Within the Ankogel Group in Carinthia, climbing centres on the Maltatal, the "valley of falling waters" that runs from the mountaineering village of Malta up towards the Hohe Tauern National Park. The rock is granite gneiss – compact, hard-wearing and rounded, so technique and precise footwork matter more than finger strength. Climbing here started in the 1980s (the first bolt at the Kreuzwand went in in 1984) and today the valley offers more than 350 sport routes, around 80 multi-pitch routes, alpine climbs and a world-class bouldering scene, with the famous "Bügeleisen" among the hardest boulders anywhere.
The best-known crags are right by the road: the Kreuzwand, the largest sector with more than 70 routes, the Schluchtpfeiler and, higher up on the Malta-Hochalmstraße, the slabby Lackenkopfwand; more friction slabs lie above the Galgenbichl reservoir. Next to the Fallbach, Carinthia's highest waterfall, runs a via ferrata, and a demanding via ferrata leads up the Hochalmspitze (3,360 m). In winter the valley is known for ice climbing.
Part of Carinthia, Ankogel Group has 144 routes documented on climbing.place. Routes range from grade 3+ to 10-. Explore its 13 crags and sectors below.
Often climbed in May, June, September.