Vogelkarspitze, Mountain summit in Karwendel range, Austria and Germany

Vogelkarspitze is a mountain summit in the Karwendel range that rises to 2,522 meters and marks the natural border between Tyrol in Austria and Bavaria in Germany. The peak features steep slopes and narrow ridges that are typical of this mountain chain.

Hermann von Barth made the first recorded ascent of Vogelkarspitze on 4 July 1870. The summit, at 2,522 m the second-highest of the Northern Karwendel chain, is reached today by an unmarked route from the Karwendelhaus, climbing through a dense mountain-pine belt and the south ridge.

The peak's name comes from the Vogelkar, the cirque below its south ridge, which climbers cross after finding a faint gap through a dense belt of mountain pine. Hermann von Barth made the first ascent on 4 July 1870. Today the unmarked route is a mountaineering outing rather than a walk, and most parties break the long approach with a night at the Karwendelhaus.

The route starts at Karwendelhaus (1,771 m) and takes about 2.5 hours; it is partly pathless and requires alpine experience. A hard-to-find gap through a dense belt of mountain pine gives access to the foot of the Vogelkar, then an unmarked climb follows the south ridge, partly grassy and partly rocky, with short passages of UIAA grade I. The path is technically easy but steep and unsafe when wet. From Scharnitz the total walking time is 7 hours, from Hinterriß via the Kleiner Ahornboden 6 hours, so most people do it as a two-day tour with a night at the Karwendelhaus or approach by mountain bike.

The first ascent was made by Hermann von Barth on 4 July 1870. The unmarked route from the Karwendelhaus crosses a dense belt of dwarf pine, where a hard-to-find gap gives access to the foot of the Vogelkar, before the south ridge leads to the top.