The Acherkogel is a mountain in the Austrian Alps with a high summit. It is the northernmost
three-thousander
Three-thousanders are mountains with a height of between , but less than above sea level. Similar terms are commonly used for mountains of other height brackets e. g. four-thousanders or eight-thousanders. In Britain, the term may refer to ...
in the state of Tyrol. It dominates the village of
Oetz
Oetz is a municipality in the Imst district of Tyrol, Austria, located 11.7 km (7.3 mi) southeast of Imst at the lower course of the Ötztaler Ache in the outer Ötztal valley at the foot of Acherkogel mountain (3 008 m, 9,869 ...
in the lower valley of the River
Ötz, where high rock faces rise to the northwest and southwest. To the west, a sharp ridge leads down to the Achplatte (2,423 m) and Habicher Wand (2,176 m), another ridge strikes northeast to the 2,894 m high Maningkogel. Another sharp ridge heads southeast to the 2,954 m high Wechnerkogel. In the main, the Acherkogel has the character of a rocky peak, only to the north and east are there small
snowfield
A snow field, snowfield or neve is an accumulation of permanent snow and ice, typically found above the snow line, normally in mountainous and glacial terrain.
Glaciers originate in snowfields. The lower end of a glacier is usually free from sn ...
s.
It was first climbed on 24 August 1881 by
Ludwig Purtscheller
Ludwig Purtscheller (6 October 1849 – 3 March 1900) was an Austrian mountaineer and teacher.
Purtscheller pioneered climbing without a mountain guide, who in the 19th century did all the route finding and lead climbing. By the end of his life ...
from the southeast and south ridge over a route that has not been used since. His climbing partner, the chamois hunter Franz Schnaiter from
Kühtai, stayed behind on the south ridge when the climbing became very exposed.
Routes to the summit
* The north face (
UIAA II) was first traversed by
Otto Melzer in 1893 and is considered the normal route today. The
Bielefelder Hütte is the usual base camp.
* The northeast ridge (
UIAA III, K. Holzhammer, 1924) leads from the ridge between the Acherkogel and Maningkogel to the summit and is the most attractive climb. This route is normally tackled by crossing the Maningkogel coming from the Mittertal. The start point for this route is usually the
Kühtai or
Mittergrathütte.
* The southern ridge (
UIAA II, F. Hörtnagl/H. Schmotzer, 1899) is usually started at the
Dortmunder Hütte. The route used by the first climbers to conquer the peak runs nearby, but is no longer passable.
* The southwest face (
UIAA II, F. Gstrein/F. Lantschner/M. Pfaundler 1891) used to be the normal route, but is now rarely used.
Less frequented routes are:
* the southeast face (
UIAA V-, P. Schillfahrt/N. Raich, 1975),
* the western ridge (
UIAA III, F. Lantschner, 1893) und
* the northwest face to the western ridge (F. Lantschner, 1921)
Sources
Gallery
File:Acherkogel Nordwest.JPG, Left to right: Maningkogel, Acherkogel and Wechnerkogel (from the NW)
File:Acherkogel HQ.jpg, The Acherkogel from the Hintere Karlesspitze (from the NE)
File:AcherkogelFrom Kühtai.jpg, Acherkogel from near Ochsengarten in Kühtai
{{Authority control
Stubai Alps
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of Tyrol (state)
Alpine three-thousanders