Geierwand, Haiming · Inntal (Haiming Geierwand) · Austria
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
bergsteigen.com calls this the best route on the Geierwand: steep, almost always vertical pocket climbing on the left side of the wall. The hardest move comes on pitch 2, but the upper half stacks several 6b pitches one after another and tires the forearms. Recommended to climbers who are comfortable at 6b.
The route
Nebraska climbs the left-hand side of the Geierwand from the ground to the top of the wall. After a 6a+ warm-up the crux arrives early, a 6b+ passage on pitch 2 where you use a corner. An easy vegetated pitch and a pocketed slab lead to the headwall, where pitch after pitch of vertical pocket climbing at 6a+ to 6b follows. A two-pitch finish added in 2020, with another 6b+ passage, takes the route to the top so that you can walk down. Despite the very good bolting it is a sustained day for the grade.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a+ | 25 m | Enjoyable climbing straight away, starting right of the corner. |
| P2 | 6b+ | 22 m | The crux of the route (UIAA 7/7+): a steep passage where you help yourself with the corner. |
| P3 | 3+ | 32 m | The one vegetated pitch of the route. |
| P4 | 5c | 35 m | Fine slabs with pockets. |
| P5 | 6a+ | 35 m | The headwall begins around here. |
| P6 | 6a+ | 32 m | Pocketed wall; the belay has a fine view over the Inn valley. |
| P7 | 6a+ | 32 m | Becomes steeper towards the end. |
| P8 | 6b | 25 m | bergsteigen.com shows perfect slabs with good pocket holds in this part of the wall. |
| P9 | 6b | 27 m | Steep climbing in the harder upper pitches. |
| P10 | 6b | 22 m | The third 6b pitch in a row. |
| P11 | 5b | 25 m | bergsteigen.com describes a traverse on edges and brittle ground around here; its pitch numbering runs one higher than this table from somewhere in the upper wall, so treat the match as approximate. |
| P12 | 6b+ | 28 m | First pitch of the 2020 finish: a delicate traverse to start, then a corner, with a passage of UIAA 7/7+. |
| P13 | 6a | 30 m | Last pitch of the 2020 finish, to the top of the wall and the start of the walk down. |
Getting there
Haiming lies in the Inn valley at the mouth of the Ötztal in Tyrol. Leave the A12 at Mötz or Ötztal, drive into Haiming and follow the 'Rafting-Center' signs. Turn right straight after the bridge over the Inn and continue past the rafting centre to the car park with the large Klettersteig board, at about 660 m. By public transport take the train to Haiming and a bus to the Innbrücke stop.
15 to 20 min. From the car park follow the Klettersteig signs towards the motorway and cross it. On the far side go a few steps left along the track to a rockfall net, then take the path uphill to the rock. At the top of the path go a short way left to the start, right of a prominent corner and right of the mountain rescue training area. The name is written on a metal plate.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Car park after the rafting centre, Haiming (bergsteigen.com marker 'Parkplatz')
Point from camptocamp waypoint 1793379 (GeierWand, Haiming); bergsteigen.com gives no start marker for this route
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: 47.26250, 10.87810 (crag) · Parking: 47.26020, 10.87830
Getting down
On foot, about 1 h: from the end of the route go up to a rock wall, where a path comes in from the right (from Alhambra). Follow the marked path up and left to a small plateau in the forest, then take the good trail on the right, protected in places, down to the car park. Alternatively abseil: there is an equipped abseil line and bergsteigen.com recommends 2×60 m ropes for the upper part.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The route has an equipped abseil line, which was the normal descent before the 2020 finish was added and is still the descent given by Climbers Paradise. bergsteigen.com recommends 2×60 m ropes for abseiling the upper part and suggests abseiling from below the top pitches when parties are underneath. Station positions and abseil lengths are only shown on the topo.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South facing, with the base at about 740 m and the top of the wall at about 1050 m. bergsteigen.com shows a season from March to November and Climbers Paradise calls the wall climbable almost all year, but both warn that it is very hot in summer. Spring and autumn are the best times. bergsteigen.com singles the route out for spring and autumn.
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 (usual season) | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun (usual season) | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 4 |
| Mean daily low °C | −7 | −5 | −1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 5 | −1 | −5 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 12 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 723 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
13 quickdraws (Climbers Paradise says 15), helmet and 2×60 m ropes. bergsteigen.com lists no nuts and no 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 Nebraska.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Austria · Inntal (Haiming Geierwand)
Billed as probably the best mid-grade multipitch at the Geierwand (UIAA 6/6+, 5 obligatory). It starts with steep, juggy climbing, and the upper pitches are rough pocketed slabs. It can be combined with Alhambra's upper pitches.
6a+12 pitches345 m
Austria · Inntal (Haiming Geierwand)
The longest route on the Geierwand and its most popular easy outing: rough slabs low down, a walk across the big ledge, then steeper, pocketed and more exposed climbing above. The crux is a short traverse to the belay on pitch 10. The last two pitches are scrambling over loose ground.
6a+12 pitches430 m
Austria · Inntal (Haiming Geierwand)
One of the longer and more popular lines on the Geierwand, at much the same grade as Alhambra but with rather better climbing. Well-featured slabs lead to the big ledge; above it the route continues to mid-height in the upper wall, where a few pitches are brittle but closely bolted. It ends in the middle of the wall and you abseil.
6a+10 pitches261 m
Austria · Inntal (Haiming Geierwand)
A two-part combination: the four-pitch Geierwandführe as a warm-up to the big ledge, then five pitches of Im Auge des Geiers straight up the central 'eye' of the upper wall on pocketed, slightly overhanging rock with fine slabs to finish. Sustained at 6b in the upper part, but a little less demanding than Nebraska.
6b+9 pitches230 m
Around 6b+ · about 13 pitches
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
A big, fully bolted mountain route straight up the middle of a wall of the Peña Foratata to its summit. Three technical corner pitches at 6b+ low down and a 6b and a 6a above the grass terrace, separated by easy transition pitches. Short pitches by design, a long descent, and a seasonal closure for bearded vultures until the end of July.
6b+14 pitches420 m
Read the cautions
France · Dévoluy
A recent line that has quickly become the friendly way to discover Les Gillardes: 350 m of vertical walls on flint edges, with fair grades and reassuring bolts on a cliff known for neither. Long, continuous pitches of 6b and 6b+, one of 6c, and a conglomerate finish.
6c13 pitches350 m
Switzerland · Grimsel
A Grimsel granite classic: low-angle slabs lead to the famous 6a+ crack pitches and a thin 6b traverse, then steeper, sculpted ground. Sustained at 5c/6a throughout.
6b13 pitches400 m
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
Eleven pitches up the south face of Telendos on extraordinarily sculpted rock, finishing with a 50 m wall of flint-like knobs. Two 6b+ pitches low down are the cruxes and the grades are widely called friendly. With the boat or coastal walk in and the walk off over the island, it makes a full and memorable day.
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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.