The Hoher Sonnblick (also ''Rauriser Sonnblick'') is a

glaciated 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 d ...

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

, high, on the main Alpine chain in the Goldberg Group on the border between 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 states of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. At its summit is the Sonnblick Observatory and the Alpine refuge hut of Zittelhaus.

Location and area

The mountain rises at the head of the ''Hüttwinkltal'' valley, the upper part of the Raurisertal, on the Alpine divide. It is a mighty

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

with a characteristic rock pyramid on the summit block and a great North Face above Kolm-Saigurn. The highest summit of the Goldberg Group is not the Hoher Sonnblick, however, but the 3,254-metre-high Hocharn to the north. On the steep summit, at a height of 3,106 metres, is a

meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

, the '' Sonnblick Observatory'', and an Alpine refuge hut, the '' Zittelhaus'' (also written ''Zittlhaus''). At a height of 2,718 metres is the '' Rojacher Hut'' and at 2,175 metres is the '' Schutzhaus Neubau''. Both huts are managed during the summer months. On 1 January 1905, a temperature of was recorded at the summit, the lowest temperature recorded in Austria at that time. St. Elmo's fire was observed by a

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in Videotelephony, video telephony, live streaming and social media, and Closed-circuit television, security. Webcams can b ...

multiple times on the observatory between 2012-2014. In the area of the Sonnblick there are historical

gold mine Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more comple ...

s, which gave their name to the mountain range around the Sonnblick, the Goldberg Group. Relics of gold digging still exist in the area; Kulm-Saigurn is an ancient mountain mining settlement. At the foot of the Sonnblick it is still possible to pan for gold.

Literature and maps

* Liselotte Buchenauer, Peter Holl: Alpine Club Guide ''Ankogel- und Goldberggruppe''. Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich, 1986. * Ingeborg Auer, Reinhard Böhm, Martin Leymüller, Wolfgang Schöner: ''Das Klima des Sonnblicks – Klimaatlas und Klimatographie der GAW-Station Sonnblick einschließlich der umgebenden Gebirgsregion'', ZAMG, Vienna, 2002, ISSN 1016-6254.Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik Wien
''Bücher''
(retrieved 11 October 2012) *

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 ...

Sheet 42, 1:25,000 series, ''Sonnblick''

Climate

Sonnblick has a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''ET'').

References

External links

Glacier survey by the Central Office of Meteorology and Geodynamics and the BOKU Vienna, as well as ski tours on the Sonnblick

Website of the Sonnblick Observatory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnblick, Hoher Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Salzburg (federal state) Goldberg Group