German Lenz ('spring' — the season) plus Spitze ('peak'). The standard reading is that the summit was named for the spring-like névé that lies on its north-east face well into summer; an alternative folk etymology connects the name to a personal name 'Lenz'.
Southernmost summit of the Nadelgrat with a striking ice-and-rock pyramid above Saas-Fee. The normal route traverses from the Nadelhorn via the Nadeljoch; the famous north-east ice face is a classic harder line.
Climbed on 7 August 1870 by the English alpinist Clinton Dent with the Saas guide Alexander Burgener (who would within a few years become one of the most celebrated guides of the era, partnering Mummery on his great Aiguille des Charmoz climbs). The Lenzspitze's north-east face, a 45° ice slope, was first climbed in 1882 by Burgener with William Penhall and is still one of the classic ice routes of the Mischabel — its modern reputation having outlasted that of the south-ridge voie normale.
Route lines are approximate — drawn from guidebook waypoints, not GPS tracks. Don't navigate by them.
