The Edelweiss Badge: The Mountain Soldier's Flower and the Marches That Earn It

High in the Alps grows a small white flower that survives where almost nothing else can — wind-scoured rock, thin soil, short summers. For more than a century, that flower, the edelweiss, has been the mark of the mountain soldier. Austrian and German mountain troops wear it on the left side of the cap — and in their tradition, it is not handed out with the uniform. It is earned, on the mountain, under a pack.

Unlike most of the awards in our Foreign Marching Badges guide, the edelweiss is not one single event run by one organization. It is a badge and a tradition — a flower carried by two armies, and a family of mountain marches through which soldiers qualify to wear it. This guide explains the badge, its history, and the marches that earn it.

The classic metal cap edelweiss: two-tone metal, dark petals around a gold centre, worn on the mountain cap. Surviving and current-pattern examples alike often have small holes at the petal tips so the badge can be sewn on — exactly as on the badge pictured.

A Flower With a History

The edelweiss badge was established in 1907 by Emperor Franz Joseph I as the symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Landesschützen — the Tyrolean mountain regiments — who first wore it on the collar of the uniform. Its meaning came straight from the flower itself: a plant that endures at altitude, adopted by the soldiers who lived and fought at altitude.

In 1915, the badge became a shared tradition. When Italy attacked Austria-Hungary in May of that year, Germany's Alpenkorps was rushed to defend the Tyrolean and Dolomite frontier. In June 1915, the Tyrolean mountain troops awarded the Alpenkorps their own insignia — the edelweiss — in gratitude. From that exchange forward, the flower belonged to the mountain troops of both nations.

It is still worn today. Germany's Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 "Bayern" wears the edelweiss on the mountain cap (Bergmütze), and in Austria the tradition is carried by the 6. Gebirgsbrigade, headquartered at Absam in Tyrol. Look closely and the badge even tells you which army is wearing it: German mountain troops wear it with the stem facing forward; Austrian troops wear the stem to the back.

Earned, Not Issued

The heart of the tradition is a simple rule: the right to wear the edelweiss is tied to completing a mountain march. In German service, a mountain infantryman may wear the edelweiss on his cap after completing the Edelweißmarsch — the qualifying high-altitude march. The badge marks mountain competence and endurance, and it is presented, not issued by default.

The Marches That Earn It

The Watzmann Edelweiss Mountain March

The most established open march in the tradition is the Edelweißbergmarsch auf den Watzmann — the Edelweiss Mountain March up the Watzmann (Hocheck, 2,651 m) in the Berchtesgaden Alps of Bavaria, Germany. It is hosted by the Gebirgsjäger reservist association of Traunstein (part of the German Reservistenverband), supported by active Bundeswehr troops of Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 and by the Bergwacht mountain rescue service.

The 2025 edition, held on 20 September 2025 from the Wimbachbrücke in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, drew 151 participants plus staff — about 110 active soldiers from across Germany, reservists, other emergency-service organizations, Finnish guests, and U.S. Marine Corps guests. Marchers carried a load of about 15 kg per the event packing plan and moved in groups against set time lines. The standard for the badge was altitude: everyone who climbed above the 2,000-metre mark above the Watzmannhaus earned the Edelweiß-Abzeichen; just under 80 marchers continued to the Hocheck summit at 2,651 m.

At the finish, the edelweiss was personally presented in a formal ceremony by a former company commander of Gebirgsjägerbataillon 231, and finishers' logbooks were stamped to document the completed march. From that day, the participants may wear the edelweiss on their field cap.

The Bundeswehr Mountain Performance March

Inside the German Army, the modern form of the qualifying march is the Gebirgsleistungsmarsch (Mountain Performance March), run by Gebirgsjägerbataillon 231 at Bad Reichenhall twice a year, in summer and winter. The standard is 2,000 metres of elevation gain over two days — roughly 15 km and 1,000 m of climb per day — combined with military mountain skills: casualty rescue, searching for avalanche-buried persons, and a snow bivouac. Passing earns the mountain performance badge and the right to wear the traditional edelweiss on the Bergmütze. It is an internal qualification for serving mountain troops, not a public event.

Austria's Edelweiss Raid

Austria keeps the name in a different arena: the Edelweiss Raid, an international military mountaineering competition in Tyrol hosted by the Austrian Bundesheer's 6. Gebirgsbrigade and billed in Europe as the unofficial world championship of military mountaineering. Teams of eight soldiers cover more than 40 km and 4,000 metres of elevation gain over two days, largely on skis, with scored tasks along the way — avalanche search and rescue, rappelling, high-angle shooting, land navigation, and casualty evacuation. Every finisher receives the Edelweiss Raid badge in silver; on a third successful completion it is awarded gold-plated.

The Raid is held in late winter and is a closed competition for national military teams — a Connecticut National Guard team represented the United States in 2023. There is no public entry, and no way to ruck it remotely. We describe it here because it carries the same flower and the same standard: the edelweiss is never given away.

Questions

Is there one official "Edelweiss March"? No. The edelweiss is a badge and a tradition shared by two armies; several marches and one competition carry the name. The Watzmann mountain march is the most established open event that awards the cap badge.

Can I sign up through Rucking Tough? No — we do not host or register participants for any of these events. The Watzmann march is organized by the Traunstein reservist association, the Mountain Performance March is an internal Bundeswehr qualification, and the Edelweiss Raid is by national-team selection.

How does the edelweiss connect to the Austrian awards Rucking Tough does run? It grows from the same Austrian military tradition. Our Austrian Awards guide explains the Virtuelle Marche and the Austrian marksmanship badges — the Austrian programs with a registration path — and our Foreign Badges page explains how earning and wear approval work across all of these awards.