page_title: Watzmann
section_title: East Face
hierarchical_section_title: Watzmann / Climbing / East Face
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Barockkirche Sankt Bartholomä (1697) am Königssee im Berchtesgardener Land, Bayern, Deutschland English: Baroque church Sankt Bartholomä (1697) next to the Königssee, Bavaria, Germany.
context_page_description: The Watzmann is a mountain in the Bavarian Alps south of the village of Berchtesgaden. It is the third highest in Germany, and the highest located entirely on German territory.
  Three main peaks array on a N-S axis along a ridge on the mountain's taller western half: Hocheck, Mittelspitze and Südspitze.
  The Watzmann massif also includes the 2,307 m Watzmannfrau, and the Watzmannkinder, five lower peaks in the recess between the main peaks and the Watzmannfrau.
  The entire massif lies inside Berchtesgaden National Park.
context_section_description: A much more serious and challenging climb is the famous East Face (Watzmann-Ostwand), which rises from the Hirschau peninsula at lake Königssee to the main peaks in a vertical ascent of around 1,800 metres (the longest wall in the Eastern Alps). While the easiest routes through the east wall is rated UIAA Class III, the wall has claimed almost 100 lives so far. Difficulties include the length of the climb, route-finding, and deteriorating weather conditions approaching from west, the predominant direction for weather change in the area, difficult to ascertain from the face. A simple emergency shelter has been erected in the wall. Even experienced climbers are advised to hire a local guide for the wall as finding the route can be challenging.
caption: Watzmann East Face, rising behind St. Bartholomew's church at lake Königssee
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