Multipitch Atlas

Roter Drache

Röthelstein – south-west face · Grazer Bergland · Austria

Bail not documentedBolting confidence: medium

One of the longest climbs in the Grazer Bergland: thirteen pitches and about 520 m up the south-west face of the Röthelstein above Mixnitz, mostly easy with one passage of UIAA 6- and three of 5+. Varied and well cleaned, on mostly solid rock, with some scrambling and walking sections between the good pitches.

The Röthelstein from the Mur valley south of Mixnitz, showing its west and south-west side; Roter Drache climbs the south-west face to the summitPhoto: Jacquesverlaeken · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo

The Röthelstein from the Mur valley south of Mixnitz, showing its west and south-west side; Roter Drache climbs the south-west face to the summitPhoto: Jacquesverlaeken · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hardest pitch
5c
Pitches
13
Length
525 m
Approach
45 min
Aspect
W
West-facing
Rope
1×55 m
walk-off

The route

Overview

Roter Drache is a long, easy mountain-style sport route that climbs the whole south-west face of the Röthelstein from near the Drachenhöhle trail to the climbers' summit. It was opened in 2022 and has been thoroughly cleaned. After an off-putting, sometimes earthy first pitch the climbing improves quickly; the fourth pitch, with fine cracks and steep, elegant moves, is the crux at UIAA 6- (about 5c). Higher up there are ridge sections, some scrambling and a little walking, which bergsteigen.com says hardly spoil the day. Allow a full day: 4.5 h of climbing and 6 h 45 in total.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeNotes
P1–Sometimes earthy; do not be put off.
P2–Not described; the climbing improves from here.
P3–Starts from a belay at a tree and ends below the key pitch.
P4–The key pitch: elegant, steep climbing with fine cracks. This is where the UIAA 6- passage is, very well protected.
P5–Has a right-hand variant.
P6–Stay on the ridge at first, then scramble to the belay.
P7–Not described.
P8–Not described.
P9–Not described.
P10–Not described.
P11–Go left here to three trees.
P12–Not described.
P13–Keep right on the arête and do not escape into the forest. A final bridging step ends the climbing. Unrope at the last belay; an easy path leads the remaining 80 m to the summit.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

Drive to Mixnitz from Graz or Bruck an der Mur. In the village do not turn left for the Bärenschützklamm but continue straight on beside the railway to the car park signed 'Drachenhöhle', by the tennis court at the southern end of the village (about 450 m). Trains between Graz and Bruck an der Mur stop at Mixnitz.

On foot · about 45 min

About 45 min. From the Drachenhöhle car park follow the waymarked trail towards the Drachenhöhle. About 50 m before the gorge section with chain handrails begins, at roughly 840 m, turn off left at a cairn where a small path comes in from the right. Follow faint tracks leftwards on the level to the lowest rock pillar, continue a little further past small cairns, and finally go straight up by an old tree lying diagonally to the wall. A piece of rope on a tree marks the start, on a small platform below a corner with a bolt and a tree sling in front of it, at about 860 m.

Map of the walk-in

  • Route base
  • Parking

Loading map

The point marks the base of the route.

Coordinates · route base

47.32624, 15.37805

Parking

47.32258, 15.36899

Drachenhöhle car park by the tennis court, Mixnitz (bergsteigen.com marker 'Tennisplatz')

Point from bergsteigen.com map marker 'Einstieg'

For your phone or watch

Download GPX

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.

Getting down

Descent

From the Röthelstein summit follow the unmarked path east to a clearing and a game fence. Turn right there onto the marked trail and follow it down to the Drachenhöhle and on along the hiking trail to the car park. bergsteigen.com allows 1.5 h.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail not documented

Retreat is not documented. The source describes only the walk-off from the summit, and the single 55 m rope it recommends would not allow long abseils. The upper half has scrambling and walking sections, and a caption warns against 'escaping into the forest' on the last pitch, which suggests easy ground nearby, but no escape route is described.

Retreat from
Not documented.
Point of no return
Not documented.
Carry
If you want the option of abseiling, take a second rope and maillons; belay hardware is not described.
Basis
Inferred from the route factsbergsteigen.com gives only the summit descent; everything about retreat is inferred from the rope length and photo captions.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • Length: 13 pitches and nearly seven hours car to car. Start early and carry enough water, especially in summer.
  • The first pitch can be earthy, and there are scrambling and walking sections where the rope can dislodge stones.
  • Route-finding on the upper pitches: go left to the three trees on pitch 11 and stay on the arête on pitch 13.
  • The descent starts on an unmarked path.
  • bergsteigen.com's entry for the Grazer Bergland Marathon says parking at the Drachenhöhle car park is limited to 16:00 in spring, autumn and winter, which is tight for a route of this length. Check the signs.

Sun and weather

Conditions

West facing, base about 860 m, summit 1263 m. bergsteigen.com shows a season from May to November. The source warns specifically against underestimating the length on hot summer days.

Usual season · May to Jun, Sep to Nov

Sun on the wall · W-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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean daily high °C0261115192120161161
Mean daily low °C−8−7−3169111173−1−6
Rain days 1 mm or more881012151615151111109

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 947 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

Gear

12 quickdraws, helmet and a single 55 m rope. No slings, nuts or cams are listed.

Checklist

Quickdraws
12
Rope
1×55 m (walk-off)
Helmet
One each
Maillons or spare karabiners
To leave behind if you retreat

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 Roter Drache.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • bergsteigen.com gives UIAA 5 (about 5a) as the obligatory grade.
  • The topo is also in the Touren-App that comes with the 'Plaisir Österreich Ost' guidebook.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Number of pitches: not stated in the text. Thirteen is taken from the photo captions, which number the pitches up to 13 and call the belay after pitch 13 the last one.
  • Length: the header gives 525 m and the text 520 m.
  • Protection: the header rating is 'very good', the text says 'good to very good'.
  • Season: the month bar includes July and August, but the text warns about heat; they are left out of the season here.

Provenance

Sources

Same area

More in Grazer Bergland

All routes in Grazer Bergland
The Röthelstein near Mixnitz from the south-east, with its south-side limestone walls below the summit; the exact line on the Breite Wand is not marked.

Austria · Grazer Bergland

Strauchdieb

A new (2025) nine-pitch outing on the right edge of the Breite Wand that weaves between the bushes. Three spots of UIAA 5-/5, otherwise easier. Still a little earthy in places.

5a9 pitches260 m

The Rote Wand above Tyrnau in the Grazer Bergland; Hühnerleiter follows the ridge at the left-hand end of the wall

Austria · Grazer Bergland

Hühnerleiter

An easy ridge route up the left-hand end of the Rote Wand, first climbed in 1982. The rock is completely solid and the climbing uneven in difficulty, mostly UIAA 4 with a few moves of 4+ and 5. The hand-traverse on the penultimate pitch is the highlight. Somewhat polished.

5a7 pitches225 m

Read the cautions

The Röthelstein seen from a spur of the Rote Wand, looking west across the Bucheben saddle; the SO-Sporn routes finish at the climbers' summit and descend to this saddle

Austria · Grazer Bergland

Broken Soul

A modern plaisir line on the south-east spur of the Röthelstein, finished in 2018 by linking three old, forgotten pitches with six newly cleaned ones. The fifth and sixth pitches are rated among the best on the Röthelstein. UIAA 6+ at the hardest, with only 5 obligatory.

6a+10 pitches315 m

The rock towers of the Ratengrat on the Röthelstein above Mixnitz, where the first half of the route climbs

Austria · Grazer Bergland

Don Kamille und Pepperone

Possibly the longest route in the Grazer Bergland: sixteen pitches that start up the Ratengrat (Don Kamille) and continue up the Breite Wand (Pepperone). The lower half is among the best climbing on the Ratengrat; the upper half begins gently over slabby steps in the forest and then steepens. Two passages of UIAA 7- and several of 6+.

6b16 pitches440 m

Around 5c · about 13 pitches

Similar elsewhere

The narrows of the Todra Gorge in late afternoon light, a few minutes' walk upstream of the Mansour wall; a view of the gorge, not of this route's wall.

Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)

Berbertraum

Thirteen short pitches, mostly grade 4, with two 5c steps. The longest pitch is 45 m. A big day of easy mileage in the sun above the palm grove.

5c13 pitches340 m

Topo of Lo Dzerby (line 1) and Mitico Vento on the Corma di Machaby, Arnad

Italy · Aosta Valley

Lo Dzerby

A long, easy-angled outing up the full height of the Paretone. A steeper lower half with an exposed pillar on P5 leads to sculpted slabs and broken steps higher up. It's a good first big multipitch.

5c13 pitches400 m

The Palavar slabs above Ailefroide; Palavar-les-Flots follows the leaning pillar on the left

France · Ailefroide

Palavar-les-Flots

Ailefroide's best-known easy long route: a consistent run of 4th-grade slab and pillar climbing with two harder steps (5b+ on L4, a 5c friction move on L8). It is very popular, so start early.

5c12 pitches310 m

Topo of Sendero Límite on the south face of Peña Rueba (Mallo Común)

Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)

Sendero Límite

A long beginner's big route on good conglomerate at a moderate angle. Pitches can be linked in pairs with a 60 m rope. A four-pitch headwall with a couple of panzas finishes high above the Gállego valley.

5c14 pitches375 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.