The Erlspitze, at , is the highest mountain of the range to which it gives its name in the southeastern corner of the Karwendel Alps. Its pyramid-shaped summit makes it a good observation peak north of the Erl Saddle and the

Solsteinhaus The Solsteinhaus is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club located at a height of on the Erl Saddle (''Erlsattel'') between the mountains of the Nordkette and Erlspitze Group. It was opened in 1914 and totally renovated in 200 ...

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization d ...

Ascents

The normal route runs from the Solsteinhaus () along the south arête on a

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 path (with several sections protected by cable) to the summit (ca. 1.5 hours). The "Zirler Klettersteig" runs along the ''Eppzirler Scharte'' () and the west arête (ca. 2–2.5 hours from the Solsteinhaus; the col can also be reached from the Eppzirler Alm to the north). This requires sure-footedness and a head for heights and was renovated and made more interesting in 2007; the cable being led out of the rock crevices. Klettersteig equipment and helmets are recommended. Its difficulty is assessed as between A and B according to the signage. Shortly before the summit is a short section at grade D, which can be circumnavigated, however, without loss of time.

Tourism

From 1886 to 1890, the

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

doctor and poet, August Lieber, together with his son, Fraja Lieber, climbed nearly all the summits in the

Nordkette The Nordkette, also variously called the North Chain, Northern Range, rarely the Inn Valley Range or Inn Valley Chain (''Inntalkette''), is a range of mountains just north of the city of Innsbruck in Austria. It is the southernmost of the four g ...

and Erlspitze Group. For many peaks in the latter group, including the Erlspitze, these were the first known tourist ascents.Heinrich Schwaiger in Eduard Richter (ed.): ''Die Erschließung der Ostalpen'', Vol. I, Berlin, 1894, p. 225.

Gallery

References

Literature

* Walter Klier: ''

Alpenvereinsführer The ''Alpine Club Guides'' (german: Alpenvereinsführer, commonly shortened to ''AV Führer'' or ''AVF'') are the standard series of Alpine guides that cover all the important mountain groups in the Eastern Alps. They are produced jointly by the Ge ...

Karwendel alpin'', 15th edn., 2005,

Bergverlag Rudolf Rother Bergverlag Rother is a German publisher with its headquarters in Oberhaching, Upper Bavaria. Since 1950 the company, that formerly went under the name of ''Bergverlag Rudolf Rother'', has published the Alpine Club Guides in cooperation with the Ge ...

, Munich,

External links

Tour description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erlspitze Two-thousanders of Austria Mountains of the Alps Karwendel