Bachwinkl - Schartenkopf

Access to the starting point:
Drive through the Karavanke Tunnel into Austria, then continue along the Turkish Autobahn. We continue through the Katschberg Tunnel and later the Thuringian Tunnel / Tauerntunnel, and follow the motorway to Salzburg (aka Solnograd) only as far as the exit for Bischofshofen, from where we continue on the four-lane road to the aforementioned town. From Bischofshofen, follow the signs for Zell am See and then Saalfelden. Continue straight on the main road through Saalfelden, and just before the sign marking the end of the town, turn right onto a narrow road marked 'Pabing - Bachwinkel'. As you drive through the village, follow the signs towards the Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte. Signposts then direct you to the left onto a dirt road. Park in the large parking lot in front of the bridge.

Path description:
From the parking lot, continue along the macadam road, which is closed to traffic. Walk along the road and at the crossroads follow the signs for the Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte hut. The road crosses two streams at the beginning and then leads to a lock.
Here, turn right onto the footpath and start climbing slightly steeper through the forest. Higher up, we briefly rejoin the road, which leads us to a marked crossroads. At the crossroads, turn left onto the footpath marked 'Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte - 412', and continue along the road towards the mountain pasture Steinalm and the 412e (Seilbahnweg) towards the Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte hut.
From the crossroads, the ascent is mostly in switchbacks through the forest, which rarely opens up a view towards Saalfelden. Higher up, the path turns right and then crosses the slopes to the north-east. The path passes through woodland throughout, and there are occasional benches along the way, which have been given names. This path then leads to a crossroads at 1345 metres.
At the crossroads, bear slightly right after the signs "Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte - 412", with paths 412a and 412d to the left, also leading to hut Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte, and 412e to the right, leading back down to the starting point. From the crossroads, the trail crosses the slopes to the north-east for a while, then turns left and starts climbing again a little steeper. The forest becomes a little thinner and views of the nearby peaks begin to open up from the path. Higher up, the forest is replaced by dwarf pines and there are a few more climbs up to the hut.
At the hut, continue past the cable car to a crossroads at which you continue to the left, following the signs "Ingolstädter Haus", and to the right is the path to the Persailhorn. The trail then crosses the slopes to the north-east. Soon the path branches off to the left downhill towards the mountain pasture Weißbachlalm, and we continue straight on, continuing to cross the slopes below the Persailhorn and Achselhorn peaks. Later, the path turns slightly left and crosses mostly grassy slopes as it ascends. In a few places where the slope is steeper, we are also helped by a cable car. Higher up, the path starts to climb a little steeper and, with the help of some fixed safety gear, leads us to the Weißbachlscharte notch where there is a crossroads. To the right is the trail to the Mitterhorn summit, straight down is the trail to the Ingolstädter Haus hut, and we turn left at the notch onto the moor. From the notch, we first climb up a rocky slope to a ridge from which we soon have a view of the Schartenkopf summit. The ridge becomes slightly more grassy and also slightly narrower. After the ridge, you will soon reach the summit, where the larger cairn is also located.

On the way: Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte (1752m), Weißbachlscharte (2259m)

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