page_title: Zugspitze
section_title: First ascent
hierarchical_section_title: Zugspitze / Alpinism / First ascent
caption_attribution_description: English: Joseph Naus leader of the first ascent of the Zugspitze. Drawing by H. v. Aggenstein in the year of 1824. Deutsch: Joseph Naus Erstbesteiger der Zugspitze. Zeichnung von H. v. Aggenstein aus dem Jahr 1824.
context_page_description: The Zugspitze, at 2,962 m above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Austria–Germany border runs over its western summit. South of the mountain is the Zugspitzplatt, a high karst plateau with numerous caves. On the flanks of the Zugspitze are three glaciers, including the two largest in Germany: the Northern Schneeferner with an area of 30.7 hectares and the Höllentalferner with an area of 24.7 hectares. The third is the Southern Schneeferner which covers 8.4 hectares.
  The Zugspitze was first climbed on 27 August 1820 by Josef Naus, his survey assistant, Maier, and mountain guide, Johann Georg Tauschl. Today there are three normal routes to the summit: one from the Höllental valley to the northeast; another out of the Reintal valley to the southeast; and the third from the west over the Austrian Cirque. One of the best known ridge routes in the Eastern Alps runs along the knife-edged Jubilee Ridge to the summit, linking the Zugspitze, the Hochblassen and the Alpspitze. For mountaineers there is plenty of nearby accommodation.
context_section_description: There are several theories about the first ascent of the Zugspitze. The chronological table on an 18th-century map describes the route "along the path to the Zugspitze" ("ybers blath uf Zugspitze") and gives a realistic duration of 8.5 hours, so that it is reasonable to deduce that the summit had been climbed before 1820. The historian, Thomas Linder, believes that goatherds or hunters had at the very least penetrated to the area of the summit. It is also conceivable that smugglers used routes over the Zugspitze summit. As early as 1804 cartographic surveys had taken place in the area for the County of Werdenfels. There is speculation that, in the course of this work, the royal engineer and geographer, Alois von Coulon, had reached the summit. Since Coulon worked for the Topographical Bureau, it is unlikely that his ascent would not have been noted.
  The first recorded ascent of the Zugspitze was achieved on 27 August 1820 by Lieutenant Josef Naus and mountain guide, Johann Georg Tauschl together with Naus' survey assistant and batman (servant), Maier. As early as 21 July Naus, an officer in the Bavarian Army, had asked about the route through the Reintal valley to the Northern  Schneeferner. The lieutenant was taking part in a survey exercise by the Royal Bavarian Topographic Bureau (Königlich Bairischen Topographischen Bureau) for the Atlas of Bavaria (Atlas von Bayern) in the Werdenfelser Land. On 26 August, the three of them climbed in a group together with Captain Jetze and Lieutenant Antlischek up to the shepherd's hut of Angerhütte.
  On 27 August around 4 in the morning, Naus, Tauschl and Maier set off for the Zugspitzplatt and Zugspitze summit. From the Schneeferner glacier they attempted to reach the West Summit along the west ridge. Their first attempt failed, but a second was successful and they finally reached the West Summit around 11:45 am, where they left behind a bergstock and cloth to mark their success. A thunderstorm and snowfall forced them to climb down again quickly. On 28 August they returned to the shepherd's hut at about 3 in the morning. The mountain guide, Tauschl, was given payment of two gulden and 42 kreuzer.
caption: Josef Naus in 1824 by H. v. Aggenstein
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0.1 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2010:10:01 12:31:20", "Image ExifOffset": "176", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "314", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5746", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2050", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3000"}