Ice climbing in the Ötztal

Ice climbing is becoming increasingly popular. Climbing up a frozen waterfall is not a sport for everyone, but it is possible for all sports enthusiasts with a mountain guide. The correct belaying, the assessment of the ice quality on site and the optimal crampon technique in the various degrees of difficulty should be shown and learned by a mountain guide, especially for beginners.

You should also learn how to use the ice tool and how to set the belays. Then nothing will stand in the way of a great experience.

Ötztal Ice Climbing Festival

If you want to learn how to climb on frozen ice, there are mountain guides in the Ötztal as well as the ice climbing festival in Längenfeld, which was launched in 2020.

Here, beginners are shown how to get started on the ice by professionals. The meeting point is at the ice climbing park in Oberried near Längenfeld.

Ice climbing at night

Since 2020, the hamlet of Oberried near Längenfeld has offered the possibility of ice climbing at night.

While the cross-country skiers make their rounds on the night trail, they climb up the waterfall, which is illuminated with spotlights:

MÜRBIHL icefall (short icefall in the Ötztal climbing park, illuminated daily from 17:00 - 21:00).

Difficulty WI 4+ / 2 pitches / orientation northeast

The Ötztal

Popular sport climbing area, playground for mountaineers and ski tourers. It has always been known in many places that the Ötztalers were not among the crème de la crème of rock climbers in the second half of the 20th century. But it should be noted that no one would have wanted to say a bad word about the skill and courage of the Ötztalers in the matter of "ice". It even went so far that an older mountain guide, in the course of a discussion on this vexed subject, replied with much self-praise and presumably also at a late hour: "Obor im Eise sei mor a Mocht!" (Translated: But in the ice we are a power!) The years passed and not only because of global warming, which turned the formerly frightening ice walls into thin ice skins, but also because of our own interests and motives, a lot has changed in the valley of the "ice climbers" (excerpt from the Ötztaler ice climbing guide).

The 4 most popular ice climbing routes in the Ötztal.

Abseiling over an icefall guarantees unforgettable impressions. In the Ötztal valley there are almost 40 ice climbing routes for every climbing level. Below are 4 of the most popular ice climbing areas:

Längenfeld/Griesslehnfall: Easy, long icefall in a wooded gully. There are almost no vertical sections. The climbing time is about 1.5 hours, the descent over the icefall by means of ice-clocks and tree ropes about 20 minutes.
Längenfeld/Burgsteiner: Popular, often climbed icefall at the via ferrata. Challenging with several vertical sections, partly only icicles. The climbing time is about 2 to 3 hours, the descent is about 20 minutes on foot via the forest road.
Innerötztal/Alzenlehnerfall: A not too difficult, very long, alpine icefall with a climbing time of about 4.5 hours. The approx. 2-hour descent can be made via the icefall or via the hiking trail that leads to the Brunnachalm and from there back to Zwieselstein.
Ochsengarten/Kühtaibacherl-Fall: Beautiful, easy, not too steep icefall that is well suited for ice climbing beginners. There are drilled belays for abseiling on the orographic side here.

Further information can be found on the following websites:

Eisklettern Ötztal | Climbers Paradise Tirol (climbers-paradise.com)

Elfenbein » Bruggen » Eiskletterführer Ötztal (oetztalclimbing.com)

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