West of the hut the valley floor climbs steeply up to the plateau of the Zugspitzplatt below Germany's highest mountain.

The hut belongs to the Munich section of the German Alpine Club and the administrative district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

It was often used by Tyrolese subjects from the Leutasch, who drove their cattle there via the Ehrwalder Gatterl.

[2] The hut sits above the wide, rock-strewn riverbed of the Partnach at a height of around 1,370 metres in a "glorious location with magnificent views"[3] of the Gatterlköpfe, Plattspitzen and Kleinwanner.

[3] By tradition, overnight visitors are roused by a musical wake-up call.