Laliderspitze, Karwendel Range, Austria - Herzogkante (5.7, ~20 pitches) 8/31/2008
Trip: Laliderspitze, Karwendel Range, Austria - Herzogkante (5.7, ~20 pitches)
Date: 8/31/2008
Trip Report:I likes to tell yall about some places you don't usually hear
about. On the Germany-Austria border there is a place called
the Ahornboden ("acorn valley floor" I guess). It's got cows,
plenty of fresh milk, a beer garden and little cabins. It's also
surrounded by 800 meter high walls with the easiest route to the
top being the Herzogkante. It's a ridge, going at 5.7 plus lots
of grungy alpine terrain. But there are also long trad and sport
routes in the 5.10 to 5.12 range.
Me and another American named Dan hiked in Saturday morning at
5:30 am, and made the long approach (yeah, 2-3 hours is "long"
here). The last 30 minutes was finger-freezing step-cutting up a
sun-cupped snowfield to the base of the route. One rock in each
soon-frozen hand.
Another party was already there, occasionally reminding us of
their presence with that disturbing low fluttering sound you get
when rocks fall by. When the climbing was harder, the rock was
solid. When it was easy, there was a bloodbath of rock fall.
Caption: The Laliderspitze at dawn. We climbed the ridge.
Pitches 2,8,10 and 16 were amazing: steep, solid, exposed, good
protection with nuts or fixed pins. Pitch 12 might have been
great but was marred for me by painful stomach problems that
ended sorrowfully.
Europe has bolt wars too! Somebody installed a belay bolt at most
belay stances. Then another guy came and smashed it over. It was
sad to come up and see Dan belaying from three equalized dubious
micro-nuts next to a mangled bolt.
It took 8 hours to reach the top. On the hike down there was a
bivy shelter nicer than the house my mom and I lived in in the
3rd grade. It hat 8 bunks, blankets, a skylight and a little
kitchen.
But getting down the wall on the north was scrappy. 8-10 rappels
and lots of 4th class downclimbing, touching down right at full
dark. Then 3 hours of hiking, ending prematurely at the
biergarten. We stretched our sore muscles, reflecting that the
climb was first done 97 years ago.
Some pics:
Dan rounding a corner for 30 meters of unprotectable 5.5:
A great 5.7 pitch with huge exposure below.
Looking down the ridge:
From the summit, looking east. See the luxury bivouac hut?
Gear Notes:Medium rack of nuts and cams.
