Climbing the Spielmauer ferrata below Mariazell

Nutritional ferrata Spielmauer difficulty C/D

Starting point

Leave the car along the road at the Wegscheid bus stop right at the red sign leading to the ferrata. It's probably not exactly official parking, but we took our chances for the few hours we had.
 

Description of the hike

From the Wegscheid Abzw Aschbach bus stop, we start off on a flat section of forest road and cross a wooden bridge. Behind it, a steep, winding climb begins, leading up to the start of the via ferrata. It takes about an hour of brisk walking from the road to reach the start of the via ferrata.

There is enough space for several groups of people at the start of the via ferrata. In the hustle and bustle, we change into our via ferrata sets, put on our helmets and overtake a group of Austrian senior climbers. We assure them that we will definitely be faster :)), which turned out to be a mistake. 

The first part of the via ferrata, which is rated mostly B, with some C sections, is slightly exposed. However, there are plenty of iron steps everywhere. Personally, I would rate this via ferrata as mostly C, but that is a subjective assessment.

Halfway up the via ferrata, there are several places to rest, including a wooden bench exposed to the elements. As soon as I sat down, the tireless and fit Austrian pensioners peered up at me from below, as I was the last member of our group. On the via ferrata, you will also experience climbing through a rock chimney and two rope bridges. After about an hour of climbing, you will reach the summit of Spielmauer at 1,360 metres above sea level.

From the summit, you can descend to the road via marked trail no. 857, which bypasses the mountain massif from the south. The descent leads along a pleasant forest path, without any exposed or difficult sections.
 

Difficulty

Just getting on the ferrata will make you a little bit taller, because you will cover 330 vertical metres in 1.5 km. The ferrata itself has two routes with two difficulties - see the photo gallery. On the left you go to the easier A/B ferrata, where there is one section D, but you can bypass it.

We went to the ferrata on the right part of the wall, which is marked B/C. However, in my opinion there are a couple of sections that were nice and airy as well as physically demanding, which is why I've categorized this ferrata as a D ferrata on this site instead.
 

Water availability

I had 2 litres of water for the whole trek to the ferata and on the ferata - I still had some left. There is no facility to refill water on the trail, so you have to have your own from the start.
 

Mountain peaks

On this via ferrata, we will climb only one peak, Spielmauer, at 1,360 metres above sea level. Because the peak is forested, the view is only towards the east, towards the Schneeberg mountain range.
 

Danger

This is a classic C via ferrata. Although it is mostly marked as C, my personal, subjective assessment is that it is mostly C and in places B in terms of difficulty. Climbing the smooth slabs can be more challenging than the B/C rating suggests.

Although some via ferratas are marked as suitable for beginners, many people find them more difficult in reality – it is good not to underestimate your own limits. If you are planning to go on a B via ferrata, this is definitely not it in my opinion. A clear C :).