The Rauhkofel or Rauchkofel (, ) is a summit on the main crest 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 ...
, which forms the border between 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 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 ...
. The name of the mountain ("rugged peak") comes from the rugged appearance of the granite blocks that form the summit .
The Rauhkofel rises above its neighbouring peaks on the main Zillertal ridge considerably and it is considered the best lookout mountain in the eastern Zillertal Alps.
[Goedecke: ''3000er in den Nordalpen.'' page 155, see literature] The east and south arêtes of the Rauhkofel are part of the main crest of the Zillertal Alps. Another ridge runs from the summit heading northwest; on its continuation at a distance of just under two kilometres is the Kleinspitze (3,172 m). North of the summit are the remnants of the Rauhkofelkees glacier. At the southwestern foot of the peak is the Waldner See, the largest lake in the
Ahrntal valley.
Ascent
The summit is almost exclusively approached from the South Tyrolean side, but it is a very long climb. Around the turn of the 20th century the Lusatian Branch of the
German and Austrian Alpine Club
The German and Austrian Alpine Club (, DuÖAV) was a merger of the German, Austrian and German Bohemian Alpine Club that existed from 1873 to 1938.
History
In 1862 the ''Sektion Austria'' was founded in Vienna by the academics Paul Grohmann, Fr ...
erected a hut south of the mountain and blazed a trail along the south arête. The hut has fallen into ruins, but parts of the trail have survived and form elements of 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 ...
today.
The most common route from
Prettau in the Ahrntal runs via the Waldneralm and the Waldnersee to the south arête of the mountain. Here the climber can either walk from
Kasern, the nearest village in the Ahrntal, via the Stadlalm and Marchsteinboden. At the southern spur of the mountain at a height of about 3,000 metres, the path ends and the route continues over coarse boulders and patches of snow, partly on the mountainside west of the arête, but it is
waymarked to the summit. About 5 hours should be allowed for the ascent.
References
Literature and maps
* Hanspaul Menara: ''Südtiroler Gipfelwanderungen.'' Athesia, Bozen, 2001,
* Richard Goedeke: ''3000er in den Nordalpen.'' Bruckmann, Munich, 2004,
* Eugen E. Hüsler: ''Tauferer Ahrntal mit Pfunderer Bergen.'' Bergverlag Rother, 3rd edn., Munich, 2009,
* Topografische Wanderkarte, ''Ahrntal / Rieserferner Gruppe'', Sheet 035, 1:25,000, Casa Editrice Tabacco, {{ISBN, 88-8315-035-X
Alpine three-thousanders
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of Tyrol (federal state)
Mountains of South Tyrol
Zillertal Alps