Peak 34 | Grauspitz, Liechtenstein | 2599m | 26th July 2019
- Adam Stevenson
- Jul 26, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 7, 2020
I thought that this one would have been a breeze compared to the others in the Alps. However, it caught me completely by surprise, and on reflection became the scariest climb in the project for me. It involved some pretty sketchy moments that could have easily become a risk too far.
Quick Summary
• Starting point - Jenins
• Route taken - Via Alpibahn Station
• Total ascent - 1100 m
• Total length - 11 km round trip
• Total time for climb - 9¾ hours
• Expense category - #Moderate
• Equipment - #StandardHike
• Difficulty - #Level4 of 5
• Enjoyment - #4stars of 5*
Reaching the highest point of Liechtenstein
It started off with the cable car up from Malans, Switzerland. It takes you from 500m up to 1800m. Then a nice easy stroll through some Swiss country fields with cow's bells dinging and horses running. Little did I know that I was being lured into a false scene of security.
The day was near perfect when I started as well. It was the middle of summer, it was dry and warm.
Many people that come to these mountains don't go up Grauspitz. Instead, they ascent other peaks that are more accessible and not much smaller. I had read that there are two routes to summit this. One being difficult climb and the other being an 'easier' route along a ridge.
So I made the mistake of following a maker on a trail and following another group of people. I was waiting to pass through the tunnel that was described in my book but it never came, This is when I relisted that I had been following the wrong path for about 45 minutes or more.
Realizing my error I ran back. I knew that this could be a very costly mistake as the chairlift back down closed at 17:00 pm. So I went from being quite comfortable with the time to being behind.
I got back on the track and then found the tunnel I was looking for. I knew I was back going in the right direction.
During my ascent on the other side I ran into two others doing Grauspitz. I would walk past them as they were having a break then they would catch me up on the first summit of Vodor Grauspitz.
I was glad to be up there with others around me. Felt much more comfortable. This wasn't the ideal mountain to be doing alone.
We had finally reached the summit at 14:45 pm and I had already given up hope on the cable car by then. We took the slow careful approach over the ridge and back. This time finding what looked to be a thin walkway that led around the first summit rather than having to ascend it again.
I'm not usually shaken by heights or climbing but this got to me. I knew that there were scenarios out of my control. The loose rocks are a real danger. I had put my hand or foot on something on several occasions it would just come away and fall. In some ways, I was happy that there wasn't any other people around because of all the rocks.
They offered me to spend the night in a hut with them. But I was my birthday the following day and I just wanted to get back down and treat myself to a bed, shower and hot meal.
I decided to walk back to the cable car station because I knew that there was a trail that goes down from here.
It was about 6:45 pm when I reached there an alarm went off. Then a voice came over the speaker in German. I walked over waved to the camera a talked back without knowing if I could be heard. Next thing the gears stated moving and the car started moving up towards the deck.
I was so relieved.
Turned out I got lucky because there was a guy working late doing maintenance at the bottom.
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