The Napfspitze (, also called the ''Dreiecketer'', ), is a peak on the main chain of the

Zillertal Alps The Zillertal Alps (; ) are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. Name The range is named after the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) on its north. Geography The range is bounded by the ''Tuxerjoch'' m ...

and on the border between the Austrian federal 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 ...

and the Italian province of

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

Geography

The Napfspitze lies north of

St. Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

in the

Tauferer Ahrntal The Tauferer Ahrntal denotes the valley of the Ahr (South Tyrol), Ahr () River, a tributary valley of the Puster Valley in South Tyrol, Italy. It is commonly divided into the Tauferer Tal (''Val di Tures''), stretching from the confluence with th ...

valley and south of the Zillergrund bottom. The long ridge of ''Riblerkamm'' branches from the main chain of the Zillertal Alps at the Napfspitze heading in a northerly direction. Along the ridge are two more peaks that exceed 3,000 metres in height: an unnamed 3,103-metre-summit and, further south, the ''Hohe Warte'' at 3,095 metres. On the northeastern side of the Napfspitze lies a small glacier, the ''Grießbachjochkees''.

First ascent

The mountain was first climbed by R. Seyerlein and St. Kirchner in the year 1880; they reached the summit via the southern arête.Goedecke (2004), p.156.

Ascent options

The

normal route A normal route or normal way (; ) is the most frequently used climbing route for ascending and descending a given mountain peak; it is usually the easiest and often the most straightforward route. Other generic names include the ''Tourism, tourist ...

runs from the Zillergrund to the north of the Napfspitze, beginning from the inn on the water meadows. Initially, it heads south towards Mitterjoch through the Sundergrund bottom. It then forks off this road at the upper level beneath the col called the ''Oberlangleben''. It then continues, trackless and unmarked, over extensive, boulder-strewn mountainside to the summit area. There, the route makes its way up gullies to the summit block and continues up climb steep, heavily-fissured rocks to the summit itself ( UIAA scale I). Five to seven hours are needed for this long climb. Alternatively, the Napfspitze can be scaled from the St. Peter im Ahrntal to the south. One option is the long south ridge (

UIAA grade Many climbing routes have grades for the technical difficulty, and in some cases for the risks, of the route. The first ascensionist can suggest a grade but it will be amended for the ''consensus view'' of subsequent ascents. While many cou ...

II). Another variant is the

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 trail to the lake of Grießbachsee, which then climbs tracklessly from there to the Grießbachjöchl col and finally crosses the east ridge to the summit ( UIAA scale I).

References

Literature and maps

* Richard Goedeke: ''3000er in den Nordalpen.'' Bruckmann, Munich, 2004, * Topographic walking map, ''Ahrntal / Rieserferner Gruppe'', Sheet 035, 1:25,000, Casa Editrice Tabacco,

External links

{{Commons category Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (federal state) Mountains of South Tyrol Zillertal Alps