Funtenseetauern vom Kärlingerhaus

Funtenseetauern from Kärlingerhaus is a hard out-and-back to the 2,578 m summit above Funtensee: about 5.6 miles (9 km) round trip and 3,100 feet (950 m) of climbing. Allow around six hours from the hut; add the time to hike in to Kärlingerhaus. I’d save it for hikers comfortable with steep, rocky ground and exposed scrambling. The hut makes a sensible overnight base; the long walk up from Königssee is usually split over two days.

Leave the hut by dropping to Funtensee and following its north shore. At the junction beyond the lake, take the right branch onto Weg 429. The trail rises gently at first, then steepens toward the saddle between Stuhlgrabenkogel and Stuhlwand. From there it bends northeast and climbs more sharply to Stuhljoch (2,443 m). The lakeside start is deceptive: you lose some height from the hut before the main climb begins.

Just before Stuhljoch, the route offers two lines. The left-hand option follows the exposed crest, with brief hands-on steps graded UIAA I–II; the right-hand option traverses below across the eastern slopes. They rejoin on a broader ridge before the final climb. The mapped line follows the crest, so hikers taking the lower traverse will see a slightly different track. Excellent sure-footedness and comfort with exposure matter here, and the mountain needs stable weather. Keep this as the hut-to-summit out-and-back; longer ridge traverses beyond the summit are a different outing.

Beyond the join, the crest narrows and steepens again. Two rises lead to the summit cross at 2,578 m. The reward is a high view across the pale, broken limestone of the Steinernes Meer, with Funtensee far below. On the final rise, look back along the ridge; the summit cross reads best with the steep limestone shoulder in frame. Return the same way instead of continuing into a through-route.

Funtensee is a small karst lake at 1,633 m, about 2.5 hectares across and 5.3 m deep. Its water drains underground; at Teufelsloch, the outflow can be heard even though there is no surface stream. Cold air settles in the basin. A private station recorded −45.9 °C on Christmas Eve 2001, and the hut just above the lake can be up to 20 °C warmer. Trees become smaller toward the shore, an unusual downward tree line; the basin was grazed until the 1960s.

Kärlingerhaus is a staffed alpine hut with beds and a winter room, a remote starting point reached on foot. It is usually staffed from May to October; confirm that year’s dates and meal and water arrangements before relying on them. The first hut here opened in 1879 and was renamed Kärlingerhaus in 1910 for section chair Kajetan Kärlinger. One established approach from St. Bartholomä climbs through the Saugasse in about four hours and 1,100 m; plan to reach the hut before the summit day. Dog rules for the summit route were not confirmed, so check before bringing one.