[5] The Zugspitze was first climbed on 27 August 1820 by Josef Naus; his survey assistant, Maier, and mountain guide, Johann Georg Tauschl.

In 1938 the west summit was blown up to create a building site for a planned flight control room for the Wehrmacht.

The next highest mountain in the area is the Acherkogel (3,008 m or 9,869 ft) in the Stubai Alps, which gives the Zugspitze a topographic isolation value of 24.6 kilometres.

It is effectively the north barrier of the Alps (Nordstau der Alpen), against which moist air masses pile up and release heavy precipitation.

These warm, dry air masses stream from south to north and can result in unusually high temperatures in winter.

The geological strata composing the mountain are sedimentary rocks of the Mesozoic era, that were originally laid down on the seabed.

Due to the frequent occurrence of marine coralline algae in the Wetterstein limestone it can be deduced that this rock was at one time formed in a lagoon.

The dark grey, almost horizontal and partly grass-covered layers of muschelkalk run from the foot of the Great Riffelwandspitze to the Ehrwalder Köpfe.

From the appearance of the north face of the Zugspitze it can be seen that this massif originally consisted of two mountain ranges that were piled on top of one another.

The woods lower down consist mainly of spruce and fir, but honeysuckle, woodruff, poisonous herb paris, meadow-rue and speedwell also occur here.

Dark columbine, alpine clematis, blue and yellow monkshood, white corn lily, stemless carline thistle, false aster, golden cinquefoil, round-leaved saxifrage, wall hawkweed, alpine calamint and alpine forget-me-not flower in the less densely wooded places, whilst cinquefoil, sticky sage, butterbur, alpenrose, Turk's cap lily and fly orchid thrive on the rocky soils of the mountain forests.

[25] Bilberry, cranberry and cowberry are restricted to dry places and lady's slipper orchid occurs in sheltered spots.

On the scree slopes there are Thlaspi and mouse-ear chickweed as well as Dryas octopetala, alpine toadflax, Lamiaceae and Saxifraga moschata.

[citation needed] The rocks around the Zugspitze are a habitat for chamois, whilst marmots are widespread on the southern side of the massif.

[citation needed] The viviparous lizard inhabits rocky terrain, as does the black alpine salamander known locally as the Bergmandl, which can be seen after rain showers as one is climbing.

[citation needed] The Höllentalferner lies northeast of the Zugspitze in a cirque below the Jubilee Ridge (Jubiläumsgrat) to the south and the Riffelwandspitzen peaks to the west and north.

[citation needed] At the beginning of the 1990s, ski slope operators began to cover the Northern Schneeferner in summer with artificial sheets in order to protect it from sunshine.

[34] Below the Zugspitzplatt chemical weathering processes have created a large number of caves and abîmes in the Wetterstein limestone.

He was a keen meteorologist and whilst observing conditions from the Hoher Peißenberg mountain he saw the Zugspitze in the distance and was exercised by the fact that "the greatest prince of the Bavarian mountains raised its head into the blue air towards heaven, bare and unadorned, waiting for the moment when patriotic fervour and courageous determination would see that his head too was crowned with dignity.

Twenty eight bearers were led through the gorge of the Partnachklamm and the Reintal valley under the direction of forester, Karl Kiendl, up to the Zugspitze.

[citation needed] After 37 years the cross had to be taken down after suffering numerous lightning strikes; its support brackets were also badly damaged.

This time the damage was not only caused by the weather, but also by American soldiers who used the cross as target practice in 1945, at the end of the Second World War.

In April 1933, the mountain was occupied by 24 storm troopers, who hoisted a swastika flag on top the tower on the weather station.

In 1948, the German Federal Post Office (Deutsche Bundespost) began operating a microwave radio station at the summit.

[47] In 1981 a chapel was founded on the Zugspitze, which was consecrated by the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Joseph Ratzinger, in October on the feast of Visitation.

[54][55] As early as 21 July Naus, an officer in the Bavarian Army,[56] had asked about the route through the Reintal valley to the Northern Schneeferner.

On the 27th the summit was climbed for a third time by royal forester's assistants, Franz Oberst and Schwepfinger, along with Johann Barth.

The first crossing from the West to the East Summit was achieved in 1857 by Dr. Härtringer from Munich and mountain guide, Joseph Ostler.

Originally the route was called the Jubilee Way (Jubiläumsweg), but after a tragic rescue attempt in 1979 the rather erroneous and misleading term, which suggested it was just a normal trail, was replaced by the name Jubiläumsgrat, a Grat being a sharp ridge.

At the Zugspitze's summit is the Münchner Haus, a mountain hut (Alpenhütte), a facility built by the German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein).