Untersberg crossing

From the bus stop we go north towards the railway crossing and cross it, then after 20 m turn right to go up the gravel road. At the end of the road we go northeast on the forest path towards the brine container and after about 30 m turn left, following the forest path for 400 m, then turn right onto the steep forest path going east. This soon turns north, after half a km following the ridge's southern side in switchbacks to the east-northeast until we reach a service hut at 1325 m above sea level. After the hut, we continue level north, after 100 m crossing pathless terrain to meet the path coming up from Bruchhäusel. This connection is marked on the Kompass online map. We follow it up to the ruined Vierkaseralm, where we take the right path. After 500 m the path splits again; here we turn left and continue along the path through the karst. If you wish, you can ascend to the left to Mitterberg after about 1.5 km. We follow the sign to Salzburger Hochthron (1972 m), which we reach after 2.5 km if we keep right at the next two crossings and turn left at the third. We then descend on an easy path to the Störhaus. After a rest at the Störhaus, we head towards Gätterl and Störweg and after about 100 m descend right into the Mittagsloch. The warning about the danger on the descent should definitely be taken seriously.

We descend on long ladders and steep, mostly secured paths. At just under 1600 m above sea level we follow the level path to the left. Extreme caution is advised here, as the path runs very steeply along the slope and is not well constructed. Always along the slope, we reach the Scheibenkaser, where we choose the left path towards Ettenberg/Almbachklamm. After 70 m altitude loss, we leave the meadow and enter the forest where we continue downhill. After 80 m altitude loss, we reach a level path, where we turn left. After 200 m we reach the Grafenhütte, which we leave on the left. At the next two crossings, we keep right. At 1060 m elevation, we turn left onto a smaller path, then at about 1000 m we come across an asphalt road, which we follow on foot or better by hitchhiking to Mesnergütl.

Shortly after leaving the main road at Mesnergütl on the right, we follow the signpost to Almbachklamm on the right. After a steep descent of 200 m altitude loss, we turn left into the valley of the Almbach. Here we follow the path through the Almbachklamm until we reach Kugelmühle. We follow the Berchtesgadener Ache to the bridge, which crosses the Ache on the right. Here, on the opposite side of the road to the right, we see the bus stop where we can take the bus to Salzburg.

If the Almbachklamm is closed, we can follow the Hammerstielweg at Mesnergütl. We leave the Ettenberg pilgrimage church to the left, follow the paved path until it changes to a trail. We follow this over the meadow until it reaches the forest on the left side. Here it goes steeply down to Kugelmühle, where we turn left onto the main road and follow the path to the parking lot.