The Bretterspitze is a 2,608-metre-high summit in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. It is part of the

Hornbach chain The Hornbach chain () is a string of mountains, about 15 kilometres long, in the Allgäu Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol (Bundesland), Tyrol. Geography The Hornbach chain branches at the Öfnerspitze from the main line of the Allgäu ...

in the

Allgäu Alps The Allgäu Alps () are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located on the Austria–Germany border, which covers parts of the Germany, German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and the Austrian states of Tyrol (state), Tyrol an ...

. Its neighbouring peaks in the Hornbach chain are the Gliegerkarspitze to the west and the Urbeleskarspitze to the northeast. The broad summit block of the Bretterspitze is made of

main dolomite Main Dolomite (, , ) is a lithostratigraphic unit in the Alps of Europe. Formation was defined by K.W. Gümbel in 1857. Middle to Late Triassic sedimentary record in the Alpine realm is characterized by presence of various masses of dolomitic r ...

Ascent

Two

waymark Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

ed paths runs up to the summit of the Bretterspitze, both of which require

sure-footedness Sure-footedness is the ability, especially when hiking or mountain climbing, to navigate difficult or rough terrain safely. Such situations place demands on a person's coordination and reserves of strength as well as requiring sufficient appreciati ...

. From

Hinterhornbach Hinterhornbach is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core o ...

an ascent runs up to the Kaufbeurer Haus taking about 2½ hours . From there the summit may be gained in 1¾ hours through the Urbeleskar

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 ...

and up the Northeast

Arête An arête ( ; ) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

. From

Häselgehr Häselgehr is a municipality with 686 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2019) in the district of Reutte (district), Reutte in the Austrian state of state of Tyrol, Tyrol. The municipality is located in the district court Reutte. Since 2010, the community ...

n another longer path takes 4½ to the top, running through the Hagerletal valley and the Gliegerkar cirque, again to the Northeast Arête and from there along the same route to the top. From the col of Schwärzler Scharte another route runs along the East Arête to the summit (waymarked, climbing grade I at one point). The Bretterspitze is easily climbed as part of a hike on the Enzensberger Way (Hermann von Barth Hut - Kaufbeurer Haus). Mountaineers with some climbing experience can also ascend the Bretterspitze up the West Arête (grade II).

Literature / maps

* Dieter Seibert: Alpine Club Guide, ''Allgäuer Alpen und Ammergauer Alpen alpin'', 16th edn., 2004, Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, *

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 ...

2/2 Allgäuer-Lechtaler Alpen – Ost 1:25,000 7th edn., 2002

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Bretterspitze (Allgäu Alps), Bretterspitze Two-thousanders of Austria Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (federal state) Allgäu Alps