Vordere Sommerwand lies immediately south of the Franz-Senn-Hütte and is a short but proper summit. The marked normal route is a steep mountain path as far as the fore-summit, while the short summit ridge is narrow, exposed and partly protected by ropes – a worthwhile objective for the day of arrival.
Route description
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Franz-Senn-Hütte → Abzweigung Vordere Sommerwand1,5 km · T1i
From the hut, follow the marked path south towards the Vordere Sommerwand/Sommerwandferner. Climb steeply in switchbacks beside the stream, which here plunges down over rock slabs, across slopes covered with alpenrose to a grassy knoll at around 2300 m. Continue uphill on the south-east and east flank of the Sommerwand; at about 2500 to 2600 m the summit path branches off right from the path to the Sommerwandferner.
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Abzweigung Vordere Sommerwand → Vordere Sommerwand0,2 km · T3i
From the junction, the path climbs steeply north-west in switchbacks through broken rocky ground to the broad ridge of the fore-summit (large cairn, about 2670 m), where the Hüttengrat also ends. From here follow the ridge to the summit cross, around 150 metres away: narrow and exposed, with fixed ropes providing protection in several places.
