Wimbachbrücke - Watzmann Mittelspitze

Access to starting point:
From Slovenia on the highway, we go towards Salzburg. Just before the town we choose exit Grödig and follow the signs for Berchtesgaden. In Berchtesgaden we go towards the settlement Ramsau (road follows river Ramsau Ache) and we soon get to the starting point Wimbachbrücke. Here we park on a payable parking lot. The time of driving from Ljubljana is approximately 3 h 15 min.

Path description:
From the parking lot Wimbachbrücke we go towards the mountain hut Watzmannhaus. On the sign is otherwise written 4 hours of walking, but in a moderate tempo, we will be already after three hours at destination. The path is at the beginning ascending by the stream Wimbach. The path is steep but well-settled, so that we can ascend there also on the mountain bike. The path is ascending in the shade of trees. After approximately one hour of walking, we get to the mountain pasture, where a view opens up on the northern side. The settled path continues all the way to the fenced pasture, where cows are grazing and stands a cottage. Here the path becomes steeper and rocky. After two hours of walking, we leave the forest and we get to the next wooden cottage. Here is also a turn-off for the path towards the lake Königssee - we continue towards Watzmannhaus. The path becomes even more rocky and is steeply winding towards the top of the ridge. Before our destination there are some wooden stairs and after more than three hours we finally get to the mountain hut Watzmannhaus. We walked 1300 altitude meters.
From the mountain hut Watzmannhaus we continue on the ridge in the direction of Watzmann-Hocheck. The path starts to ascend steeply. We are ascending in zig-zags by the right side of the ridge. The path is on some parts indistinct, but blazes are quite frequent. There are possible various paths, which intertwine each other. We follow the one, which suits us best. After one hour of ascent, we get to steel cables. Self-belay set isn't necessary. Here we know, that half of the ascent is still awaiting. On the left side a view is opening up on Watzmannfrau, and on the right on neighbouring mountain Hochkalter. After approximately two hours we get to peak Hocheck, on which there are two crosses (one with and second without Jesus). The peak is narrow and exposed. On the south side, we can descend to bivouac, where a view opens up on Mittelspitze.
Ridge path starts at the bivouac, where there is enough space to prepare the equipment. We immediately start with the most exposed part of the path: descend on a narrow ridge, where we get help from a steel fence. The path slightly widens, fixed safety gear vanish, and blazes lead us on the upper ridge ahead. The path starts descending and we soon come to the lowest point of the ridge. From here on, there is again a steel cable, with the help of which we ascend over a smooth wall. Before the final ascent, we get to a smaller descent. The entire path is (there, where it is needed) well-secured, and to the summit Mittelspitze we get into less than an hour. We can return on the same path or we continue forward towards Südspitze.