Arlberg Klettersteig

Klettersteig is made up of 2 German words put together - like most German words. The first "Klettern" in German means climbing. The second word "Steig" means steep track. The easiest way to explain it is to say it is a cross between rock climbing and hiking. Some of the easier Klettersteig  routes are not much more than a really difficult hike. The hardest ones are almost straight up rock climbing. If you are familiar with rock climbing you know that each route is rated with a standard. The same is true with Klettersteig. The route Joel and I did is possibly the hardest one in the Alps. I didn't know this until the day before and by then we were all pumped about going so of course there was no stopping.


To give you an idea of what it is and what is needed I will try to explain. First you must have the proper equipment otherwise you are just playing games with your life (as some Germans put it). It starts with a harness - one very similar to a rock climbing harness. Meaning there is a part that goes around your waist and legs. The other part (not sure what it is called) is a like 2 ropes tied to the center of your harness. It is also recommended to wear a helmet in the event of falling rocks. Good foot wear is also needed and in some cases cramp-ons and an ice ax in the event of snow.


There is a cable about 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter that is run along the peak of the mountain and about every 20 to 40 feet there is a post in the rock holding the cable up (or away from the rock). You clip into this cable and when you come to one of the posts you move one of your ropes to the other side of the post then you move the other rope. The reason you move one at a time is for obvious reasons...you want to always be connected to the cable at all times in the event you lose your footing and fall. Your harness will keep you on the mountain rather than falling 20 to several hundred feet. The rest is fairly easy...you hike/climb/crawl your way up the mountain. The only thing that will hold you back/slow you down is one or more of the following: your physical energy/fitness level, getting scared because of the height, or the awesome views at the top.


Joel and I went with Gus and 2 of his old roommates from college and a German coworker. We started the day at 4am to drive about 2 hrs to where we left the car. We stared off the day with an Italian Espresso made in an old Italian Espresso maker (I have one now too). We then had to hike (normal hike) up to where the Klettersteig started. It was about a 2 hr hike. From there we started the Klettersteig. We all had a good time in the end, but we all had difficulties at some point. We originally had plans to do the entire hike but we had to bail out about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way because the cable was missing and it was too dangerous to continue. We took an exit point built into the hike and walked back to the car. The walk back was not what we expected as it took us much longer (about 4 hrs) and we were all tired at that point.


I hope to be able to go back sometime this summer and finish the Arlberg Klettersteig at some point. Gus has already gone back and finished it. He said that it was a good thing we stopped where we did that day because it got much harder and it would have been much further than we thought.

From right to left Matt, Louis, Sebastian, Joel, Me (Gus taking the pic)

2680 Meters up (+8790 feet or + 1.6 miles)