East Karwendel loop with Lamsenspitze (2508m)

Technical difficulty: 8/10
Fitness: 8/10
Objective danger: 8/10 (exposed via ferrata to the summit of Lamsenspitze)
Landscape: 8/10
Busy: 4/10

A great loop through east of Karwendel range, with steep uphills, technical downhills and a beautiful optional summit of Lamsenspitze along the way.

Starting point: Parkplatz Bärenrast
Ending point: Parkplatz Bärenrast
Length: 33km
Vertical: 2800m
Speed: Mostly technical to very technical trails. Via Ferrata to the summit of Lamsenspitze. Last 8km of downhill on a forest road.

Route:

We start running downhill on a nice trail descending into the valley floor. We reach the river at the exit of Wolfsklamm gorge and start ascending on a road towards the St. Georgenberg church. Both of these are well-worth visiting as well. Shortly after passing the church, a trail splits of to the left and starts climbing steeply up through the forest northwards. We follow this trail upwards for about 1000 meters, first through a dense forest and eventually through alpine pastures before reaching a small private hut at around 1900m. From here it is only a couple of hundred vertical meters to the ridge and a first pass along the way.

We continue by traversing the south sides of Gamskarspitze and Kaserjochspitze into the bowl on the east side of Rappenspitze. These are all wanderful trails, rolling along the grassy hillsides and alpine pastures. We pass another private hut with a really needed water source. After that we have another short uphill under the supply cable car before turning right and traversing over through some alpine shrubbery towards the Lunstsattel. The first big downhill awaits us now towards the Gramai Alm. The trail is very steep and quite technical but offers great views of the rest of the loop.

Once reaching the valley floor (and the forest road), we start ascending the opposite side of the valley (north-west/ west) towards the Gramai Hochleger hut. It is a steep and long ascent and very exposed to sun. Once reaching the hut, we continue uphill, following the signs towards Binssattel. It is possible to traverse the western side of the mountain here, but we will follow the ridge instead, crossing over the summit of Hahnkampl (2080m) and descending over a beautiful and very photogenic trail towards the Western Lamsenjochsattle. From here, it is just a short picturesque traverse until the Lamsenjochhütte.

Optional: Summit of Lamsenspitze (without it 5km/600 verts less)

This one adds a fun technical summit to the loop. The trail is well marked from the hut heading westwards. We start climbing uphill on the right side of a large scree field. Once reaching the wall under the Norht-east pillar, we start traversing under the wall. The way is secured with fixed ropes and some iron steps. We soon reach the saddle at Lamsscharte. From here traverse through the bowl of Lamskar following the well-visible trail until it starts turning uphill on the fixed ropes/steps towards the summit. The fixed ropes never reach harder difficulty than B (on Via Ferrata scale), but are quite airy and exposed. Soon you can enjoy the great views from the summit cross. Descent the same way. There is a possible shortcut through the scree field above the hut, which offers a much faster but also much dustier descent back to the hut.

Once back at the hut, all the awaits us is the downhill back to the parking lot. The trail down from the hut is closed due to rockfall and unlikely to open again anytime soon (well marked). This makes the descent quite fast and easy to navigate - just follow the forest road and don’t turn anywhere. The road runs through very varying scenery, from steep narrow valley, to open-wide pastures.

Photos by @bennibru and @the.running.nomad