The Hochschwab group in northern Styria is one of the major mountain ranges of eastern Austria – a vast karst plateau of high-quality Hochschwab limestone that also feeds Vienna's mountain spring water supply. Its climbing walls include the Messnerin, the Festlbeilstein, the Großer Beilstein, the Stangenwand, the Schartenspitze and the roughly 250 m high, mostly slabby Hochschwab south face leading to the main summit, plus the Höllmauer (about 400 m) on the way to the Voisthaler Hütte. The Stangenwand has been climbed for more than 100 years; in 1938 Schinko and companions climbed its south-east face, still an alpine classic.
Approaches are long compared with the routes: the south face takes about 3 hours from Bodenbauer or 3.5 hours from Seewiesen, both reached via the S6 to Kapfenberg. The newly built Voisthaler Hütte is the base for the south face and the Schwabenkar; there is also camping near Wildalpen, near Tragöss and near Seebach. Protection on many routes is sparse, and on the plateau orientation becomes very difficult in bad visibility, so carry a GPS track. In unsettled weather the Ausweichkogel is a good alternative, and in winter the Ostschlucht of the Stangenwand is a popular ice climb.
Part of Styria, Hochschwab Group has 15 via ferrata routes documented on climbing.place. Routes are listed below with difficulty and community notes.