Carl-von-Stahl-Haus – Torrener Joch

Torrener Joch

The historic Carl-von-Stahl-Haus refuge on the Torrener Joch not far from the Jenner offers an interesting crossing for fit bikers with a challenging trail on the Austrian side.

Description

The starting point of the tour is Berchtesgaden in Bavaria. From here, the route first heads towards Königssee on asphalt and then climbs relatively steeply on a gravel path and shared trail up to the Königsbachalm. This first ascent is a tough one, but also offers a challenging riding experience on a narrow path with wonderful views of the Königssee.

From the Königsbachalm, another steep and challenging section follows up to the Schneibsteinhaus and finally to the highest point of the tour, the Torrener Joch or Carl-von-Stahl-Haus. This hut is ideal for a refreshment stop, but is often very busy, especially in the high season and at weekends, as the nearby Jennerbahn cable car brings up numerous mountain sports enthusiasts and the path from the hut to the mountain station is only short.

As soon as you cross the German-Austrian border, the landscape appears in a new light. At first, a no cycling sign causes confusion, even though this is an official mountain bike route. But the descent through the picturesque mountain scenery proves to be almost perfect: at difficulty level S2, in places S3, the trail rides down to the Obere Jochalm. The level of difficulty remains constant and the trail offers a varied downhill with hairpin bends, loose limestone and roots to the Unterjochalm. This alpine hut, which originally served as a hunting lodge, was built in 1930 and therefore has almost 100 years of history.

After a short gravel section, the next trail begins, a hiking trail with difficulty levels S2 to S3. Caution is advised here, however, as some sections run over the Fischbach stream and are exposed in places. Finally, you reach the Bluntaustraße near the Upper Blunta Lake, where the terrain becomes flatter and allows you to transfer via Golling to Hallein. The idyllically situated town of Hallein impresses with its historic town center, which you cross before continuing up towards the German-Austrian border. After crossing the border, the route descends a few meters in altitude on asphalt back towards Berchtesgaden, where the transfer to the starting point concludes the tour.

All in all, this is a physically demanding but varied circular tour, which is particularly inviting outside the main season.

Note: The route is located on Austrian territory and leads over routes that are not approved for mountain bikers. Riding this route on a mountain bike is the responsibility of each individual, in full awareness of the legal situation.

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