Climbing at Kaiser Mountains

The Kaiser Mountains between Kufstein and St. Johann in Tyrol are one of the cradles of Alpine climbing. The Wilder Kaiser is built of Wetterstein limestone up to 1,000 m thick and riddled with cracks; its highest summit is the Ellmauer Halt (2,344 m), and at its heart lies the Steinerne Rinne, long called the "laboratory" of climbers, flanked by the big three: Totenkirchl, Fleischbank and Predigtstuhl. Climbing history was written here – the Totenkirchl was first climbed in 1881, Dülfer and Schmidt climbed the Fleischbank east face in 1912, Hermann Buhl the Mauk west face in 1943. In 1977 the "Pumprisse" became the first route to reach the 7th grade, Stefan Glowacz later climbed "Des Kaisers neue Kleider" (10+) on the Fleischbank pillar, and Alex Huber's "Open Air" at the Schleierwasserfall is considered perhaps the world's first 11+.

The north side is reached from Kufstein and the Kaisertal, with the Stripsenjochhaus (1,577 m) as the traditional base right below the Totenkirchl and Predigtstuhl; on the sunnier south side, above Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau and Going, huts such as the Gruttenhütte and Gaudeamushütte serve bolted modern routes like the Wirtskante (6+) on the Vordere Karlspitze, plus the Schleierwasserfall sport crag. Rockfall is common on many alpine routes, so wear a helmet.