Leite Klettersteig (Nassereith)

After two via ferrata epics on Friday and Saturday, the weather forecast for Sunday was must less stable. We decided to try one or two short via ferratas nonetheless. Driving to 'rock climbing village' Nassereith in the morning, there was no sign of bad weather yet. Instead the sun was shining brightly. There is a large car park for the Klettergarten, hidden away in the back streets of the village, with a water fountain and toilets. (Location on Google Maps, note that the car park must be fairly new because it's not on Google's satellite images yet.) From here, the approach to the Leite Klettersteig is clearly signposted.

 

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There are not many people around, but we have the bad luck to have a large group of eight start the via ferrata just before us. A couple of them are beginners who make particularly slow progress and need to be secured on a rope. Luckily, they are helpful and let us past at the first opportunity.

 

The route is graded at C/D and has some rather athletic sections, where you need to pull yourself up on the cable with considerable force. It's only 10am, but it's fairly hot already, with the rock face baking in sunlight, so we work up quite a sweat. After passing a bench (where you can also find the log book), the route becomes easier. A long traverse (above a number of rock climbing routes, so don't knock any stones down) and a comfortable wire bridge lead to the exit of the via ferrata. Return to the car park on any of a number of paths that zigzag down over scree and through the woods.

 

The guide book time for the complete route is 3 hours, but we're already back at the car in less than 2 hours.

 

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I'm not a huge fan of the whole pull-your-self-up-on-the-cable thing, and I prefer more alpine routes. But as 'sport via ferratas' go, this one certainly has its merit.

Next: Wasserfall Klettersteig (Muttekopfhütte, Imst)