Vorderer Tajakopf

Overview

The Tajaköpfe (Taja peaks) are on a relatively long north-south running ridge, with twisting ridges and gullies running down the sides. They are seperated from other peaks rising above the Seebensee and Brendkar by the Hintere Taja Törl (roughly "the back Taja gate") at 2259 meters. This high pass has a trail that goes from the Drachensee to the Brendkar. Due to it's popularity because of a streneous via ferrata, the Vordere Tajakopf ("front Taja summit") gets the most attention.

The reward for climbing any of the Tajaköpfe is a stunning view of the Mieminger Range running along to the south, a bird's eye view down to the Seebensee, and south walls of the Wetterstein across the valley that can't be ignored for long. Ascending the peak via the ferrata, perhaps combined with an ascent of the "sport" Seebener ferrata, will make for a grand day out on faces and ridges.

The easiest climb would be from a trail near the Coburger Hut. Follow trail 812 up to the Hintere Taja Törl, turning off to the north on a faint trail in scree that goes through some cliffs to reach the high pass of the Vordere Taja Törl. From here, the trail is sometimes protected with a cable as it ascends just left of the south ridge of the peak. From the summit, it appears that you could continue on to nab the Nordliche Tajakopf as well, just a little lower at 2441 meters. The DAV map shows this trail well.

For some additional excitement, you could follow signs from the Seebensee to the valley station of the material-lift for the Coburger Hütte. A little beyond, a faint trail leads up and left to the base of the peak's western cliffs, and the start of the Tajakopf Klettersteig (protected climbing route). This is a long and difficult "via ferrata" with several vertical walls and some exposed traverses. It ascends on very solid rock of the West Ridge.

Getting There

The trailhead is the Ehrwalderalmbahn station or the town of Ehrwald itself. There are several ways of getting there.

Ehrwald is easily reachable by car via Garmisch Partenkirchen (Germany), Innsbruck (Austria) or Kempten (Germany).
A train connection from Ehrwald to the above called cities exists.
From Garmisch Partenkirchen you reach the airport of Munich quite easy by car or train, but Innsbruck airport is closer to Ehrwald.

Huberschwiller made a nice schematic here:


I uploaded a map showing the peak and access from the Seebensee:

Red Tape

There are no permits, fees or seasonal closures.

Parking at Ehrwalder Almbahn is free. Paying a few Euros, this cable car carries you up to Ehrwalder Alm, which saves you an altitude difference of about 400m / 1312ft.

Camping

For the normal route, a stay at the Coburger hut would be nice. You might bivy near the lake if you really want an early start on the via ferrata, but town is close enough that it's not necessary.

Mountain Conditions

These conditions were collected by Lukas Kunze for his Drachenkopf page.

Weather
www.wetter.com (Ehrwald) offers a detailed weather forecast of Ehrwald.

Webcam
Ehrwalder Alm webcam - This webcam is the closest webcam I' ve found. Sometimes Ehrwalder Sonnenspitze is visible and current weather conditions (temperature, humidity and wind speed) are displayed.

A video impression

On my visit to the peak I made a video that provides some more impressions of this interesting peak:

Images

View Vorderer Tajakopf Image Gallery - 27 Images