Not only myths and fairy tales entwine around the 2713 meter high mountain massif. The Watzmann, with its family members, the neighboring Watzmann woman and the Watzmann children, has long since become an advertising medium for dairy products. The album “Der Watzmann ruft” by Wolfgang Ambros became a catchy tune. The rock figure was already used by painters like Caspar David Friedrich as a motif and today, together with the Königssee in front of it, it has to serve as an over-photographed object for Instagrammers.
Almost 200 photos of the Watzmann, his surroundings and the people who live near him or who work on his walls and ridges are included in the illustrated book “Watzmann adventure – natural wonder, legend of Mount Doom“ found who is now im Bruckmann publishing house has appeared.
The outdoor photographer Klaus Fengler, the lonely mountains from polar regions to Patagonia and his reports also in star published, lives just a stone’s throw from the Watzmann. The picture he draws of the Watzmann is like a visual declaration of love for his local mountain, free from any Alpine kitsch.
The east face is of great importance in this book, at 2000 meters the highest face in the Eastern Alps. It was conquered for the first time by Johann Grill and Otto Schück exactly 140 years ago.
Today’s normal route, the “Berchtesgadener Weg” is technically not particularly difficult, but is a special challenge due to its enormous length, the dangers of falling rocks and avalanches in early summer. This limestone wall is not only 200 meters higher than the famous Eiger north face in Switzerland, the Watzmann east wall has already claimed more lives.
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