The Hoher Ifen is a 2,230 metre high mountain in the Allgäu Alps, west of the Kleinwalsertal valley. In winter it forms the backdrop for a small ski area. It lies on the border between Germany and Austria. The summit is the highest point on the gently, tilted Ifen plateau. Northeast of the Ifen plateau is the Gottesacker plateau, a karst landscape which has been designated a nature reserve and which has numerous caves and rare mountain plants. The most important caves are the Hölloch im Mahdtal and the Schneckenloch Cave near Schönenbach. On the eastern slopes of the massif a Stone Age dwelling site was discovered on the mountain pasture of Schneiderkürenalpe at a height of about 1,500 m.
Climbing, hunting and conservation
On the southern side of the mountain an undisturbed wildlife area has been declared by the Bregenz district commission at the instigation of the WalserHunting Club, that has restricted the usual Austrian freedom of passage in accordance with § 33 of the Forestry Act. Mountaineering clubs, in particular the German Alpine Club, the Austrian Alpine Club and Allgäu Climbing Group have criticised the regulation by the Bregenz district commission, because, within its boundaries, on the southern edge of the plateau and at Bärenköpfe is one of the bestsport climbing areas in the Alps. The south faces are called the Céüse of the Allgäu, a comparison to the most famous climbing area in Europe.
Ski area
At the beginning of the 1970s the first ski lifts appeared on the Ifen, from which today's company, the Ifen-Bergbahn-Gesellschaft, emerged. For a long time it was mostly owned by Ruth Merckle, the wife of the pharmaceutical businessman Adolf Merckle. By taking over the Merckle family's 82% share and the 18% share of the family of Kleinwalsertal tourism pioneer, Alfons Herz, on 1 July 2009, the Ifen Bergbahn GmbH u. Co gained full ownership of the Kleinwalsertaler Bergbahn, Riezlern, whose main shareholders are the Allgäuer Überlandwerk and the Raiffeisen Holding Kleinwalsertal. The Kleinwalsertaler Bergbahn AG plans to build a link lift to the Walmendinger Horn The expansion plans were sharply criticised by several associations because they were viewed as damaging to the environment and would promote mass tourism. The Austrian Alpine Club section in the Kleinwalsertal criticised the plans as follows: The construction of this lift cannot be done in harmony with nature as we would wish to remind those launching such an initiative! The Kleinwalsertal Landscape Protection Society expressed similar views. On October 21, 2012 a referendum was held. About 55% of the voters rejected the proposal to build the lift.
