Roßkopf: Mountain Carts Frenzy
With the unusual trip to Simetsberg (1840 m) behind me, I was ready to have some fun in around the Bavarian lakes. I recalled seeing some signs about mountain carts on the way back from Aiplspitz (1759 m), so it seemed like a good idea to try them out. Besides, my flatmate Tony wanted to try hiking with me, so I wanted to suggest a decent and simple route as an introduction to the Bavarian Alps for him.
Although it snowed a few days before for no reason, I decided to go through with the plan and send out an invite to other potential members. Dennis, a recurring hiker and a DAAD FK member, also agreed to tag along. Serdar, another DAAD FK member, also joined. We started the route walking deeper into the Alps from Spitzingsee until we reached the Albert-Link-Hütte (1053 m).
From that point on, we turned right onto the slope and walked the forest road all the way to Untere Haushamer Alm. I noticed the group split, with me and Dennis in the front and the others falling behind. Thankfully, the route was quite short, so time wasn't an issue and we rested whenever necessary.
After the hut the road turned into a narrow trail with no prior footsteps. We decided to keep going uphill following the rough direction of Stolzenberg (1609 m), even having to climb over a giant fallen tree. The road got more and more snowy as we kept climbing higher, until the snow reached our ankles. The hikers I invited weren't too happy about this, but they decided to keep pushing forward, hoping for the situation to get better.
When we reached the summit of Stolzenberg (1609 m), there was no cross waiting for us, just a small pinned plate letting us know we reached the top. I wasn't too upset by the situation, since it was the first mountaintop on our way, but I can imagine someone targeting it as the final destination and being upset. At least I got to see Auerspitz (1811 m) from there, which I plan to visit in the future.
I've started hearing some complaining regarding the deep snow, so I proposed descending from Stolzenberg (1609 m) down to Grünsee and turning back, but the group got together and chose to keep going. We had Rotkopf (1602 m) as a clear visible goal ahead of us, making it a bit more bearable by making us motivated.
We kept going from Rotkopf (1602 m) onwards, and the ridge opened up to show us a lot of nice views left and right. The most memorable was Brecherspitz (1685 m) up ahead, looking like a perfect destination for a future hike.
The last section of the ridge to Roßkopf (1579 m) goes directly above Grünsee. We saw a lot of hikers take this route to hike straight up to the Jagahütt'n (1506 m) restaurant near the summit, making my participants a bit jealous about having to take the longer route there. We also came across a tiny cross tied to a dried-up tree.
Once we got to the top, we took a short snack break and enjoyed the views. We got to see Jägerkamp (1746 m) to the north-east, which I visited during my Aiplspitz (1759 m) hike. To the south-west, we saw Risserkogel (1826 m), a tougher peak accessible in summer, and Setzberg (1706 m) leading to Wallberg (1722 m). Serdar decided to end the trip there and headed down alone.
We paid for the mountain cart reservation and signed the agreement agreeing to the terms and conditions of riding them. After standing in the queue for 15 minutes, we rode down the mountain overtaking each other, unknown drivers, and random hikers trying to go uphill on the mountain cart route.
When I made it down, I stood there waiting for the others, but nobody arrived. After quite a while, the others appeared from around the corner. Turns out, both Dennis and Tony managed to fly off the edge of the road on one of the turns. Tony got off quite well but got stuck in some sticks. Dennis, on the other hand, fell further, got some scratches, and got trapped in bushes. He had to climb out of the cart and drag the vehicle up the hill back onto the road. Thankfully, nothing major happened, and everyone left the area satisfied with the trip.
All in all, the hike is great and quite appropriate for hikers of all levels in any weather given the appropriate gear. I advise beginner hikers to skip some of the summits on the route or take the Untere Firstalm route across Stümpfling (1506 m) instead, as that one is wider and accessible for strollers. If you decide to ride the mountain carts down in summer, or go to Obere Firstalm (1369 m) to ride sleds in winter, make sure to follow the safety instructions and be careful on the turns.