Setting off for the Schneibstein

It’s a clear, crisp summer morning at the Carl-von-Stahl-Haus on the Torrener Joch in the east of the Berchtesgaden National Park. The first hikers already set off at dawn to experience the sunrise from the summit of the Schneibstein before taking the long path to the Kärlingerhaus on the “Grossn Reibn”. My stage for this second day is shorter, so I sit for another half hour and let the panorama soak in. The first delicate violet hues on the horizon and mountain peaks are soon followed by a glowing red that, alongside the “King” Watzmann, soon captures the surrounding mountains.

It’s my first time travelling in the Berchtesgaden region and I’m fascinated by the wild, rugged topology with its deep-cut valleys, towering rock faces and mountain ridges layered like waves, with the almost mystical-looking Lake Königssee and lovely alpine meadows nestled in between.