The easiest of the normal routes runs through the Reintal valley and is that followed during the first ascent. At the same time it is also the longest climb. Its start point is the ski stadium () at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The route runs through the gorge of the Partnachklamm and along the Partnach river to the Bock Hut (), where the Reintal begins. Above the Partnach, which has meanwhile sunk underground, the route runs up to the Reintalanger Hut (). From there the climb is relatively gentle to start with, but then becomes steeper. From the hut the track runs through the Brunntal up to the Knorr Hut (), which stands on the eastern rim of the Zugspitzplatt. Here it meets the alternative route from Ehrwald via the Gaistal and the Gatterl at the Reintal Way. The route now runs over the Zugspitzplatt towards the Northern Schneeferner. The protected section of the climb to the Zugspitze summit begins above the Sonn-Alpin restaurant at Point 2815. The route climbs through a height of 2,232 metres and the true duration is between eight and ten hours.