45 or 10:30. Note that once you reach Hohenschwangau village, you have to get up to the castle, so allow time for that.

If you're done by 10:30, you can easily be in G-P by lunchtime, leaving the entire afternoon for whatever you want to do.

However, like J62, we gawk and stop along the way--we had lunch along the Plansee in northern Austria between Hohenschwangau and G-P, and we also stopped to visit Linderhof palace.

But if you don't stop and have the right timing, you can have a full afternoon (and a long sunny evening if you're there in the summer) in the G-P area, though I don't know if that would be enough hiking time for you.

enzian

caligirl---yes, we are talking about the same hike. We did it in two sections, on successive days, because I didn't know about it and we just kind of found our own way. We also got a late start on the day of the Hollentalklamm hike, around noon. That put us at the top of the Alpspitze lift at 5:30, just in time for the last ride down! Going the direction we did, up the Klamm and then on up to the Alpspitze, it was mostly uphill.

The direction you propose would be mostly downhill. From the top of the Alpspitze lift, it is an easy walk uphill to the start of the Nordwand Klettersteig. The one going across the face looks scary and exposed from afar, but in actuality it is not. And I have a great fear of heights and exposure! The path is quite wide (3 feet or so), and the footing is good. There is a cable along the rock to hold if you wish. There is indeed a tunnel for part of the way, and at the far end there is a very secure ladder in the rock to climb---again with minimal feeling of exposure. It was so much fun that we returned on another trip to do it again, but got snowed out!

So---across the face of the Alpspitze, and return by the same route. That need only take one or 2 hours at most. Then head over the Rinderscharte (saddle), down through and above a lovely valley, to the hut above the Hollentalklamm. And then through the Klamm to the base, where you can walk or catch the train back to Grindelwald.

Sounds like a lovely day, but you'll need a full day, and good weather. The altitude itself is not terribly high (well under 10,000 feet). And going in the direction you propose, you shouldn't have a lot of elevation gain---it's mostly downhill. The major up, as I recall, would be from the top of the Alpspitze lift/Nordwand trail area up to the Rinderscharte---maybe 500 feet, but I can check my hiking books.

caligirl56

Thank you to everyone for your all of your help. We hate to be rushed, and so have decided to add 2 days to our trip--there is never enough time for everything!

enzian--I will show your comments to my son--it should help him to know that someone else with a fear of heights enjoyed the hike. My hiking book does not have us retrace our steps back across the face of the Alpspitze. It suggests getting to the Rinderscharte by heading toward the Osterfelderkopf cable car station hut and then branching uphill a bit. Does that make any sense to you?

Looking forward to this. I've put some leeway into our itinerary, so if it rains we can postpone this hike a day or two. It sounds like a place to avoid in a thunderstorm...

Thanks again!