Finishing Up Nebelhorn

Having the last two unsuccessful attempts to climb to the top of Nebelhorn (2224 m) in 2023 and in 2022, I decided to make it to the very top this time. As usual, I sent out an invite to the DAAD FK members, but nobody except Veronica responded.

We started the hike without much sleep, taking one of the earliest trains from Munich to arrive in Oberstdorf at a reasonable hour. A long walk through the valley between the surrounding mountains was waiting for us, but the road was nice and paved with asphalt, so time was the only issue at hand.

Every time I visit Oberstdorf, I adore this section of the route. You're walking on a well-kept road with carefully planted trees alongside the route and tons of other hikers of all ages enjoying the weather. You have gigantic mountains to the left and right, with occasional waterfalls or holes in the slopes.

Eventually, we reached Berggasthof Oytalhaus where the ascent to Nebelhorn (2224 m) starts. Last time, I went on the wrong trail and had to climb the sandy slope, holding onto random shrubs and bushes to keep my balance. This time, having company, I made sure to find the correct way and take the right trail uphill. Soon after, we reached the Gleitbach waterfall and took a short break for a drink and a snack.

As we kept walking up the trail, the path became narrower and a bit more sketchy. I could easily imagine someone slipping and falling from it off-season and badly injuring themselves. In October, however, the route is usually dry and safe.

We reached Mäxeles Egg and turned over to the slope leading to Seealpsee. That's another eye candy that I enjoy every time I hike in the area. A high altitude 1629 m lake high in the mountains jammed between neighboring ridges and cliffs, surrounded by bushes and nice grass. A beloved place for all hikers taking this route, suitable for resting and an occasional swim in summer. I'm not actually sure it's allowed to swim there, but I've seen lots of people do it.

Walking past the shelter on the way from Seealpsee to the cable car station, we took another look at the lake, and were fascinated with the view of the Alps with the lake in the foreground. At that point, the sun hid itself behind some clouds, making the hike more bearable and letting us see the views without getting blinded by it.

When we passed Zeigersattel (1922 m) and the Edmund-Probst-Haus, we had an option to take a break and relax for a bit longer, but given the time we spent going up to this point, we decided to keep going. The rest of the way from the cable car station to the top is a dirt road covered in sand, gravel, and rocks. Not the most comfortable hike, but very manageable compared to the hiking trail before it.

A big portion of this road goes alongside the smaller cable car leading to the top, and it was interesting seeing all the tourists take the cable car while we were walking there on foot. Looking back at the station, it was clear to see this mountain being a ski resort in winter, with nets and guardrails at some points along the way.

Reaching the top was a triumph. We made the small climb from the restaurant to the cross at the very top, and asked some middle-aged hikers to take a photo for us. There's unfortunately no good angle to have the surrounding mountains in the shot unless you take a long selfie stick or a drone, so we were just standing near the cross with the sky as our backdrop.

After the photo session, we took a look around from the top. To the east, there's the famous Hindelanger Klettersteig with a C- difficulty grade at around 2235 m of elevation. We saw two guys climb it towards Nebelhorn (2224 m) and take the cable car down. While it does look sketchy from the ground below, I'm sure that taking a cable car to it and then doing the climb is a cool experience. I might do it for my via ferrata climbing project.

To the north, you see the Hintere Entschenalpe glacier valley with Entschenkopf (2043 m) itself on the left and Auf dem Falken (1911 m) on the right. What I found interesting about this valley is that there's barely any trails there, despite the are being completely open. The only way to get down there is to hike from Nebelhorn (2224 m) towards a 1836 m mountain pass leading to Entschenkopf (2043 m), climb a short via ferrata route and then walk straight to the valley hut.

In general, there are tons of great hikes involving Nebelhorn (2224 m), but the steep cable car price tag of 43,90 Euro as of 2026 really discourages me from trying them out. Maybe if I bring a friend and have a short weekend vacation there, I'd force myself to actually pay the price and take the cable car for some ridge hiking.

The sun was slowly starting to set, so we started our way down. At this point, our legs were already strained, so we took our time carefully going down to not injure our knees on the long descent. As we crossed the cable car station and started taking the curly dirt and asphalt road to the village, the sun gave us its last rays for the day, finally hiding behind the surrounding mountain panorama. We came to Oberstroft at dusk, with all the lights in the buildings already on, boarded the train and went home.

All in all, this is a must-visit route for experienced hikers. One of my favorites, it features high-altitude lakes, waterfalls, bare grassy ridges, exposed peaks and tons of other hikers to keep you company. The cable car station makes for a good checkpoint if you're already feeling tired and want a shorter way home. And the restaurant at the top gives everyone a chance to properly relax and take in the views while being safe and cozy inside the building.