The Großer Geiger, formerly also called the ''Obersulzbacher Venediger'' and ''Heiliggeistkogel'', is a mountain, , in the
Venediger Group
The Venediger Group (german: Venedigergruppe) is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. Together with the Granatspitze Group, the Glockner Group, the Goldberg Group, and the Ankogel Group, it forms the main ridge of the High Tauern. The hig ...
in the main chain of the Central Tauern (''Mittlerer Tauernhauptkamm''). This chain lies 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 ...
, part of the
Austrian Central Alps
The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent ...
on the border between the Austrian states of
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 ...
in the south and
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
in the north.
The mountain was given its present name in 1855 by the Austrian chemist and cartographer, Franz Keil. Because of its isolated situation the Großer Geiger has a significant
dominance. With its distinctive, symmetric, pyramidal shape and its mighty northwest face which rises 350 metres above the
Obersulzbachkees glacier at a gradient of 50°, it is the most prominent landmark in the entire Upper Sulzbach valley. Arêtes radiate from the summit in all four directions of the compass. The mountain is easy to reach and is thus a popular touring and climbing destination. It was
first climbed
In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...
on 20 August 1871 by the
Alpinist, Richard Issler, and
mountain guide
A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...
, Michael Groder from the
Johannis Hut to the south.
Surrounding area
The Großer Geiger is surrounded by glaciers, which reach a height of over 3,200 metres in places. To the north lies the Obersulzbachkees, to the east the ''Dorferkees'', to the south and west is the ''Maurerkees''. Its nearest peak is the
Großvenediger
Großvenediger () is the main peak of the Venediger Group within the Hohe Tauern mountain range, on the border of the Austrian state of Tyrol (East Tyrol) with Salzburg. It is generally considered to be Austria's fourth highest mountain (although ...
, at 3,667 metres the highest mountain of the group, which lies to the northeast on the main chain of the Tauern, separated by the mountain pass of ''Obersulzbachtörl'' at a height of 2,921 metres. The only other significant neighbouring peaks are the three ''Maurerkeesköpfe'' (''Kleiner-'' 3,205 m, ''Hinterer-'' 3,313 m and ''Mittlerer Maurerkeeskopf'' at 3,281 m) on the line of the western arête. The nearest sizeable settlement is the Tyrolean village of
Hinterbichl near ''Prägraten'' 10 kilometres away
as the crow flies
__NOTOC__
The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliv ...
in the
Virgental valley. ''Sulzau'' in Salzburg's
Pinzgau
The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region ().
The area of the district is , with a population of 84,124 (May 15, 2001), and population dens ...
valley is 17 km away to the north.
Bases and ascents
The Großer Geiger can only be climbed by crossing glaciers as part of a
high mountain tour
A high mountain tour (german: Hochtour) is a mountaineering, mountain tour that takes place in the Altitudinal zonation, zone that is covered by ice all year round, the nival zone. High mountain tours require special preparation and equipment.
A ...
. The route taken by the first climbers in 1871 ran from the south up to the summit. Their base was the Johannis Hut lying at 2,121 metres in the valley of the Upper ''Dorfertal''. Their route initially followed the ''Dorferbach'' upstream to the middle of the very heavily
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 ...
d Dorferkees at a height of about 2,700 metres and then swung west over
firn
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Firn (; from Swiss German "last year's", cognate with ''before'') is partially compacted névé, a type of snow that has been left over from past seasons and has been recrystallized into a substance denser than névé. It is ice that ...
at a gradient of 30° to the so-called ''Ostsporn'' (East Spur). They scaled this relatively difficult rock climbing route, today classed as UIAA
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 ...
II, to the summit. This entailed negotiating some critical sections which almost led to a fall. The present
normal route
A normal route or normal way (french: voie normale; german: Normalweg) is the most frequently used route for ascending and descending a mountain peak. It is usually the simplest route.
Overview
In the Alps, routes are classed in the following way ...
to the Großer Geiger runs either from the
Essener-Rostocker Hut at 2,208 metres, heading in a northerly direction, or from the
Kürsinger Hut (2,547 m) in a southerly direction up to the western arête (''Geigerschartl'' col, 3,142 m) of the Geiger and then across its southwestern flank climbing over the firn to the
summit cross
A summit cross (german: Gipfelkreuz) is a 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 at least a weatherproof case.
Various other form ...
. According to the literature this takes about 3½ to 4 hours from one of the huts. More demanding
climbing route
A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, rock, or ice wall. Routes can vary dramatically in difficulty and grade; once committed to that ascent, it can sometimes be difficult to stop or return. Choice of rout ...
s, of UIAA grades III to IV, lead up the northwest face and along its flanking arêtes, some as combined tours (ice and rock).
[Willi End: ''Alpenvereinsführer Venedigergruppe'', Munich, 2006, pp. 248 ff., Rz 927 ff.]
Literature and maps
*Willi End:
Alpine Club Guide
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 ...
''Venedigergruppe'', Munich, 2006,
*Eduard Richter: ''Erschliessung der Ostalpen'', Vol. III, Verlag des Deutschen und Oesterreichischen Alpenvereins, Berlin, 1894
*
Alpine Club map
Alpine Club maps (german: Alpenvereinskarten, often abbreviated to ''AV-Karten'' i.e. AV maps) are specially detailed maps for summer and winter mountain climbers (mountaineers, hikers and ski tourers). They are predominantly published at a scale o ...
1:25,000 series, Sheet 36, ''Venedigergruppe''
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geiger, Grosser
Alpine three-thousanders
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of Tyrol (state)
Mountains of Salzburg (state)
Venediger Group