The Zettenkaiser is a 1,968 m high mountain with a

summit cross A summit cross is a Christian cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or other weatherproof case. The practice originated in the Ge ...

in the

Kaiser Mountains The Kaiser Mountains (, meaning ''Emperor Mountains'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps. Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser. The mountains are situated in the Austri ...

(''Kaisergebirge'') in the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from 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 ...

. It rises to the west of the almost 150-metre-higher

Scheffauer {{Infobox mountain , name = Scheffauer , photo = Scheffauer.jpg , photo_caption = The Scheffauer (far end of the ridge) , elevation = {{Höhe, 2111, AT, link=true ({{convert, 2111, m, ft, disp=output only, abbr=on) ...

, from which it is separated by a col. It is one of the more rarely visited summits in the Kaiser. There are great views south to the

main chain of the Alps The main chain of the Alps, also called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the drainage divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest p ...

, north to the

Zahmer Kaiser The Kaiser Mountains (, meaning ''Emperor Mountains'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps. Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser. The mountains are situated in the Austri ...

and west into the

Inn Valley The Inn (; ; ) is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The long river is a right tributary of the Danube, being the third largest tributary of the Danube by discharge. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernin ...

; to the east at the foot of the summit is the rock needle known as the ''Kaindlnadel'' and then the mighty Scheffauer. Zahmer-_und_Wilder_Kaiser_from_Vomp

Routes

The waymarked

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 ...

starts by the privately run

Kaindl Hut The Kaindl Hut () is a privately run mountain hut at a height of in the Kaiser mountains in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Location The Kaindl Hut lies in the western part of the Kaiser on an Alpine meadow, the ''Steinbergalm'', and at the foot ...

(1,293m), runs via the Großer and Kleiner Friedhof (two

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 ...

s), up a 3 to 4-metre-high rock step (grade I/II) and gullies in

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, bog pine, creeping pine, or mugo pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and So ...

terrain in order to reach the western

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 ...

at about 1,700 metres. The arête is not particularly difficult (grade I), but is exposed in places however and requires a

head for heights To have a head for heights means that one has no acrophobia (irrational fear of heights), and is also not particularly prone to fear of falling or suffering from vertigo (the spinning sensation that can be triggered, for example, by looking down ...

and

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 ...

. There is no protection and the waymarks have faded in places (as at 2013); if one leaves the route the ascent becomes markedly more difficult.

Literature and map

Horst Höfler Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Hor ...

, Jan Piepenstock: ''Kaisergebirge alpin. Alpenvereinsführer alpin für Wanderer und Bergsteiger'' (= '' Alpenvereinsführer''). 12th edn. Bergverlag Rother, Munich, 2006, . *

Pit Schubert Pit Schubert (2 December 1935 – 28 February 2024) was a German non-fiction author, climber, and mountaineer. He was the founder and former head of the safety commission of the German Alpine Club (DAV). Life and career Schubert was born in Bre ...

: ''Kaisergebirge extrem. Alpenvereinsführer für Kletterer'' (= ''Alpenvereinsführer''). Bergverlag Rother, Munich, 2000, {{ISBN, 3-7633-1272-2 *

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 ...

1:25,000, ''Kaisergebirge'', Sheet 8. One-thousanders of Austria Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (federal state) Kaiser Mountains