Saulakopf Klettersteig

Though Vorarlberg is closer to Zürich than many Swiss cantons, I hadn't explored this part of Austria at all until now. A via ferrata is always a good place to start for getting to know a new mountain range.

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After taking the popular Lünersee cable car, we walk to the eastern end of the dam. From here, a white-blue-white marked path traverses northwards to the Saulajoch. The path loses some 80m of altitude before starting to climb again. There are fixed cables on some of the more exposed sections (T3+). We cross the Saulajoch saddle and (again in a slightly descending line) loop around to the eastern side of the Saulakopf. At ca. 1940m, a signpost points to the start of the via ferrata at the foot of the Saulakopf east face.

The start of the Saulakopf via ferrata is clearly visible from the approach, but the most obvious path goes past this point. Instead, you need to briefly scramble across a rocky slope to reach the start. If you stay on the path for too long (as we did), then you can also join the via ferrata slightly higher up, just before the first crux. 

The via ferrata starts with some steep-to-overhanging climbing, but everything is protected quite well. Gradually, the steepness declines somewhat. If you get past this first vertical step, then the rest of the via ferrata should not be a problem either. About halfway, as the route climbs out of the east face and onto the southeast ridge, there is an emergency escape. The second part of the via ferrata follows the ridge all the way to the top, with mostly relatively easy scrambling. The most interesting feature here is some kind of ladder-stairway, which was already visible from the Saulajoch down below. You can also go around this construction and the short difficult scramble at the top of it.

The Klettersteigführer Österreich grades the Saulakopf via ferrata as D/E. I found it relatively easy for this grade. On the Hüsler scale, K5 seem to fit quite well. The continuous spectacular views towards the Zimba by themselves make the Saulakopf Klettersteig a worthwhile route. The via ferrata, though quite popular itself, is also considerably less crowded than the busy normal route, the Saulakopfsteig. This white-blue-white marked path is also our descent route. There are two sections with fixed cables (T4-). A via ferrata set could theoretically be used here as well, but there is normally no need for this.

From the Saulajoch, we return to the Lünersee on the same path the we used in the morning.