The Hochvogel stands on its own in the eastern part of the mountain group; the nearest neighbouring summits are 200 to 300 metres lower.

The hut diary of the Prinz Luitpold Haus reports a mighty landslide on 27 May 1935 when thousands of cubic metres of rock from the southwest face crashed down into the valley.

The older, now out-of-print editions of the Alpine Club Guide (Alpenvereinsführer) for the Allgäu Alps state that the mountain was first climbed a long time ago.

[4] However, when a man named Trobitius from Kempten climbed the peak in 1832, some of his fellow townsfolk refused to believe him as the mountain was still considered unclimbable by many.

On 19 July that year he started off from Sonthofen in the morning and reached Hinterstein, travelling exclusively on foot, where he took a midday rest around 12 o'clock before continuing.

Passing the Bärgündlealpe alps, the Balkenscharte saddle and the Kalter Winkel he reached the summit of the Hochvogel at around 8 o'clock in the evening.

The side of the Hochvogel lying on German territory, including the neighbouring mountains and valleys, is part of the Allgäu High Alps Nature Reserve.

The normal route runs from the Prinz Luitpold Haus (1,846 m (6,056 ft)) in 2½ hours over the Balkenscharte saddle and the snowfield of the Kalter Winkel to the summit.

The Kalter Winkel can be circumvented by using a partially secured climb via the Kreuzspitze, which joins the route from the Prinz Luitpold Haus above the snowfield.

Due to a widening crack at the top and imminent rockfall danger, the Bäumenheimer Weg which ran from the south, starting at Hinterhornbach in the Lechtal is closed since 2014.

To the south, a panorama of the central Alpine ridge opens up from the High Tauern across the Zillertal, Stubai and Ötztal Alps to the mountains of the Albula and the Silvretta.