Spain · El Chorro
Amptrax
The absolute El Chorro classic: a physical, sustained line that feels tough for the grade, with a 6a traverse right under the roof. Polished in places from heavy traffic.
6a9 pitches182 m
Mit Vergnügen – avec plaisir
Westliche Sattelspitze · Karwendel (Innsbruck Nordkette) · Austria
Bail not documentedBolting confidence: high
A plaisir line straight above Innsbruck, reached by cable car. Two pitches are UIAA 6-/6 (5+/A0) and the rest is mostly grade 4–5. The upper pitches are grassy, so avoid it when wet.
- Hardest pitch
- 6a
- Pitches
- 9
- Length
- 300 m
- Approach
- 45 min
- Aspect
- S
- South-facing
- Rope
- 1×60 m
The route
Overview
A new (2024) bolted line up the south face of the Westliche Sattelspitze (2339 m) on the Nordkette, directly above Innsbruck and reached from the Seegrube cable-car station. About 300 m of varied climbing, mostly UIAA 4 to 5, with two pitches of 6-/6 that can be done at 5+/A0. bergsteigen.com calls the protection 'almost plaisir': good to very good bolts throughout. It is still an alpine outing at over 2000 m with a grassy scramble to the start, poorer rock high up and a via ferrata descent. Only one route description exists so far.
The climbing
Pitch by pitch
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | – | – |
| P2 | – | – |
| P3 | – | – |
| P4 | – | Described in a photo caption as a steep pitch. |
| P5 | – | – |
| P6 | – | – |
| P7 | – | – |
| P8 | – | Passes a chockstone (photo caption). |
| P9 | – | – |
Getting there
Approach
To the parking
Innsbruck. Drive or take the bus to the valley station of the Nordkettenbahn (868 m) and ride the cable car to Seegrube (1905 m). bergsteigen.com also mentions riding an e-bike up to Grubegg, about 50 m above the Seegrube top station. Check the cable car's operating times; a neighbouring-route page quotes 8:30 to 17:30 in high summer with late running on Fridays, but verify current times.
On foot · about 45 min
About 45 min from Seegrube. Walk west towards the Schmidhubersteig until you are below the Sattelspitzen. Go up scree to a rising grass ramp under the Westliche Sattelspitze, then follow it up left over grass and broken ground (one short step of UIAA 1-) to the start. Descriptions of the neighbouring route Unterwegs on the same face give the same line of approach and 45 min to 1 h.
Map of the walk-in
- Route base
- Parking
Loading map
The point marks the base of the route.
Parking
47.28635, 11.39881
Parking marked on bergsteigen.com
Point from bergsteigen.com touren/klettern/mit-vergnuegen-avec-plaisir-sattelspitze
For your phone or watch
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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: 47.30576, 11.35354 (route base) · Parking: 47.28635, 11.39881
Getting down
Descent
From the summit take the Innsbrucker Klettersteig (via ferrata) left, that is west, down to the Frau-Hitt-Sattel. From there follow the Schmidhubersteig, a marked mountain path with some exposed sections, back to Seegrube. bergsteigen.com allows 1 h; another description of the same descent allows 1.5 h. No abseil descent is described for this route.
Retreat
Bailing off the route
Bail not documented
Retreat is not documented. The only description (bergsteigen.com) gives a via ferrata descent from the summit and says nothing about abseiling, how the belays are rigged or any escape line. Do not count on an equipped abseil line; check the paid topo before you go.
- Carry
- Not documented. The listed rope is a single 60 m, which would limit any abseil to 30 m, and pitch lengths are not published openly.
- Basis
- Stated in the sourcesbergsteigen.com, the only source for this 2024 route, describes bolted belays and a via ferrata descent and makes no mention of retreat or abseiling; nothing in it supports an inference either way.
Safety
Hazards
- Not recommended when wet because of grass passages on the route.
- Rock quality is poorer in places in the upper part.
- The approach crosses scree, grass and broken ground with a short UIAA 1- step, unroped.
- The descent is a via ferrata followed by a partly exposed path; you depend on the last cable car down from Seegrube.
- New route (2024) with a single published description; there is no independent confirmation of the bolting yet.
Sun and weather
Conditions
South-facing on a 2339 m summit above the Seegrube station (1905 m). The sources give no season; access depends on the Nordkettenbahn running. Avoid it when wet: several grassy passages make it a poor choice.
Usual season · Jun to Oct
JFMAMJJASOND
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
- January: not yet worked out
- February: not yet worked out
- March: not yet worked out
- April: not yet worked out
- May: not yet worked out
- June (usual season): not yet worked out
- July (usual season): not yet worked out
- August (usual season): not yet worked out
- September (usual season): not yet worked out
- October (usual season): not yet worked out
- November: not yet worked out
- December: not yet worked out
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.
Climate figures for Karwendel (Innsbruck Nordkette) are not available yet
What to carry
Gear
60 m single rope, 15 quickdraws, helmet. No nuts or cams are listed. The descent is on a via ferrata.
Checklist
- Quickdraws
- 15
- Rope
- 1×60 m
- Helmet
- One each
- Abseil device and prusik
- The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports
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 Mit Vergnügen – avec plaisir.
Worth knowing
Tips
- The two harder pitches go at 5+/A0 by pulling on bolts, so the obligatory grade is 5+.
- A Friday with the evening cable car running gives more time margin (advice from a description of the neighbouring route Unterwegs).
- Buy the topo: per-pitch grades are only on the members' topo at bergsteigen.com.
Open questions
Where sources disagree
- Pitch count: the bergsteigen.com text says 9 pitches to the summit, but one of its photo captions refers to a 10th pitch. This entry uses 9.
- Descent time: 1 h (bergsteigen.com, stadler-markus.de) against about 1.5 h (allgaeu-plaisir.de) for the same via ferrata descent.
- No per-pitch grades or lengths are published openly, so none are given here.
- Only bergsteigen.com describes this route. The other two sources describe the neighbouring route Unterwegs and were used only for the shared approach, descent and cable car.
Provenance
Sources
- bergsteigen.com – Mit Vergnügen - avec plaisir, SattelspitzeUsed for: all route facts: grade, length, bolting, gear, approach, descent, first ascent, wet-weather warning
- stadler-markus.de – Westliche Sattelspitze, UnterwegsUsed for: cross-check of approach and descent from Seegrube, cable car hours
- allgaeu-plaisir.de – Unterwegs an der Westlichen SattelspitzeUsed for: cross-check of approach, descent time and exposure of the Schmidhubersteig
Around 6a · about 9 pitches
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Read the cautions
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.