Hiking to the cable car to the Kanzelwand near Riezlern

Tuesday, 12 September 2023 00:00
Written by Portal Editor

After our exploration tour through the Breitachklamm and further back through the truly natural Breitachtal, we go back until we come across a narrowing of the valley again in Riezlern.

Here too there will once have been a breakthrough through the rocks. Today it is an interesting wooden construction that leads hikers along the rock walls through this canyon. A little later we reached the centre of Riezlern and spontaneously decided, also due to the clearing weather, to take the Kanzelwandbahn up to the Kanzelwand mountain of the same name, a gondola cable car 2,461 meters long whose gondolas accommodate 6 people and overcome a height difference of 870 meters.

Speed of five meters per second to the summit

The first considerations about building a railway to the 2056 m high Kanzelwand were made by the Riezlern Tourism Advisory Board as early as 1952 due to the increasing numbers in tourism. Kanzelwandbahn AG was founded on March 6, 1954, construction work began in 1954 and the maiden voyage took place on April 2, 1955. The total construction costs were 3.8 million DM.

The free-standing inlet frame at the mountain station is striking. In 1956, a mountain restaurant was built at the mountain station in order to be able to cater for the increasing flow of tourists and winter sports enthusiasts. Six people each are transported to the summit in red, yellow or blue cabins at a speed of five meters per second, which is 320 people per hour.

In the same year, the Zweren lift was opened for winter sports enthusiasts, which could transport 180 people per hour.

In 1973, with the completion of the Fellhornbahn, the two ski areas were connected. The Zweren lift was expanded and now transported 690 people per hour with double bars. There were also two Bierenwang lifts. In 1976, a further DM 2.4 million was invested in increasing the capacity of the railway from 350 to 480 people per hour.

In 1988 it was improved again at a cost of 15 million DM and now transports 1,500 people per hour up the mountain. 67 so-called electrants, combined systems for supplying water and electricity to the 15 snow guns, were installed along the track. A sun terrace for 200 people with wind protection was built and the Zwerenalpe lifts expanded to a six-seater chairlift.

3000 cubic meters of snow can be produced in one hour

In 2008, 6 million euros were spent on the snowmaking system. First, a snow pond with a capacity of 58,000 cubic meters of water was created below the mountain station of the Kanzelwandbahn and 6 kilometres of pipes were installed in the ground. With the system, the slopes of the Fellhorn and Kanzelwandbahn can be completely covered with snow within 70 hours using a system of pipes and snow cannons. 3,000 cubic meters of snow can be produced in one hour, which corresponds to around 300 truckloads.

Today the Kanzelwand, Fellhorn, Walmendingerhorn and Nebelhornbahn have joined together to form a network that promotes the Oberstdorf and Kleinwalsertal region under the name “Das Höchste”. This makes it possible for tourists to use all 4 cable cars with their Walser Card, which makes it easier to hike the tours in summer, which are so varied in terms of difficulty and tour length. Due to the advance of time, once we get to the viewing platform today, we limit ourselves to the climb to the summit cross of the Kanzelwand.

From up here you can clearly see the hiking trails as long paths on the mountain slopes, the individual lifts for skiers in winter and the connecting paths to the Fellhorn. An imposing area that not only attracts thousands of visitors in winter, as we notice on the summit with another small snack. In the terrain, on the other hand, the large number of mountain hikers get lost quite quickly, because the terrain is very spacious. Only at the huts do hiking enthusiasts meet again. We have also planned further hikes for the coming days, perhaps from the Fellhorn or Kanzelwand.