Kellespitze

Overview

The "Kellespitze" or also "Koellenspitze" (in german "Köllenspitze") is the highest peak of the Tannheim montains (Tannheimer Berge), between Oberjoch in the West and Reutte in the East.
It offers an overall sight of the surrounding area and some easy but very long climbing routes.
Even the normal route onto the summit is a demanding Grade II climb and recommended only for experienced hikers.
The traverse of the "Kellespitze" from East to West is the longest and also one of the great Grade III climbs in the Tannheim mountains. And the south face offers the longest south face route of the Tannheim mountains.
Because the rock is not always solid but in some routes quite fragile it is recommended to always wear a helmet!

Getting There

From the North/Germany:
By car, take the German motorway A7, exit "Oy/Mittelberg". Turn right onto road B310 to Hindelang until Oberjoch (about 20 km), turn left (direction "Tannheimer Tal). On this road straigt on (about 15 km), until 1 km after Haldensee. There on the left side is the big parking site of the "Gimpelhaus".

From the South/Austria:
Take road 314 over "Fernpaß" to "Reutte". In "Reutte" take road 198, direction "Tannheimer Tal". After 10 km, in "Weissenbach", turn right and drive over "Gaichtpaß" to "Nesselwaengle". Short after "Nesselwaengle" there is on the right side the big parking site of the "Gimpelhaus".

From the parking site take the hiking trail to the Gimpelhaus (1 1/2 hrs). From there it's about one hour to the beginning of the normal route.

Red Tape

No restrictions

When To Climb

Although climbing the south face routes is possible almost the whole year round you have to be very careful at the descent, if you use the normal route as the descent route!
Parts of the normal route face to the north and are covered by snow until early summer and again in fall. You have to traverse and descent about 20 meters on a very tricky snow field. Some casualties have happened already!

Camping

There are three possibilities to stay overnight:

The "Gimpelhaus" (1659 m) is a big private hut (some people also say it is a "mountain hotel" :-) some 30 minutes from the beginning of the south face routes. It's open from May 1st to the beginning of November and offers 300 places.
The hut is 8 Euros per night, breakfast 7 Euros, half pension 25 Euros. The prices are moderate, the meals are average quality. You are allowed to have your own food, but not to cook or boil. You get hot water for tea.
Tel.: 0043/5675/8251
E-Mail: gimpelhaus@aon.at

The "Tannheimer Hütte" (1760 m) is a small, cosy and comfortable hut of the DAV (German Alpine Club). It's a little nearer to the "Kellespitze" than the "Gimpelhaus". It's open from the beginning of May to the end of October and offers 22 places but no food.
But because of its smallness most times it's fully occupied by
youth groups or leader teams.
Tel.: 0043/676/3423239

I think camping is not really forbidden, but at the times when the "Gimpelhaus" is open, it's not really comfortable to camp near the hiking trails where hundreds of people go by. So you better build your tent after sunset and put it down before 6 a.m..

When the hut is closed, nobody will ask at all. But you have to take care of avalanches.

Mountain Conditions

If you want to have a look at the Tannheim mountains and what the area looks like or if you want to know if the weather is right for hiking or climbing, you can look at the following webcams:

webcam onto Graen and Haldensee
Thats the area in the valley at the bottom of the "Kellespitze".

webcam onto Rote Flueh and Gimpel
Both summits are in the background at the left. Although "Kellespitze" is higher than both summits it is hidden behind this two peaks.

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Images

View Kellespitze Image Gallery - 7 Images