Kenzenkopf – south face, above the Kenzenhütte · Ammergauer Alpen · Germany
Easy to bailBolting confidence: high
Six sustained pitches up stepped diagonal corners, compact slabs and steep walls on the very rough limestone of the Kenzenkopf, an hour from the Kenzenhütte. The first pitch is the hardest, at UIAA 7 to 7+ with acrobatic moves on holdless slabs; the rest stays between 6 and 7. Sunny until late afternoon and far quieter than the Geiselstein.
The route
The south face of the Kenzenkopf (about 1740 m) has the same quality of rock as the nearby Geiselstein but few routes, most of them old and boldly protected. Besser leben mit M. was bolted at Whitsun 2021 to give the wall a modern line. It has six pitches and about 180 m of climbing, homogeneous in the sixth and seventh UIAA grades (French 6a to 6c), with UIAA 6 obligatory. Grassy sections were cleaned or avoided, so the line stays on compact rock, and it ends on the long summit crest. The description here comes from the first ascensionist; a second writer on the same site who climbed it that summer confirms that the wall is longer and the rock much better than it looks.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6b+/6c | Diagonal stepped corners to a ledge, with good palming and footwork needed on holdless slabs. UIAA 7 to 7+: the crux of the route. |
| P2 | 6b | A slightly overhanging little wall on fairly good holds, then the angle eases; a tricky slab move leads right to a sheltered belay under an overhang. UIAA 7- to 7. |
| P3 | 6a | Out left from the overhang into an elegant corner climbed by laybacking, then left onto a slab of small holds to a ledge. UIAA 6 to 6+. |
| P4 | 6a+ | Left over a steep, tricky wall step onto a slabby ramp, up to a small overhang, then leftwards beneath a dwarf pine to the belay. UIAA 6+ to 7-. |
| P5 | 6a+ | Trending slightly right up a compact slab, then left to a grassy ledge. The longest pitch, but it runs without rope drag. UIAA 6+ to 7-. |
| P6 | 6a+ | A short corner leads right onto a steep slab, then left to the last belay, where there is a route book. Step 2 m right to reach the summit crest. UIAA 6+ to 7-. |
Getting there
Drive from Füssen or Steingaden to Halblech and park at the hikers' car park for the Kenzenhütte, at the bridge on the northern edge of the village where the valley road starts (bergsteigen.com recorded it as free of charge in August 2026). A shuttle bus runs from there up the private valley road to the Wankerfleck stop and on to the Kenzenhütte, roughly hourly in season; timetable at halblech.de. The road is mostly tarmac and good on a mountain bike, 1 to 1.5 h to the Wankerfleck or the hut, quicker by e-bike. By public transport: train to Füssen, bus to Halblech, then the shuttle. For this route stay on the bus to the Kenzenhütte (1300 m), 12 km up the valley. In 2021 the first bus up at weekends left at 07:00 and the last one down at 17:30.
About 1 h from the Kenzenhütte. Follow the signs through the forest towards the Kenzensattel. After a wooden bridge over a stream on a level section, the path turns right and climbs between the Hochplatte and the Kenzenkopf. The right-hand part of the south face soon appears on your right above a prominent boulder field; keep going a good way until a scree slope comes down from the right, and climb it, laboriously in places, straight up to the foot of the wall. The start is at the stepped corners that slant up diagonally to the right.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Parkplatz Kenzenhütte, Halblech (bergsteigen.com map marker); shuttle bus or bike from here up the valley road
Point from OpenStreetMap peak node for the Kenzenkopf; the route climbs the south face below the summit crest
Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 47.56134, 10.84912 (crag) · Parking: 47.62530, 10.82170
Getting down
Either abseil the route: the belays have chains, you can skip every other one, and three abseils with 2×60 m ropes bring you back to the start. Or, from the top, scramble left along the exposed ridge to the main summit of the Kenzenkopf (passages of grade 2) and take the normal route down to the Kenzensattel and left to the hut, about 45 min. If you left sacks at the foot, a steep grass slope leaves the upper part of the normal route to the left and returns to the start in about 15 min; the opener's overview sketch marks it as the quick descent.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is one of the two normal descents. All belays have chains set up for it and are described as well sheltered. With 2×60 m ropes you skip every other belay and reach the ground in three abseils from the top; from lower down it is fewer.
Safety
Sun and weather
South-facing and in the sun until late afternoon. The shuttle bus runs from June to October. The first ascensionists were chased off by the first thunderstorm of the summer on the day they finished: the wall offers no shelter and the abseils take time. The rock is extremely rough, kind to shoes and hard on skin and ropes.
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun (usual season) | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −3 | −2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 3 | −2 |
| Mean daily low °C | −13 | −12 | −8 | −5 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | −1 | −6 | −11 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 13 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 14 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1638 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
About 12 quickdraws and a helmet. A single 50 m rope is enough if you walk off; abseiling needs a 60 m double rope. No nuts or cams.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Besser leben mit M..
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
A short, easy alpine route of UIAA 4+ on the Schlössel above the Kenzenhütte: a water runnel, a corner and slabs, then a compact pillar to finish. Bolted where it matters but not closely. Pitch 3 has some unreliable rock and grass.
4c4 pitches140 m
Read the cautions
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
The classic way up the Geiselstein, the 'Matterhorn of the Ammergau Alps'. After two scrappy pitches it follows a slabby corner system up the middle of the sunny south face: steep, exposed and on good rock, at about UIAA IV with one polished move of V at the start of the corner. The descent by the normal route needs as much care as the climb.
5a7 pitches260 m
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
The popular sport line of the Geiselstein south face, straight up to the summit cross. Long, steep pitches on excellent rough limestone, sustained at UIAA 6- to 6 with two short passages of 6+ and one easier pitch on less reliable rock. Never easy and never crowded with bolts: you climb between them.
6a+5 pitches210 m
Read the cautions
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
The longest route on the Säuling: sixteen pitches up the west face to the summit cross, above Neuschwanstein and the lakes of the Allgäu. The lower part links pillars, traverses and some broken ground at UIAA 3 to 6+; the headwall is steep and compact, with a short aid passage and fine corners. Generously bolted, so a weaker second still has a good day.
6a+16 pitches360 m
Around 6c · about 6 pitches
Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
Six sustained pitches up the red wall above Leonidio, four of them 6c. The climbing is steep and on good holds, with a 3 m boulder problem on the last pitch and a long 6a+ to start. The bolts are close enough to let you concentrate on the moves.
6c6 pitches200 m
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Six pitches of technical wall and corner climbing one minute from the gorge-entrance guesthouses. Easy pitches alternate with three hard ones, and the 6b+ fourth pitch and the 6c last pitch are precise, footwork-heavy climbing on very rough rock. The route stops in the middle of the wall and you abseil off.
6c6 pitches160 m
Switzerland · Furka
The right-hand route on the Hannibalturm and the hardest of its plaisir lines. Two slab pitches lead to a layback crack, an awkward overhanging crack and corner, and a bulge above an athletic layback that gives the 6c crux. The first pitch is easy for the grade but boldly bolted.
6c6 pitches170 m
Read the cautions
France · Briançonnais
A six-pitch slab and wall climb on the buttresses below the great south face of the Tête d'Aval, on the same grey water-worn limestone but half the height and much more closely bolted. A burly 6c start over a bulge leads to sustained, technical 6b+ and 6a+ walls on small edges. Ledges break the exposure, but the moves are hard for the grade and about 6b is obligatory.
6c6 pitches200 m
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.
