Obermoos - Zugspitze (Stopselziehersteig)

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards Spittal and forward towards Lienz (a little after Spittal highway ends). Further, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through Drau valley, which brings us in Italy. The road further leads past Dobbiaco / Toblach and Brunico / Bruneck. We still continue on the main road and then we join the highway towards Austria (direction Brenner, Innsbruck). In Innsbruck we continue on the highway which runs towards the west by the river Inn (at the highway junction direction Innsbruck-West). We leave the highway at exit for mountain pass Fernpaß. We continue driving through the mentioned mountain pass and when the road starts descending we continue right towards the settlement Ehrwald (at the turn-off there are also signs for Zugspitze). When we drive through the settlement Ehrwald at first the road towards the cableway Ehrwalder Almbahn branches off to the right. At the mentioned crossroad, we still continue straight, and then we soon come to a crossroad where we go right towards the cableway Tiroler Zugspitze. We park on a parking lot at the bottom station of the cable car.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue past the bottom cableway station following the signs »Zugspitze / Wiener Neustädter Hütte«. At the beginning, the path turns a little to the right and then we go left on a cart track which runs by the forest on a grassy slope. For some time we are ascending like this, and then we come to a crossing where signposts point us to the left into dwarf pines. On the path through dwarf pines there is more and more of torrent sand and soon the sign on the rock points us slightly to the right on a little nicer path on a grassy terrain. From the path, we have otherwise a nice view towards the mountains west from the settlement Ehrwald, increasingly beautiful is also a view on the nearby precipitous walls of the peak Schneefernerkopf.
The path then soon brings us on the scree and starts ascending a little steeper. Further, the path turns a little to the left and for a short time again ascends on a little more vegetated slope. Higher, we come again on the scree on which we are for some time ascending in zig-zags. Left from the path, we will here also notice some structures of an old cableway.
Further, the path brings us on slopes below the cableway where there is also a marked crossing. At the crossing, we continue straight, left downwards leads the path towards the lake Eibsee. The path which is occasionally secured with a steel cable then crosses a little steeper northern slopes. Later, the path turns right and only a short ascent follows to the hut Wiener Neustädter Hütte.
At the mountain hut, we continue left towards the east and we are then ascending on the scree, which brings us to the entrance into a secured part of the path.
The secured path at first moderately ascends by the steel cable after that follows an ascent through a natural draught-hole. Further, the path is for some time steeply ascending with the help of numerous stemples. Higher, the slope becomes a little less steep but mostly still secured with a steel cable. In between there are also few unsecured sections, which are not very demanding. Such a path then runs all the way to the ridge by which there is also an abandoned building of old cable car. On the ridge where there is a crossing from the right side joins a slightly easier path from the ski slope Zugspitze. Ski slope is otherwise with the peak connected with a cable car, and to a ski slope runs also a train.
At the crossing, we continue left and we are then ascending on a well-settled secured path by the ridge. From the path which runs on the eastern side of the ridge we have otherwise all the time a nice view towards the ski slope and on the nearby peaks above the ski slope. For some time we are ascending by the ridge after that follows an ascent on stairs to the upper stations of cable cars.
If we want to go also to the summit on which stands a cross, we continue on the German side past the mountain hut Münchener Haus and go on a short secured path towards the summit. The path here at first slightly descends, and then on a ladder ascends to the ridge where more demanding secured paths from the German side join. Only a short ascent on the ridge follows to the top from which a view opens up towards the glacier Höllentalferner and on a ridge towards the summit Alpspitze.

On the way: Wiener Neustädter Hütte (2213m)