The Granatspitze () is the mountain giving its name to the

Granatspitze Group The Granatspitze Group (german: Granatspitzgruppe), sometimes also the Granatspitz Group, is a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps, Central Alps within the Eastern Alps. Together with the Ankogel Group, the Goldberg Group, the Glockner Group, t ...

in the

High Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of S ...

, the Alpine backbone of Austria. This, despite the fact that several peaks in this group are actually higher, for example the Stubacher Sonnblick which is less than a kilometre to the north and two metres higher. But, unlike, its oft-climbed neighbour, the Granatspitze is more rarely frequented due to the level of difficulty of the ascent. The steep summit block of this striking peak is made of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

Ascent

The easiest ascent runs from initially westwards towards the notch of the ''Granatscharte'', turning south in front of it to continue along the East Ridge (''Ostgrat'') to the summit. This route takes about 3 hours and has a

climbing grade In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a grade to a climbing route or boulder problem, intended to describe concisely the difficulty and danger of climbing it. Different types of climbing (such as spo ...

of II-. Another option is offered by the North Ridge (''Nordgrat'') with its several pinnacles or rock towers (''Grattürme''), but this is more difficult, albeit still II-. The South Ridge is also an option, especially from the East Tyrolean side. This can be reached from the Karl Fürst Hut, an emergency shelter west of the Stubacher Sonnblick, crossing the ''Prägratkees'' glacier, which has several difficult

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...

s at the notch of ''Untere Keeswinkelscharte'' ( II-).

Sources and maps

*Geord Zlöbl: ''Die Dreitausender Osttirols im Nationalpark Hohe Tauern.'' Verlag Grafik Zloebl, Lienz-Tristach 2005, . *Alpine Club map sheet 39, 1:25.000, ''Granatspitzgruppe''. Österreichischer Alpenverein, 2002, . {{Authority control Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (state) Mountains of Salzburg (state) Alpine three-thousanders Geography of East Tyrol Granatspitze Group