Hochkalter, Alpine peak in Berchtesgaden Alps, Germany

Hochkalter is an alpine peak in the Berchtesgaden Alps that rises to about 2607 meters with steep limestone cliffs and large boulder fields. The mountain sits within Berchtesgaden National Park and offers several routes for climbing.

The first ascent was made in 1830 by Prince-Bishop Schwarzenberg with guides Gemminger, Tatz and Wein, who climbed the west flank through the Kaltergraben rather than the Ofen valley. Their route never became popular because it was hard to find and hunting interests long discouraged access. In 1833 Karl Thurwieser and the guide Wein first climbed the Normal Route over the Schöner Fleck.

The Hochkalter's name refers to its cold, shadowed north side, and the massif is divided into the Hochkalter, Hocheis and Southern Wimbach Chain groups. The Blaueis below the summit is the northernmost glacier in the Alps, and the Blaueishütte of the German Alpine Club at 1653 m serves as the main base for climbs. The Wimbach valley floor is covered by deep streams of debris from the brittle Ramsau Dolomite.

The Blaueishütte, the German Alpine Club's main base for the massif, stands at 1,653 m in the Blaueiskar below the Blaueis glacier. The normal route via the Schöner Fleck takes about 3½ hours from the hut and has passages of UIAA grade II. The Ofental route is easier (grade I) but harder to find and has no hut along the way, so it is more often descended than climbed.

The 1908 summit collapse removed an estimated 240,000 m³ of rock and visibly changed the peak's shape and height; the fall was felt as an earthquake in the Ramsau valley. Nine years apart, on 25 July 1954 and 25 July 1963, the second Blaueis pinnacle and a pillar on the Schärtenspitze collapsed.