The Fuscherkarkopf, sometimes also written ''Fuscher-Kar-Kopf'' in German and formerly also called the ''Fuschereiskarkopf'', is one of the twin peaks of a mountain in the

Glockner Group The Glockner GroupKev Reynolds, Reynolds, Kev (2005). ''Walking in the Alps'', 2nd ed., Cicerone, Singapore, p.409, . () is a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps in the Eastern Alps, and is located in the centre section of the High Tauern on ...

in the centre of the main mountain chain (''Mittleren Tauernhauptkamm'') in the

High Tauern The High Tauern (plural, pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salz ...

, a range in the

Austrian Central Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or just Central Alps, comprise the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slov ...

. The mountain lies right on the border between the Austrian states of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

. The main peak is 3,331 metres high, but the northwest summit is only 3,252 metres high. The two peaks are about 500 metres apart and linked by a curved

firn __NOTOC__ Firn (; from Swiss German "last year's", cognate with ''before'') is partially compacted névé, a type of snow that has been left over from past seasons and has been recrystallized into a substance denser than névé. It is ice that ...

-covered ridge. Further sharp, prominent ridges run away to the northwest and west, forming the main crest of the Tauern. To the southwest the Heiligenblut Open Face (''Heiligenbluter Freiwand'') branches off, a mighty side ridge that starts as the southeast ridge (''Südostgrat'') at the Fuscherkarkopf. The northwest summit has a great, West Face (''Westwand''), that used to be covered with firn, but today is covered with loose rock slabs. The mountain is easy to reach from the Hofmanns Hut over the southwest ridge (''Südwestgrat'') and offers a good view of the

Großglockner The Großglockner ( ), or just Glockner, is, at 3,798 metres above the Adriatic (12,461 ft), the highest mountain in Austria and highest mountain in the Alps east of the Brenner Pass. It is part of the larger Glockner Group of the Hohe Tauer ...

and the Pasterze. The peak was first climbed in the 1840s by the hunter, Gregor Maier, known as ''Badhans'', from Fusch.

Surrounding area

The Fuscherkarkopf is surrounded by

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s except to the southeast. To the west lies Waterfall Corner (''Wasserfallwinkel''), which is the southern, lower part of the ''Bockkarkeeses'' glacier, to the north is the small ''Fuscherkarkees'' and to the west the relatively insignificant ''Freiwandkees''. Finally, to the south is the Pasterze, the largest glacier in the

Eastern Alps The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Main chain of the Alps, Alpine divide, and down the Liro (Como), Liro River to Lake Como in the south. ...

. The nearest mountains along the Northwest Ridge, separated by the wind gap of the ''Fuscherkarscharte'' (up to 2,841 m), are the ''Breitkopf'' (3,115 m) and, beyond that, the Middle Bärenkopf (''Mittlere Bärenkopf'', 3,358 m). Along the Western Ridge, that forms the main Tauern crest and is separated by a gap (''Einschartung'') with the name ''Der Rinner'' (3,145 m), is the ''Sinabeleck'' (3,261 m). Further east it is followed by the ''Kapuziner'' (2,852 m) and the

Spielmann Spielmann or Spielman is a German occupational surname, which means "jester", from the Middle High German ''spilære''.''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Spieler Family History" Oxford University Press, 2013. Retrieved on 16 January 2016. The ...

(3,027 m). To the southeast, along the Heiligenblut Open Face, and separated by the ''Freiwandscharte'' (2,975 m), rise the summits of the ''Freiwandspitz'' (3,034 m) and ''Freiwandkopf'' (2,854 m). South of the two peaks is the ''Gamsgrube'', a massive, bowl-shaped

cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

, 600 metres across. The nearest settlement of any importance is Heiligenblut in Carinthia, which lies about 8 kilometres away

as the crow flies The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points. Etymology The meaning of the expression is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist'' (1838): ...

. A good 15 kilometres northeast lies the Salzburg village of

Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße is a municipality, at the foot of Grossglockner mountain, in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg in Austria. See town website pages at External links below. The Fusch valley l ...

Sources and maps

* Willi End: '' Alpenvereinsführer Glocknergruppe'',

Bergverlag Rother Bergverlag Rother is a German publisher with its headquarters in Oberhaching, Upper Bavaria. Since 1950 the company, that formerly went under the name of ''Bergverlag Rudolf Rother'', had published the Alpine Club Guides in cooperation with the G ...

, Munich, 2003, * Eduard Richter (editor): ''Die Erschließung der Ostalpen'', Vol III, Verlag des Deutschen und Oesterreichischen Alpenvereins, Berlin 1894 *

Alpine Club Map Alpine Club maps (, often abbreviated to ''AV-Karten'' i.e. AV maps) are especially detailed maps for summer and winter mountain climbers, hikers, and ski tourers. They are predominantly published at a scale of 1:25.000, although some sheets have ...

1:25.000, Sheet 40, ''Glocknergruppe''

References

{{Authority control Mountains of the Alps Glockner Group Mountains of Carinthia Mountains of Salzburg (federal state) Alpine three-thousanders