UKC

Hi,

Heading over to Austria next year and have been looking at getting a nice long mountain route in whilst there. So far been looking at the classic route on the fleischbank - wilder kaiser range. Grade V, 15 pitches.

Anyone got any other recommendations of something similar in grade and length? Doesn't necessarily need to be in the Wilder Kaiser.

Cheers

In reply to Derry:

What grade and what area are you looking for? For grade V-VI here are some options:

In the Kaiser the Duelfer on the Fleischbank E face is the mega classic (queues possible on nice days) - or were you talking about the Classic route up the E Ridge? Also really good is the Wiessner Rossi on the same hill (but a touch harder).

Another big tick in the Kaiser is the Duelfer on the Totenkirchl W face. Really long (>20 pitches) with some tricky route finding in places but a great route up a huge face.

On the south side of the range there are also good options on the Bauernpredigstuhl (Rittlerkante) and the Leuchsturm (Alter Suedwand).

All routes in the Wilder Kaiser guide from Panico.

Another place I've spent some time at is the Schuesselkarspitze in the Wetterstein. Loads of long routes available on a S facing wall. W-Grat Turm Direct S face was good, as was the Peters Harringer (but that is more like VII). Also done 2 routes on the Scharnitzspitze in the right range - Hanneman was good.

Wetter stein South guide from Panico has these.

We have been using a selected guide from Rother - "Bayerische Alpen Nordtirol" for a good selection, if your German is up to it.

Then of course there is the Granite of the Zillertal (Grundschartner N ridge) and the Fussstein N Ridge if the fancy some alpine (snow) ambience.

Not to mention the long stuff in the Berchtesgaden and Dachstein areas... So much to do... so little good weather!

In reply to Heike:

A very useful list of excellent suggestions!

Agree about the Duelfer on the Fleischbank E face being busy, but still worth a punt in spite of the crowds though. On the opposite side of the (impressive) Steinerne Rinne is the Predigstuhl W Face, with the very worthwhile and quite sustained Schule-Diem/ Haslacher-Behringer, a combination supposedly giving "the finest pitches in the whole Kaiser range" and which will definitely be far less busy (and better) than the Duelfer. Highly recommended, especially if you like crack climbing.

The Gottner on the Vordere Karlspitze E Face is good too, gets a lot of sun although it can be done in a half-day. A good first route in the Kaiser perhaps? Don't overlook the relatively remote W Face of the Maukspitze. The Buhl is probably one of the best big rock routes I've ever done. The Woll/Woll pitch is something else and the 40m traverse is superbly positioned. I can also recommend the nearby Spengler Kamin - an excellent adventure with no queuing guaranteed.

Heike's suggestion re. the Wetterstein is excellent too, an area likely to be a bit quieter than the Kaiser, but equally good IMHO. I've also done the Peters- Haringer on the SE Face of the Schusselkarspitze and would agree it's VII- rather than VI. An equally good (and easier) option might be the South Face Direct on the Scharnitzspitze - the Spitzenstaetter - which is to the left of the Hannemann mentioned by Heike - and which climbs a most impressive looking natural line.

So much to do etc ... has never been truer!

In reply to Derry:

Kaiser - so many. A lot of modern mountain sport routes, many quite long. On the Predigtstuhl the Nordgipfel "Direttissima" is good - old classic with aid but varied free route in modern form. The West face of the Totenkirchl - Dulfer is still freash in my mind from over 30 years ago.

In reply to Dave Williams:

That's funny - I've also done the Schulz-Diem but didn't mention it as didn't really enjoy "that" crack very much.

Have also done the Goettner, but think most people would be pushing it to get up and down in a half day.

Haven't done the Buhl yet - keep on putting it off. The Panico guide doesn't make it sound that good, although it has to be done, being a Pause-point after all.

My husband has also done the Rebitsch-Spiegl on the Fleischbank which he said was very good. Effectively a sport route now for the hard first few pitches, so can be done quite quickly.

The Spitzenstaetter was the other one I've done on the Scharnitz but it slips into the 7s so didn't mention it.

The other advantage of the Wetterstein is that if/when the weather turns there is loads of good cragging around Landeck & Imst. There is a new thick guide available from the Tourist office in Imst (amongst other places).

And of course if the OP doesn't mind broadening their horizons they could also sneak into Deutschland and hit the Oberreintal. Somewhere that keeps on eluding us, but sounds brilliant. (Wetter stein Nord guide for anyone interested)

In reply to Heike:

Thanks for all the info! As expected there are many options.

Is there an english guidebook out there anywhere? Or an easy to use austrian one?

In reply to Derry:

Studlgrat Ridge on the Grossglockner?

I really enjoyed that.

In reply to Derry:

Nothing in English that I'm aware of. Hence the lack of Brits visiting this neck of the woods.

Both the Rother selected guide I mentioned above and the Panico books (Wilder Kaiser and Wetterstein N & S) all use fairly good topos for the routes, but rely of german language descriptions for approaches and descents.

For the stuff in the Kaiser if you stayed at the Stripsenjoch hut (about 1hr from the Fleischbank routes) I'm sure the Guardian or one of the staff would be able to translate the important stuff. Or use google translate.

In reply to Heike:


Yes, very true. The first route I climbed in the Wetterstein was the Peters-Haringer on the Schusselkarspitze. Not being able to speak a word of German, we'd brought a (German only) guide in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at lunchtime and within a few hours we were the only residents in the Wangalm hut. The next morning we had the whole SE face to ourselves but easily found and then climbed the route using the topo. Once on the summit ridge, with an afternoon storm getting ever closer, we'd assumed that the way off to the abseils would be obvious. Er, no .... What's more, surprise, surprise, the descent description was quite detailed - which in itself was rather worrying - and we could only understand the odd word. The echoing thunder concentrated the mind and quickly forced a decision. Fortunately, considering the multiple full-rope length abseils, it was the right one. It was a useful lesson, well learned.

Great to learn of someone else who's climbed in the area. As you say, inexplicably very neglected by us Brits but your observation re. the German only guides probably hits the nail on the head.

My comment about the Gottner being a half-day route referred to just climbing it and didn't take into account the time needed for the nearby abseil-piste descent. Thanks for questioning that.

In reply to Dave Williams:
Oooh, that sounds a bit involved...I would have been bricking it not being able to read the descent description as it is not exactly straight forward even if you read the lingo. I have got thundered off there before, but it only started properly once we got back to the bivi at the start of the route!

Yes, the G£ttner was good, another "half day" for climbing would be the Bauernpredigstuhl, got some nice routes and quickish descent.

In reply to Heike:


Agreed, although I've only done the Lucke-Strobl (and found it to be a bit of a struggle at the grade!) Always fancied having a go at the Alte Westwand too ...

Hopefully you'll get round to doing the Buhl one day - and as you say, it *has* to be done, if only for the experience (and the tick!) [Hint - Unless you like constricted chimneys with walls polished to a glass-like sheen, use all available underhanded tactics/ excuses and get your partner to lead the Woll/Woll! ]

In reply to Dave Williams:

Eeek, I'll bear that in mind...did I say I hate glassy constricted chimneys...

In reply to Derry:

Wilder Kaiser. I should have mentioned the climbs on the Kleine Halt. The Plattendirettissima has about 20 pitches and isnt sustained so is a good warm up to test how well you are moving initially, and the descent includes a via ferrata. It is an example of an older climb that has been equipped with bolts. There are a lot of good longer climbs that can be done from the Hans Berger hut.
The Dulfer on the Fleischbank is very polished on the lower pitches, less so on the upper section. Easy descent down an abseil piste. A number of routes on the Fleischbank have had bolts added to back up old pitons - throughout, or on the lower sections.The starting cracks on the Schule-Diem/Haslacker-Behringer are so polished they spoil the route for many. Other routes nearby on the Predigtstuhl are less polished.
The Dulfer on the Totenkirchl is a far superior route to the one on the Fleischbank.
There are a number of modern mountain sport routes of some length in the Kaiser, generally bolted but where they can be run out unless you place your own gear. The Kirchl express on the Totenkirchl is an 18 pitch example.

The Panico topo guides are great even for non German speakers like me. Markus Stadler has (or did have) his own website and gave additional new routes.

In reply to Derry:

http://www.bergsteigen.com/klettern/steiermark/dachsteingebirge/maixkante

and hit topo.