The Großer Rettenstein is a mountain with multiple peaks in the

Kitzbühel Alps The Kitzbühel Alps (german: Kitzbüheler Alpen or ''Kitzbühler Alpen'') are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps surrounding the town of Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria. Geologically they are part of the western slate zone (greywacke zone). ...

in Austria. The main summit reaches a height of Although not the highest mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps (that honour goes to the

Kreuzjoch Kreuzjoch (German: ''cross col'') is the name of many summits and several mountain passes, predominantly in the Eastern Alps. Summits: * Hohes Kreuzjoch, 2992 m, in the southern Ötztal Alps in South Tyrol * Kreuzjochkogel, 2746 m, between the S ...

at ), the Großer Rettenstein is the most striking in this range of otherwise gentle grass-covered mountains. It also has a mighty, craggy, summit block made of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, four hundred metres high, that stands atop base of

grauwacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

and primary rock (''Urgestein'' -

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

phyllite). The Rettenstein is the dominating peak of the

Spertental The Spertental is a southern side valley of the Brixental located in Tyrol, Austria. The valley, which is 8 km in length, unites with the Brixental near Kirchberg in Tirol (837 m). The Aschauer Ache flows through Spertental. The landscape is surr ...

valley. Its isolated location also makes the summit an outstanding viewing point and it is therefore a popular destination. To the north the Rettenstein sends a long ridge out to the Spiessnägel, that separates the ''oberer Grund'' and ''unterer Grund''.

Nature

The Rettenstein lies in the Spertental-Rettenstein

protected landscape Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although t ...

and so

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

, Spruce,

Gentian ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...

, Willow Gentian, Platenigl,

Edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signal ...

Monkshood ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. ...

Rock Ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

Black Grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

and Capercaillie,

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

, Chamois,

Ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...

and

Marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, ...

all occur here.

Tour options

The simplest ascent starts from Aschau in the Sperten valley and crosses the ''unterer Grund'' and the ''Schöntalalm'' in 3 to 4 hours.

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 ...

is required for this route. As a variation on the descent, fit hikers can take the long ridgeway over the Spiessnägel. Another approach option is possible from the Mühlbach valley ( Bramberg municipality) in the upper Pinzgau to the south. Here the way runs initially along a drivable forest track (close to the public) through the ''Baumgartenalm'' almost as far as the ''Stangenjoch''.

Gallery

File:Gr._Rettenstein_001.jpg, View of the NE flank of the Großer Rettenstein. The summit is in the centre of the 3 rock pinaccles. File:Summit Gr. Rettenstein.001.jpg, Summit cross on Großer Rettenstein. Behind: Kleiner Rettenstein. File:Gr._Rettenstein 3.JPG, View from Gampenkogel of the mighty summit block of the Großer Rettenstein. Background:

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 ...

and

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 ...

. File:Großer Rettenstein seen from the Pengelstein.jpg, View of the Großer Rettenstein from the Pengelstein in winter.

External links

Tour description and map

Mountaineering on the Großer Rettenstein

Information about the protected landscape with interactive map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rettenstein, Grosser Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (state) Mountains of Salzburg (state) Two-thousanders of Austria Kitzbühel Alps Kitzbühel District