Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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47.57000°N / 12.85000°E |
Route Type:
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Glacier Climb, Rock Climb and a lot of Hiking |
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Time Required:
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Most of a day |
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Difficulty:
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Glacier 50°, Rock UIAA Grade II |
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Approach
Starting point is "Blaueishütte" at 1680 m, which can be reached from Ramsau or Hintersee in about 3 hours.
Route Description
From "Blaueishütte" south towards the glacier, along it's left border and then onto the glacier.
There is a big field of rocks in the middle and on the left side of the glacier. You can either surround this rocks on the right and traverse the upper part of the glacier to the left or climb the rocks on a straight path.
But be careful - climbing the rocks is more difficult than it looks, they are quite polished and filled with scree!
Climb the glacier to its uppermost left end. There you have to look for a good spot to traverse onto the rock - depending on snow conditions and time of year the traverse can be tricky and time consuming! After you traversed to the rock keep also to the left until you reach a small snowfield. Cross the snowfield towards the notch between Blaueisspitze and Hochkalter, the so-called "Blaueisscharte".
Walk the notch up to his highest point, where you can look into the other valley, the Wimbachgries! That's very important, because at this point is the starting point for the climbing route, it's also marked with an old and faded orange arrow! Don't climb the groove to the right - it's very dangerous because of rockfall and the warden of the Blaueishütte told us that a climber was killed recently!
The route up to Hochkalter is not marked and finding the way is not always easy - you should look for occasional pitons, slings and cairns (Steinmänner).
In the kitchen of the Blaueishütte there is a photo with the route marked in red - ask the warden to have a look at it!
For the descent back down to Blaueishütte follow the "hiking path" via "Schöner Fleck". It's marked with red spots on the rocks.
On the attached photo I have tried to indicate the route in red.
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Essential Gear
Depends on snow conditions, season and your climbing skills:
I recommend crampons and an ice axe for climbing the glacier, although until mid-summer it is not bare ice but snow-covered. But there is no sun and so the snow is very hard and slippery.
For the rock climbing part a helmet could be useful - there is a lot of scree and loose rocks onto the route.
If you climb this route in late summer you should also carry a rope and some ice-screws - the ice on the glacier will be bare and the traverse onto the rock can become quite tricky, so you probably will belay!
The climbing is UIAA grade II - so you have to decide if you belay and use a rope or go without belay.
Miscellaneous Info
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.