The Treppenstein is a rock formation in the Oker valley in the Harz mountains of central Germany. It lies on the trail from the Romkerhall Waterfall to the Kästeklippen . The rocks consist of granite and have clearly undergone so-called "wool sack weathering" (Wollsackverwitterung). [1]
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.
The Kästeklippen, often shortened to Käste, is a rocky tor above the Oker valley in the Upper Harz mountains of central Germany. It lies at a height of 602 m above NN.
Granite is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be predominantly white, pink, or gray in color, depending on their mineralogy. The word "granite" comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the coarse-grained structure of such a holocrystalline rock. Strictly speaking, granite is an igneous rock with between 20% and 60% quartz by volume, and at least 35% of the total feldspar consisting of alkali feldspar, although commonly the term "granite" is used to refer to a wider range of coarse-grained igneous rocks containing quartz and feldspar.
The Treppenstein is a popular destination and part of the system of checkpoints (no. 117) in the Harzer Wandernadel hiking trail network. The summit has safety railings and may be climbed using steps hacked out of the rock and flights of stairs attached to the rocks. From the summit there is a view towards the west. In addition, part of the rock formation, the Kleine Treppenstein is used for rock climbing. The routes here are rated as Grade VI (UIAA). [2]
The Harzer Wandernadel is a system of hiking awards in the Harz mountains in central Germany. The hiker can earn awards at different levels of challenge by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and stamping his or her passbook to record the visit. With 222 checkpoints in three federal states and across five districts in the Harz and with membership in five figures, the system has gained a following Germany-wide.
Rock climbing is an activity in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Professional rock climbing competitions have the objectives of either completing the route in the quickest possible time or attaining the farthest point on an increasingly difficult route.
A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, rock, or ice wall. Routes can vary dramatically in difficulty and grade; once committed to that ascent, it can sometimes be difficult to stop or return. Choice of route can be critically important. Guidebooks, if available, are helpful in providing detailed diagrams and photographs of routes.
