Limit - the best crags in Tirol

50 ALWAYS FOLLOW THE DUDE! Wer »The Dude« genannt wird, schiebt immer eine ruhige Kugel: Beim Bowling, beim Lauschen von Walgesängen und auch beim stylischen Hochspa- zieren einer der besten 7c’s am Klobenjoch. Ein Dude namens Alex Rieser klettert »The Dude« (7c). Someone named »The Dude« always has a chill time. Whether he is bowling, listening to whale-sounds or climbing up one of the best 7c’s at the Klobenjoch. A dude named Alex Rieser walks »The Dude« (7c). he best season to be out? Summer of course! But especially when you are a climber there is a true downside to high temperatures and strong sun. Unfortunately good grip is irreconcilable with them. Hence, there’s only one thing to do: Find a place high up, where you can stop your finger-skin getting soft and sweaty and spare your toes the painful heat build-up. The east face of the Rofan has long been known as a decent spot for alpine climbing, but its true potential as one of Tirol’s best summer spots has long gone unnoticed. When the first bolts were placed here in 2009 that quickly changed. Mean- while the Rofan has established itself as the place to be on hot days. Situated at 1.900 metres one might get the impression that the approach requires a lot of sweat-shedding. Thanks to the Rofan Seilbahn, which runs daily from Maurach am Achensee and manages most of the elevation gain for you, that is not the case. Still, it won’t get you straight to the base of the wall. There’s still an hour to walk until you can touch the rock of the Klobenjoch. But this effort is one to be undertaken with pleasure. If there is one approach that has the potential to turn a climber by heart into a happy hiker, it is this one. Yes, this walk is truly sublime! The first glance at the Klobenjoch and its rocky magnificen- ce is nothing less but a revelation. Grey and compact is the appearance of this bulwark, whose surface has so finely been sculptured by wind and weather, that one immediately wants to touch every square centimeter of it. Thanks to the southernly exposition the temperatures are perfect in spring and fall. On blue-bird winterdays moving over snow can even be combined with moving over rock. On really hot days the place to climb is not the main wall but the blocs in front of it, where various sectors such as the »Eiskeller« (= ice cellar) really live up to their name. Do not forget your jacket! By the way: »blocs« might be a bit of a misleading expression because these rock-formations are almost a hundred metres high. To claim that the Rofan can be mentioned in the same breath as the best international spots is in no way an overexaggerati- on. Nevertheless there’s a dilemma at stake: As much as one likes to share this place with the like-minded, one hopes that not too many of them show up here. So that the peace and calmness of this magic place can still be enjoyed. | Achensee | Klobenjoch T