North-West-Ridge

Approach

I climbed the north-west-ridge of Hochwand together with Anja Cerpnjak. We took our bikes to get as fast as possible to the start of the climb. We started at the parking lot in Leutasch. We biked to the Tilfuss Alm where we left our bikes (app 1 hour). From there further on – partly bushbashing - direction to the large cirque (Schnoellkar) that is embedded in the the Northface. There is a scree gully coming down. On the eastern side of it up until you hit a deer trail. On that trail to the bottom of the wall. Crossing Westside until reaching a gully. East of it is the start of the climb.
The westwall was first climbed by A Knoepfler in 1917

Route Description

The first 500 m are on cracked slabs with firm rock, 12 pitches up to a little peak on the north-west-ridge, called Latschenkopf. From there we climbed it more or less directly on the ridge. 350 m including the crux through a thin chimney. At the end of this part (2400 m) there is a 10 m step to rappel down. From there to the summit it is scrambling on easy but loose rock. For the descent we took the East Ridge (the easiest route - exposed scrambling on loose rock). A very long tour (it took us 16 hours car to car - very exhausting), but a real good climb. Excellent views over the whole Wetterstein, from Zugspitze to Musterstein.

Essential Gear

If you need - or feel better with - a rope for a 5.3... bring one. There are no bolts in the wall. So bring your nuts and friends and slings. There are many spots to place them. There are a number of pitches you can scramble without belaying. This saves a lot of time.

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.