Schartschrofen

Page Type Page Type: Mountain/Rock
Location Lat/Lon: 47.50355°N / 10.60236°E
Activities Activities: Hiking, Via Ferrata, Skiing
Seasons Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Additional Information Elevation: 6457 ft / 1968 m
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Overview

SchartschrofenSchartschrofen as seen from south route


The summit of Schartschrofen, which means “rock of the col” is indeed a prominent rock located between the cols of Gelbe Scharte to the south and Hallergehrenjoch to the north. In comparison with the much higher and much more prominent summits of Rote Flüh, Gimpel and Köllenspitze, Schartschrofen is a sort of second or third row summit.

I thought so, too, but I changed my mind and climbed Schartschrofen twice in 2012, first time, coming from Große Schlicke to inspect the Friedberger Klettersteig, a Via Ferrata on the east side of Schartschrofen. I abandoned the idea of descending the Via Ferrata as many, many people came crawling up. I turned round after a long summit break and descended the normal route to Hallergehrenjoch and Raintal to Musau.

Only one week later I did the “Tannheimer triple jump”: Gimpel, Rote Flüh and, via Friedensweg and Friedberger Klettersteig, again Schartschrofen, all in all a very nice outing and a lazy afternoon hour on Schartschrofen summit, which is an excellent lookout, despite of its minor height. The views to the west and southwest are beautiful and the aspect of steep Gimpel, Rote Flüh and the north faces of the Tannheimer Berge main summits dominating Raintal are just breathtaking.

Many factors not to be a “second or third row summit”!




Getting There

SchartschrofenGimpel and (right below)Schartschrofen as seen from Große Schlicke


Main trailheads for Schartschrofen are

  • Musau / railway station or Musau Bärenfalle Inn

  • Vils at the Fall quarries

  • Nesselwängle, Grän, Haldensee or Haller

  • Füssener Jöchl for the lazy ones




  • You reach Musau on road number 179 coming from Füssen / Germany or Reutte / Innsbruck, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Lechtal / Arlberg region. Leave the road at exit “Reutte Nord” and turn on road L69 to Musau.
    At Bärenfalle Inn (signpost) there is a hiker parking area behind the parking area of the inn! Just follow the dirt road some 300 m into the woods to the road barrier.
    At Musau park your car near the railway station where it is possible.

  • You reach Vils likewise on road number 179 coming from Füssen / Germany or Reutte / Innsbruck, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Lechtal / Arlberg region. Leave the road at the exit “Vils” and follow road L69 to Vils. At Vils follow the Fallweg road until you reach the parking area near Fall quarries.

  • You reach Nesselwängle from Reutte or Arlberg region on road number 198. Turn on road number 199 at Weißenbach and pass by Gaichtpass. Follow the bypass road around Nesselwängle until you reach the Gimpelhaus parking area northwest of Nesselwängle (day and multiple day fees). There are no public parking possibilities in the village of Nesselwängle!
    If you follow road 199 you reach Haller, Haldensee and, by taking road number L261 at Haldensee, Grän.

  • You reach Nesselwängle from Germany / Allgäu region by using highway A 7 to exit Oy and road number 399 to Pfronten. Take Achtalstraße and – after the border – L261 to Grän and Haldensee. At Haldensee take road number 199 to Haller and Nesselwängle / Gimpelhaus parking area.

  • From Grän you can take the cablecar to Füssener Jöchl.






  • Routes Overview

    SchartschrofenRoutes Overview



    South route:

    From Nesselwängle or Haller parking area ascend on the forest road number 413 to Adlerhorst inn and to Gessenwang Alpe. There are some shortcuts possible on the old foot trail.

    From Grän or Haldesee choose trail number 412 until it crosses a forest road at 1336 m. Go right on the road until you reach Gessenwang Alpe.

    At the Alpe follow trail number 413 up to Hallergehrenjoch. Turn right onto the summit trail.

    Füssener Jöchl trail:

    A short one: from Füssener Jöchl cablecar mountain station follow trail number 414 to Reintaljoch and to Hallergehrenjoch. Go straight on to the summit.


    Musau trails:

    From Musau railway station follow the steep trail to Achsel and proceed on the forest road into Raintal valley until you reach Musauer Alm.
    Alternatively follow the forest road, starting at Musau / Bärenfalle parking area, which, too, leads into Raintal valley and to Musauer Alm.

    SchartschrofenSchartschrofen south
    SchartschrofenSchartschrofen as seen from Raintal
    SchartschrofenGimpel, Rote Flüh, Friedberger Steig


    Proceed on the road until you reach Füssener Hütte. Take trail 413 and climb alternatively Hallergehrenjoch to your right or Gelbe Scharte to your left.

    At Hallergehrenjoch turn left onto the summit trail.

    At Gelbe Scharte gear up, turn right and ascend Schartschrofen on Friedberger Klettersteig.


    Friedberger Steig:

    Friedberger Klettersteig, in its part between Rote Flüh and Gelbe Scharte also called "Friedensweg", is a route using the connecting ridge between Rote Flüh and Schartschrofen.


    Ski routes:

    Follow the south route or the Musau route via Hallergehrenjoch, starting at Musau / Bärenfalle.
    Easy ski routes for beginners; the ascent to Hallergehrenjoch is steep in its upper parts.


    Red Tape & Accommodation

    Red Tape

    There are no special restrictions in this area as far as I know.

    SchartschrofenChamois at the summit trail
    SchartschrofenSchartschrofen, Gelbe Scharte
    SchartschrofenGimpel as seen from Hallergehrenjoch


    Accommodation

    You find hotels, campgrounds and other accommodation at
    Vils
    Musau
    Reutte/Tirol
    Tannheimer Tal (Grän, Haldensee, Haller, Nesselwängle)

    Mountain huts:
    Musauer Alm
    Vilser Alm
    Otto Mayr Hütte
    Füssener Hütte
    Gimpelhaus
    Tannheimer Hütte



    External Links

    SchartschrofenSummit view to the west: Allgäu Alps


    Schartschrofen can be summited all year round.

    It is an easy hiking summit in late spring, summer and autumn.

    Friedberger Klettersteig is a Via Ferrata for beginners (difficulty B/C). Self belaying kit and helmet are recommended.


    In winter and spring, ski routes from Musau and Tannheim valley offer an easy ski tour to the summit. You need full ski tour gear and your avalanche gear.


    Check the Tirol avalanche bulletin here.




    Current Weather:




    Maps & Guide Books

    Maps


  • Alpenvereinskarte Bayerische Alpen, scale 1 : 25.000, map number BY 5: Tannheimer Berge, Köllenspitze, Gaishorn, 1st edition, 2012, Deutscher Alpenverein

  • Bayerische Topographische Karte, scale 1 : 50.000, map number UK50-48, Füssen und Umgebung, Landesamt für Vermessung und Geoinformation Bayern, 2012



  • SchartschrofenView from summit trail
    SchartschrofenSchartschrofen and Allgäu Alps


    Guide Books / Internet


  • Alpenvereinsführer: Allgäuer Alpen und Ammergauer Alpen, alpin, Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, 2008

  • Via ferrata Guide Books like:
  • Eugen E. Hüsler: Klettersteige 1: Alle Klettersteige der Nordalpen; Bruckmann Verlag 2012


  • Internet, e.g.:
    http://www.via-ferrata.de/img-friedberger-klettersteig-352.htm



    Children

    Children

    Children refers to the set of objects that logically fall under a given object. For example, the Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' The Aconcagua mountain itself has many routes, photos, and trip reports as children.