The Geierköpfe form a triple-summited mountain massif in the

Ammergau Alps The Ammergau Alps (german: Ammergauer Alpen or ''Ammergebirge'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Bavaria (Germany) and Tyrol (Austria). They cover an area of about 30 x 30 km and begin at the outer edge ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The main summit is high, the West Top 2,143 m high and the East Top 2,060 m. The summit group is located southwest of the

Ammer Saddle The Ammer Saddle (german: Ammersattel, 1,082 m, 3,550 ft) is a high mountain pass in the Alps on the border between Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. The pass is located in the Ammergau region of southern Bavaria. It leads from Ettal near ...

. The West Top can be climbed either from the

Plansee Plansee is a lake in Reutte District, Tyrol, Austria, located at . Its surface is approximately 2.87 km² and its maximum depth is 78 metres. It lies on Austrian Federal Highway B 179, which crosses the Ammersattel into Germany. History ...

lake or from a small car park on the road linking the Plansee via the Ammer Saddle to

Schloss Linderhof Linderhof Palace (german: Schloss Linderhof) is a Schloss in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near the village of Ettal. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by Ludwig II of Bavaria, King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived t ...

(ca. 2 km south of Hotel Ammerwald on the bridge over the Teufelsbach) in about 3½ hours. This is an easy mountain tour; only at a few places just below the summit is there a requirement to use hands as well as feet. The crossing from West Top to the main summit is rather more challenging and requires

sure-footedness Sure-footedness is the ability, especially when hiking or mountain climbing, to negotiate difficult or rough terrain safely. Such situations place demands on a person's coordination and reserves of strength as well as requiring sufficient appreciat ...

and a

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

. The

arête An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which 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 frequen ...

walk from the main summit to the East Top requires sure-footed negotiation of ''

schrofen Schrofen, a German mountaineering term, is steep terrain, strewn with rocks and rock outcrops, that is laborious to cross, but whose rock ledges (''schrofen'') offer many good steps and hand holds. It is usually rocky terrain on which grass has est ...

'' terrain and, at one spot, climbing to grade II standard and is only recommended for experienced mountaineers. The West Top can also be ascended from the Ammer Saddle as an interesting ski tour. Because of the dense belt of mountain pine, however, a high level of snow is needed. The descent from the gully at the exit to the

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

on the north side is sometimes rather tricky. If there is little snow (when it is very steep) or the snow is hard, ice picks and crampons are recommended. Image:Geierkoepfe_Hauptgipfel.jpg, Geierköpfe Main Top, seen from the West Top Image:Geierkoepfe_Hauptgipfel_vom_Ostgipfel.jpg, Geierköpfe Main Top, seen from the East Top

Literature

* Dieter Seibert: AVF ''Allgäuer Alpen und Ammergauer Alpen'', Rother Verlag, Munich, 2004,

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geierkopfe Two-thousanders of Austria Mountains of Tyrol (state) Mountains of the Alps Ammergau Alps Reutte District