First Buchstein Climb

Topo from bergsteigen.com:

I was looking to gradually increase the difficulty from the Laber Hauptgipfel (1686 m). One of the few choices I came up with ended up being an extended trip from Tegernsee to Lenggries. Since I already did a Lenggries-Tegernsee hike via Fockenstein (1564 m), I wanted to follow a more challenging route. Buchstein (1701 m) or Roßstein (1698 m) was the perfect choice. I was warned beforehand, that the Buchstein (1701 m) route is a lot more challenging than the Roßstein (1698 m) route, with the former being a Klettereinlage, a climbing section, and the latter being a simple rope-supported hike. Since the distance between the summits was negligible, I decided to take myself and David for both if possible.

The start of the hike was pretty slow, with most other hikers on the trail going to Leonhardstein (1449 m). After walking by and turning in the direction of Lenggries, the trail turned into a gravel road, which made the hike easier. Although we did see quite a few bikers along the way, we mostly encountered large groups of hikers of all ages going up to Tegernseer Hütte (1650 m). The hut was closed for renovations between the seasons, but the self-service drinks were still offered, so we didn't miss out on much. When we got to the top, passing by couples walking their dogs and parents taking children up the mountain, we were greeted by a stunning view of Achensee in Austria, along with the usual Zugspitze (2962 m), Hafelekarspitze (2334 m), Frau Hitt (2270 m) and others.

I wanted to climb to the top of Buchstein (1701 m) first, but didn't have the courage to do it immediately, so I watched others as they were going up and down the cliff. Eventually, I got confident enough to start the climb myself, completing it without any issues, albeit slowly. I have to say though, the view from the top was the same as from the hut, so it was just a sports challenge at the end of the day.

You can find the video of the climb in a subsequent attempt of mine here. Then we did a quick detour to the top of Roßstein (1698 m), met some random guys smoking weed there, took more photos and headed down in the direction of Lenggries.

As we were walking down, I finally noticed the trail to Lenggries going besides Seekarkreuz (1601 m), so I suggested to make a side-quest to that summit too. On the way there, after Mariaeck (1469 m), we came across a small climbing section with ladders that we had to use to move ahead, our hiking sticks getting stuck in the branches of nearby trees and bushes. Still, we persisted and got to the top in a reasonable time. After taking more photos and checking out the visitor book tucked in the casket on the cross, finding my previous entry from March 2.

We then descended to the Lenggrieser Hütte (1336 m) and onwards to Lenggries, quickly power-walking to the train station to catch the second-to-last train back to Munich. We made it in time, with 10 minutes to spare, and were able to have a comfortable ride back.

Overall, the hike was very memorable, with the climbing sections being a highlight and a long-lasting memory for me. The overall route is great even for intermediate hikers, but I'm not sure I would recommend the optional climbing sections to beginner climbers, it is a bit challenging and requires attention, patience, focus, and a bit of climbing experience.