Crossing the Watzmann

At the Wimbach bridge, follow the road briefly and then turn left (signposted Watzmannhaus) to cross a wooden bridge. After crossing the bridge, turn right again and follow a wide footpath uphill. The path comes to a wide forest road which you follow to the right for a short distance before leaving it again to the right in a left-hand bend (signposted). The path, which is still quite wide, now leads uphill at the same gradient and in a few hairpin bends, crossing two clear-cut areas that offer unobstructed views of the valley. The path becomes flatter and reaches the open meadows of the Stubenalm, which offers a refreshment stop along the way. Ignore a turn-off to Schönau and walk straight ahead into the forest again. At a fork, continue straight ahead. The path becomes flatter and you pass the hut's material cable car. At a fork, turn left and immediately walk across the open meadows of the Mitterkaseralm. Back in the forest, the wide path ends at an interesting forest climate station and the route now climbs more steeply on an increasingly stony mountain path. Once again you reach an open meadow and follow the Watzmannhaus sign at the fork. Finally, the route leads through mountain pines and rocky terrain on a well-maintained path (partly wooden steps) up to the Watzmannhaus. (3:30 hours from Wimbachbrücke)

The next day, the ascent from the Watzmannhaus is initially pleasant to the south-west, then increasingly steeper up the initially wide northern flank. The route continues upwards in a few hairpin bends through rugged terrain. On a steep upswing, the first wire ropes make the ascent easier. Behind this, the route continues west of the ridge on a climbing track and finally over an easy rocky passage to the Hocheck, where a small wooden hut offers shelter in case of thunderstorms (2 hours from Watzmannhaus).

From here, continue southwards and immediately descend via an exposed section. Continue on easier terrain to a striking broad rocky plateau. Climb up over this and then briefly unsecured to a section of ridge to the west of the main ridge in the area of a rock window. After a short descent, you reach a ramp system that leads to the centre peak.
From the highest of the three Watzmann peaks, you first descend briefly to the west, then immediately southwards along the airy ridge until you reach flatter terrain again to the west after a gully. Continue mostly in the area of the ridge until you zigzag down again over an exposed, unsecured ledge. Continue downhill until you reach a notch in front of a jagged, yellow upswing. Bypass this rugged part of the ridge to the west and reach the ridge again on ledges. Bypass a block to the west, then descend into a notch. Finally, a ridge upswing is bypassed to the east before you can once again enjoy a slightly exposed passage directly on the ridge. The summit block of the Südspitze is finally climbed on the west side (3:30 hours from Hocheck).

Descent: From the Südspitze, which incidentally also goes by the name of Schönfeldspitze, continue down over or just beside the ridge (wire ropes). You have to be careful at the second ridge saddle seen from above: Here the markings lead away from the ridge to the right. Continue downhill through a gravel gully to the large scree slope of the Obere Schönfeld. Follow the climbing tracks further down and turn left far above the steep drop-offs below. Initially still over the scree slope, you reach a steep step. Once again, wire ropes help you over this and the subsequent rocky gully down into the Untere Schönfeld. Here the route descends in a southerly direction through a trench and then along a partly exposed path, first crossing the slope and then continuing downhill through steep trenches. After the path is almost level for a while, you descend more steeply into the Wimbachgries basin for the last time. Once at the bottom of the valley, the path crosses the wide scree bed and soon comes to a wider path. Follow this to the right and continue through larch forest, then cross the gravel bed once again and descend to the beautifully situated Wimbachgrieshütte (3 hours from the southern tip).

From here, a wide valley path leads back to the Wimbach bridge (2 hours from Wimbachgroieshütte).