Großer Rettenstein

The absolute superior mountain hike is to climb the Großer Rettenstein. Those who want to tackle this tour must be sure-footed, experienced mountain hikers and don’t suffer from vertigo. It is highly recommended to start the tour early in the morning.
For this suggested route, we park at the Ebenau car park. First we walk along the road into the valley. After a short while we see the signpost for the "Rettenstein" on the left. Follow this trail to the Sonnwendalm and on to the Schöntalalm. To the left of the Schöntalalm we see the grassy mountainsides and the ridge of the Spießnägel, which we hike along on the way back. Passing the Schöntalscherm and the Schöntal spring, we now climb quite steeply in serpentine bends up to the Großer Rettenstein.  The ascent becomes more difficult and in some places you have to hold on to the rocks. Here we appeal to the hikers to be careful, as there is a considerable danger of loosening rocks. Shortly before reaching the summit, there’s a short climbing passage to be mastered. At 2,366 m we can proudly sign the Großer Rettenstein’s summit book.
For the descent we return initially along the route we’ve just taken. At the foot of the Rettenstein, we follow the signpost "Schöntaljoch" on the right and continue to the "Rettensteinjoch". Now we follow the wonderful Spießnägel ridge. A magnificent display of flowers awaits us! Following some steep serpentine bends we descend to the Hirzeggalm, where we of course take a leisurely break. If we were to follow the forest road here, we would come to the Sonnwendalm, where we ascended. But we follow the alpine path below the Hirzeggalm into the Unterer Grund. At the bottom of the valley, we keep to the left and walk along the road to the Ebenau car park.