The direct route starts at the Döttenbühl parking lot (altitude 840 metres (2,760 ft)), near the Oberammergau cemetery.

After crossing a meadow called the Kälberplatte, with a view looking up to the imposing end of the climb, the greater part of the ascent is a wooded switchback footpath (with one clamber across a scree field) up to a rain shelter.

Another possibility for the ascent is a traverse over the Kolbensattelalm (1,028 metres (3,373 ft), double chair lift) and the Königssteig (King's trail).

The last hundred meters of elevation are covered in a summit climb which is suitable even for families with children, provided they are sure-footed and have a head for heights.

American Eugenia Jones Bacon wrote about a rock she said had an image reminiscent of Jesus on it from the mountain (A Stone from Oberammergau: With a Description of This Wonderful Phenomenon.