Weißkugel (; ), or Weißkogel, is the second highest

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 ...

in the

Ötztal Alps The Ötztal Alps (, ) are a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps, in the Tyrol (state), State of Tyrol in western Austria and the South Tyrol, Province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography The Ötztal Alps are arrayed at the head of ...

and the third highest mountain in

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 ...

. Featuring many

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, it lies on the border between Austria and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The easiest way to climb it is over its southern side. The ascent by Joseph Anton Specht from Vienna, guided by Leander and Nicodem Klotz from

Vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...

in 1861, was and is usually considered the first. However, personal notes of

Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (, ; (or simply ''Nadvojvoda Janez''); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverweser'') of the short-lived German Emp ...

about his excursion over the Niederjoch from Vent to

Schnals Schnals (; ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the autonomous province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. The municipality includes large parts of the Schnalstal. G ...

in the summer of 1846, made public in 1903, suggest that his guides, Johann Gurschler and Josef Weitthalm from Schnals, had climbed the mountain the previous summer. According to the second ascensionist,

Douglas Freshfield Douglas William Freshfield (27 April 1845 – 9 February 1934) was a British lawyer, mountaineer and author, who edited the ''Alpine Journal ''from 1872 to 1880. He was president of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club. He was ...

, it has one of the best views in the Tyrol.

References

See also