Parking Alpspitzbahn - Bernadeinkopf (via Osterfelderkopf)

Access to the starting point:
Drive through the Karavanke Tunnel into Austria, then continue to Spittal and on to Lienz (the motorway ends a little after Spittal). We continue along a relatively nice and wide road through the Drava Valley, which leads us into Itali. The road continues past Dobbiaco/Toblach and Brunico/Bruneck. We continue on the main road and then join the motorway towards Austria (direction Brenner, Innsbruck). In Innsbruck, continue on the motorway westwards along the Inn River (at the motorway junction, direction Garmisch). The motorway is then shortly exited at the exit for Garmisch. The road then begins to climb towards the Scharnitz Pass where the border between Austria and Germany is located. From the pass, descend to the German side and follow the signs for Garmisch-Partenkirchen. As you pass through this town, follow the signs for Austria and Ehrwald. Just before the end of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, turn left to the "Alpspitze" signs. Follow this road to the large parking lot at the bottom station of the Alpspitze and Kreuzeckbahn cable cars.

Path description:
From the parking lot, head towards the lower station of the Alpspitze cable car, first crossing the railway line and then turning onto the dirt road that runs between the two cable cars. At the beginning of the gravel road you will pass a few houses and along the way you will also see signs indicating the way to the Kreuzeck hut. The road then turns left and starts to climb steeply through the forest. The road continues along the occasional ski slope, from which you can look out towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen and then through the woods again.
Later, the road leads to a wider dirt road, which you follow to the right after the "Kreuzeck" signs. Follow the wide, sloping road for only a short distance, as signs soon direct you to the left onto a steeper road by the ski resort. Here the path leads past the artificial lake Speichersee and then rejoins the wider road. Walk along the road again for a while and then the signs for Kreuzeck direct you to the right onto a footpath.
Here we then climb in switchbacks through the woods, and soon we are out of the woods again and the view opens up towards the Zugspitze summit. There is a short climb along the ski slope and the trail leads to the private Trögelhütte hut.
At the hut, continue right along a narrow dirt road, which you then leave after a short climb and continue along a footpath. As you continue to climb through the forest, you will also see signs along the way with various verses written on them. Higher up, the path leads to mountain pasture Kreuzalm where you rejoin the dirt road. At mountain pasture, where a fine view opens up towards the top of Alpspitze, continue to the right along the dirt road and you will soon reach the Kreuzeckhaus hut, which is also the top station of the Kreuzeckbahn cable car.
At the crossroads just below the hut, turn left towards mountain pasture Hochalm. From the crossroads, the path descends slightly and leads past a viewpoint with various signposts. Here, first the footpath from the ski jumps in Garmisch-Partenkirchen joins from the left and then the path from Hammersbach joins from the right. We continue along the dirt road, which soon leads to another crossroads. At the crossroads, continue left along the gravel road towards mountain pasture Hochalm, and right up a slightly longer path over the top of Längenfelder also to mountain pasture Hochalm. From the crossroads the road heads south and the Bernadeinsteig trail from the Stuibenhütte hut joins from the left. The road continues to climb slightly and leads to the hut at mountain pasture Hochalm.
At the crossroads at mountain pasture continue slightly left along the road after the "Osterfelderkopf" signs, and to the right is the road to the Längenfelder ski lift and a slightly steeper footpath to the top of Osterfelderkopf where the top station of the Alpspitze gondola lift is also located. From the crossroads, the road begins a slightly steeper climb southwards and leads past the small Bergwachthütte hut. The road becomes more level and soon we have a view of the precipitous north face of the Bernadeinkopf peak, which is also the route of an extremely difficult protected path (difficulty D/E). The level road then leads us to a marked crossroads. First, the path from the Reintal valley and the Bockhütte hut joins us from the left, and shortly afterwards we reach another crossroads. This time, the Schöngänge trail branches off to the left, as does the already mentioned extremely difficult protected climbing route to Bernadeinkopf. At the crossroads, we continue slightly to the right along the dirt road that runs alongside the ski resort. Here we have a very nice view of the north faces of the Bernadeinkopf and Alpspitzee peaks from the path, and there are also a number of signs along the way describing the surroundings in an interesting way. Later, the road turns right and leads through a small notch with a view of the Osterfelderkopf peak.
The path then turns slightly to the left and then climbs up the grassy slopes towards the summit. A steeper path joins the mountain pasture Hochalm and there is only a short climb to the top of the Osterfelderkopf, where there is also a restaurant Alpspitze and the top stations of the Alpspitzebahn and Hochalmbahn cable cars.
From the Alpspitze restaurant, continue left along the wide, gentle path that crosses the slopes to the south. The path then crosses a fence and briefly continues southwards across the slopes before reaching a marked crossroads. At the crossroads, we continue left, and to the right the path leads over the Rinderscharte to the Höllental valley. From the crossroads there is first a short climb with the help of a couple of cable cars, and then again a less steep path leads us under the buttresses of the Alpspitze peak where there is another crossroads.
To the right, the protected Alpspitze Ferrata trail leads to the Alpspitze summit, and we continue to the left on the Nordwandsteig trail. The path continues on a relatively gentle slope and then leads into a tunnel. The tunnel, which is not too long, makes it easier to cross the precipitous slope. It will be easier to walk through the tunnel with a torch, which is not strictly necessary as the tunnel is relatively short. Once out of the tunnel, the path continues for some time to cross the steep slopes to the east and is mostly protected by a cable car. This route then leads to the flatter slopes on the eastern side of the Alpspitze peak, where there is also a crossroads.
To the right, the path leads to the Alpspitze summit, and we continue straight on to the Bernadeinkopf summit, which can already be seen ahead. From the crossroads, the path first descends gently and crosses the scree to the east. The path then leads from the scree to slightly more grassy terrain below the summit of Bernadeinkopf, where there is also a marked crossroads.
At the crossroads, the Schöngange trail joins and there is only a short climb to the summit.
You can either descend via the Schöngange route and then pass mountain pasture Hochalm or follow the ascent route back to Osterfelderkopf.

On the way: Speichersee (1230m), Trögelhütte (1436m), Kreuzeckhaus (1652m), Hochalm (1705m), Osterfelderkopf (2033m)

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