Ortler / Ortles

W-NW-Face

N-Face

SE-Face

The Ortler is the highest mountain within a radius of 49 kilometers. The nearest higher mountain is Bellavista (3922 m), located in the Bernina Group with Piz Bernina (4049 m) as its highest peak. The passo di Fraele (1955m) is the lowest saddlepoint inbetween. Therefore, the prominence of Ortler is 1950 meters. Ortler ranks 14th by prominence in the entire Alps. 

The normal route on Ortler is graded PD+ and is a mixed climb. The first part of the route, after the Payer Hut, requires rock climbing in the third grade (UIAA III) and the upper part of the route is a climb on glaciated terrain with a steepness up to 40 degrees. The combination of rock and ice makes this route very diverse and fun. Having said that, the climbing should not be underestimated. As a result of the popularity and the harder rock climbing sections up to UIAA III, traffic jams are quite common, especially in the summer months. The route can get crowded in this period,  especially during the weekends. So if you have the possibility, avoid climbing during the weekends.

Ortler around 1900

Knight Julius von Payer

Upon their return, the men were not believed on their words alone. Gebhard sent Pichler onto the mountain twice more, first in August 1805 with a flag that could be observed with a telescope from the valley, and again in September 1805 with a huge torch. Only after the torch had been seen burning at night was the accomplishment acknowledged. The route Pichler and his men (two brothers named Hell and an unnamed hunter from Langtaufers) took in 1805 was the currently still popular East ridge (Hintergrat) route. In 1834, at the age of 70, Pichler would make his fifth and final ascent, guiding professor Karl Thurwieser to the top.

The first time the Ortler was climbed via the easiest and currently normal route, the North ("Tabaretta") ridge, was more recently, in July 1865, as the approach is rather lengthy. In 1875 a hut was erected 3029m high on the North ridge, to break up the climb in two steps. It was named the Payer house, after Julius von Payer, who had mapped the Ortler Alps between 1865–1868 and had climbed 50 of its peaks with Johann Pinggera as his guide.

The 1200 m high ice route on the Ortler north face, the longest in the Eastern Alps, was first climbed in June 1931 by Hans Ertland and Franz Schmid. The North face was soloed first in 1963 by Dieter Drescher who had also added some first winter ascents to his name, including a traverse of Königspitze, Monte Zebrù, and Ortler in February 1975. On August 31, 1981, Reinhard Patscheider achieved the amazing feat of climbing the north faces of Königspitze, Monte Zebrù and Ortler all in one day.

Hochjochbiwak

TheLombardi Bivouac is an emergency shelterlocated on the north ridge of Ortlerabout halfway on the normal route inbetween the Payer Hut and the summit ofOrtler. Its elevation is 3312m. The German name for the shelter is Tschierfeckhuette.

Hochjochbiwak (3535m)

TheHochjochbiwak (Italian: Bivacco città di Cantù) is locatedon the south side of Ortler. It wasbuilt in 1901 and at that time the highest bivouac shelter in the Alps. The Hutis located on the Hochjoch at 3535m.The shelter is used mostly for ascents along the Hochjochgrat on Ortler or the normal route on Monte Zebru. The Bivouac can be reached from the Hintergrathuettein 4 hours and from the Alpini-Huette as well in 4 hours. The Bivouac wasrebuilt in 1972.