ROTWANDHAUS
Choosing the hut & Getting there...
Andrei and I wanted to hike and stay in a hut in the Alps this weekend, as it was an American holiday for me and I had Monday off! We used hutfinder.app to find available huts for this weekend and found Rotwandhaus (Rotwand House), a beautiful, catered hut in the Mangfallgebirge (Mangfall Mountains), in the Prealps or Bayerische Voralpen region. This hut was about an hour south of Munich, and three hours (by car) from our home in northern Bavaria. The weather was supposed to be beautiful and sunny, and not so cold. I was looking forward to the sun and spending time in nature!
I tried to find parking beforehand, but it's not so easy. A lot of parking lots were full, not available overnight, or private. A nice woman at the ski resort directed us to a large parking lot right on the Spitzingsee. Parking for 24 hours cost only 12 EUR and I paid using the Parkster app.
Hike details...
We used komoot to find the route that we'd take to the hut. The hut website also offers several different tours/ways to get to the hut, varying in length and difficulty.
The route was on a paved road the entire time, however, because it was winter, it was covered in snow, and at some points ice. For young people, hiking poles and ice spikes weren't necessary, but they sure were helpful. During our ascent, we saw several people carrying skis, and many people sledding down on wooden German horn sleds! Some of them were going quite fast! Something that we will think about next time for bringing! It certainly made their descent much faster!
Arrived to the hut!!
As with most hikes in the Alps, the views became more amazing the higher we climbed. The sun was setting by the time we could see the hut and we arrived around 17:30. This hut had one of the stricter check-in processes that I've experienced, and probably for good reason. All shoes and backpacks had to be stored in the dry room (Trockenraum). Anything taken to the rooms must be kept in these plastic bins and sleeping bag liners had to be microwaved before they were allowed in the rooms! Bed bugs can be a big problem in the Alps, and these protective measures are to prevent infestations.
Andrei and I both don't eat large portions, so we split the lentil soup (~8 EUR) and Käsespätzle (~14 EUR) for dinner. It was the perfect amount for the two of us! The food was very tasty, and we talked to one of the owners who took a lot of pride in his food. Of course, we had to have dessert - Apfelstrudel (~8 EUR)!
A midnight (1am) hike...
Around midnight, we both woke up and were marveling at the stars. Even without my glasses (and I'm pretty blind without them) I could see so many stars in the night sky. It's amazing how bright the stars are when you are away from light pollution. We noticed some hiker descending from the summit by his red headlamp. We went back to sleep, but I kept thinking about hiking to the summit under all these stars. I said to Andrei, "Let's go to the summit," and we were off. That was all he needed!
We definitely weren't prepared for this hike. It was very icy, and the path at times was extremely narrow. A slight loss of balance, and you'd be tumbling down the mountain (as is what happened to my water bottle, RIP). We had one pair of hiking poles, I had one pair of inadequate spikes for my shoes, and headlamps with questionable amount of battery left. But through the power of love and friendship, we made it!! According to the sign, it was a 20-minute journey to the top. It took us 2 hours, round-trip!
A relaxing morning...
Waking up in the mountains on a clear morning will always be one of my favorite experiences. The mountains were glowing golden as the sun made its slow rise over the horizon. It was truly stunning. I took a hot tea and Andrei took an orange juice that we enjoyed in the hut with sandwiches that we packed before starting our descent. We took the same path back down - my body was feeling very tired and with all of the ice, I wasn't feeling prepared for any more surprises.
Conclusion...
Overall, we really enjoyed our hike and stay at the Rotwandhaus. The friendly staff, the cozy atmosphere, and the great food made it feel like a second home. Hiking in the winter can definitely be challenging and requires a lot more preparation and gear, but the reward of seeing the mountains draped in fresh blankets of snow is so worth it. It's a unique experience, the trails look and feel much different and are much emptier compared to the warmer months. But there's a special, almost sacred feeling to winter adventures in the mountains. We definitely want to revisit this hut, either in the spring or summer to explore more of the trails and summits, or again in the winter to try out the sledding!
| Expenses | |
|---|---|
| Item | Cost |
| 1xNight, 2xGuests, Matrazenlager | EUR 64 |
| Food + Drinks in the Hut | EUR 37 |
| Parking | EUR 12 |
| Total | EUR 113 |
