Climbing Blue Moon in the Wilder Kaiser

Climbing Blue Moon in the Wilder Kaiser

The Route

Blue Moon. A 560m, 14 pitch, VI+ route located on Kopfkraxen (2180m). Kopfkraxen is a mountain in the Wilder Kaiser in Tyrol Region of Austria.

A beautiful route with enormous dihedrals, cracks, technical slab and face climbing.

Approach

There is a car park at the Wegscheid car park, Scheffau (883m).  There looks to be a restaurant a little further up the road but this will be for customers only. 

The approach from the car park to the base of the route will take approximately 2 hours but wise to allow a little more time just in case. Follow trail no. 826 past the various intersection with the Wilder-Kaiser-Steig trail. Continue north past the waterfall which in August was a steady trickle, enough to fill up water bottles but look at the erosion of the rock, I bet it is a different sight after heavy rain. Continue on the trail until the end of the Pine Forest where you enter a boulder field and the dihedral pitches should already be visible

Nearing the end of the forest with the Kopfkraxen ahead

Continue straight through the boulder field and scree towards the base of the route. The beginning of the route is in the fall line so it is wise to get moving quickly especially if parties are already on the route.

GPS Files are available on this website which also has further information on the route – Link.



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The Climb

The sun is just starting to shine on the Blue Moon

Simon and I were travelling through Austria to the Frankenjura in Germany.  Driving through the Austrian Alps, the high glistening peaks weretoo tempting to not stop and explore on our way through. We made our stop in Tyrol which is a region of Austria on the western edge of country and is dominated by towering peaks making it popular with hikers, climbers and alpinists. 

In the passenger seat of the well-travelled Ford, Simon picked out Blue Moon.  A sensational looking 560m route with 14 pitches of diverse climbing. At VI+ it difficult enough to be challenging and achievable. The UIAA Grade VI+ is approximately 6a sport or E1 5b UK Trad.

We did not have a guidebook for the area, which was a surprise considering we were motoring along in a mobile library, but the information on the internet showed us some amazing pictures of pitches and a location to the start of the route. 

Apologies for the blurry photo due to the lack of light as we hiked up to our bivvy

After spending a day bouldering locally, we drove to the Wegscheid car park late in the afternoon and got ready to hike up to bivvy under the stars near the start of the route. On the hike, we passed serval farmers buildings which sadly did not provide suitable overnight spots but we did find, they had beer cooling in a cattle troughs outside alongside an honesty box. After a bit of deliberation, Simon delivered the following words of wisdom, “Always take more than you think you need.” So, we took 6.

With heavier bags we pressed on to the bivvy. Unfortunately, this bivvy was less than desirable as the only flat (enough) ground that was devoid of rocks was also on a thick bed of fallen leaves. As such it was home to all the insects. I mean all of them… We certainly became a good attraction for the local population to climb on. At least we were well hydrated.

After a slightly itchy night in the bug hotel, we woke early to start Blue Moon. After a short hike, towards the enormous dihedral that forms the 6th pitch, we were at the base of the route.  The initial pitches were a little vague but as we got on to the climb properly it soon turned into the most enjoyable limestone multipitch I have climbed yet. In essence the route is a series of spectacular pitches interspersed with some scrambling. 

The 3 pitch was the first grade 6 pitch, and even on second, I found this surprisingly tricky.  There were vertical flared cracks in a steep wavy slab.  The climbing felt insecure and off balance so I was glad to be on second.  The 6th pitch is the pitch that we all want to climb, a 40m sustained layback.  There are bolts throughout the pitch but they are well spaced so you might want to carry a couple cams for reassurance.  Powerful climbing in an extraordinary location, this is why we had stopped in Tyrol. 

Nearing the top of Blue Moon, there were lower tech grades pitches but involved technical face climbing with endless exposure.

Throughout the 14 pitches there is crack climbing, laybacks, technical faces, slabs and dihedrals.  Blue Moon really had it all. 

Simon and I looking a bit hot and sweaty after a good day.

At the top of Kopfkraxen we could walk off instead of committing to a series of potentially complex and mentally draining abseils. Compared to recent multipitch routes this was a delight.

Tidying up with a view
Resting before a delightful walk down the mountain

The only downside was due to our lack of information. We thought it was trad route and had expected, in typical European style, the cruxes to have a couple bolts. We were misinformed. Blue Moon is in essence a sparsely bolted sport route. It meant we took a full and rather heavy rack out for a walk and only placed 1 cam.

I would still recommend taking a light rack if you want to make some of the runouts a bit less bold.

Blue Moon, it is a modern classic and well worth seeking out. Several of the pictures by Simon. 

Happy climbing!


 

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