Parkirišče Erichhütte - Hoher Kopf (path 432)

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving on the Tauern highway. Further, we drive through the Katschberg tunnel and later also the Tauerntunnel, but we follow the highway towards Salzburg (also Solnograd) only to the exit for Bischofshofen, from where we continue driving on a four-lane road towards the already mentioned town. From Bischofshofen we follow the signs for Höchkonig and Dienten am Höchkonig. The road starts ascending and brings us to the Dientner Sattel. From the saddle, we continue for a good 100 meters on the road which starts descending, and then we will notice a parking lot on the right side of the road where we park.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue following the signs »Erichhütte 30min« on the mountain road which is closed to traffic. The macadam road on which we ascend leads us past pastures with a nice view towards the Hohe Tauern and on the nearby peaks above the Erichhütte hut. The path then leads us through a short stretch of forest where we also cross a smaller stream. Further on, the path runs again past pastures all the way to the Erichhütte hut on the Schönbergalm pasture.
From the hut, we continue right following the signs »Königsjodler Klettersteig, Hochkönig« and begin to ascend gently on grassy slopes towards the northeast. The path soon brings us to a junction where we continue left in the direction of Hochkönig, while right leads the path to the summit Taghaube (2159 m).
Further on, the path ascends for some time along sparse dwarf pines, then brings us via a slightly steeper grassy slope to another junction. Right is a secured climbing path to Granlspitz (2307 m), while we continue left towards the notch Hochscharte.
Here the path turns slightly to the left and takes us from grassy slopes onto steeper rocky slopes, which we first cross towards the north. After the crossing, the path turns right and ascends to the notch Hochscharte. On this section, the path is quite crumbly and a short ladder helps us. At the notch, we continue left and after a short ascent we are again at a junction.
Left is just a short ascent to the entry into the extremely demanding Königsjodler path, while we continue right and descend via the gully to the eastern side of the ridge. At the junction there is also a warning sign due to the danger of falling rocks on the path. The path in the gully is quite crumbly and secured with a steel cable. Lower down, the path leaves the gully to the left, followed by an unsecured crossing that brings us to a junction.
We continue left on path 432 following the signs for Hochkönig, while right leads the path to the Stegmoosalm pasture. Further on, the path begins to ascend a quite steep and somewhat crumbly slope. The safety features on the path are very rare, so extra caution is needed. The path then continues ascending for some time on a relatively steep slope that is also prone to slipping. From the path, a nice view towards Hochkönig begins to open up, and throughout we have a nice view towards the »devil's horns« over which the Königsjodler path leads. Later the path becomes somewhat more crumbly, aided by the occasional peg or steel cable. Higher up, the slope becomes slightly less steep but full of scree, so caution is still required. To the notch Birgkarscharte follows a traverse ascent on slippery scree.
At the notch, where nice views open towards the north, we continue left, while right leads the path to Hochkönig, the highest peak of the Berchtesgaden Alps. Further on, a less demanding path leads along the northern side of the panoramic ridge and soon takes us to the summit.

Along the route: Birgkarscharte (2847m), Hochscharte (2283m), Erichhütte (1545m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Hochkönig (3 h)

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