The Großer Geiger can only be climbed by crossing glaciers as part of a high mountain tour.
The route taken by the first climbers in 1871 ran from the south up to the summit.
Their base was the Johannis Hut lying at 2,121 metres in the valley of the Upper Dorfertal.
Their route initially followed the Dorferbach upstream to the middle of the very heavily crevassed Dorferkees at a height of about 2,700 metres and then swung west over firn at a gradient of 30° to the so-called Ostsporn (East Spur).
They scaled this relatively difficult rock climbing route, today classed as UIAA climbing grade II, to the summit.
This entailed negotiating some critical sections which almost led to a fall.
The present normal route to the Großer Geiger runs either from the Essener-Rostocker Hut at 2,208 metres, heading in a northerly direction, or from the Kürsinger Hut (2,547 m) in a southerly direction up to the western arête (Geigerschartl col, 3,142 m) of the Geiger and then across its southwestern flank climbing over the firn to the summit cross.
According to the literature this takes about 3½ to 4 hours from one of the huts.
More demanding climbing routes, of UIAA grades III to IV, lead up the northwest face and along its flanking arêtes, some as combined tours (ice and rock).
The Großer Geiger can only be climbed by crossing glaciers as part of a high mountain tour. The route taken by the first climbers in 1871 ran from the south up to the summit. Their base was the Johannis Hut lying at 2,121 metres in the valley of the Upper Dorfertal. Their route initially followed the Dorferbach upstream to the middle of the very heavily crevassed Dorferkees at a height of about 2,700 metres and then swung west over firn at a gradient of 30° to the so-called Ostsporn (East Spur). They scaled this relatively difficult rock climbing route, today classed as UIAA climbing grade II, to the summit. This entailed negotiating some critical sections which almost led to a fall. The present normal route to the Großer Geiger runs either from the Essener-Rostocker Hut at 2,208 metres, heading in a northerly direction, or from the Kürsinger Hut (2,547 m) in a southerly direction up to the western arête (Geigerschartl col, 3,142 m) of the Geiger and then across its southwestern flank climbing over the firn to the summit cross. According to the literature this takes about 3½ to 4 hours from one of the huts. More demanding climbing routes, of UIAA grades III to IV, lead up the northwest face and along its flanking arêtes, some as combined tours (ice and rock).
Großer Geiger