The Hohes Licht, at 2,651 metres, is the second highest mountain in the

Allgäu Alps The Allgäu Alps (german: Allgäuer Alpen) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Tyrol and Vorarlberg in Austria. The range lies directly east of Lake Constance. Character ...

after the Großer Krottenkopf. Its summit lies in the Austrian state 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 ...

Location

The mountain lies 4½ kilometres

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 ...

north-northwest of Steeg in the

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

valley and 14 kilometres south of

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

. Neighbouring peaks are, to the northeast the Wilder Mann, the Bockkarkopf, the

Hochfrottspitze The Hochfrottspitze is a mountain, made of main dolomite, in the Allgäu Alps near Oberstdorf in Germany and the highest German mountain in the Allgäu Alps. The border with Austria runs along its ridge. Together with the Trettachspitze and Mäd ...

and the

Mädelegabel The Mädelegabel is a 2,645 metre high mountain, made of main dolomite, in the Allgäu Alps near Oberstdorf. It is one of the best-known and most-climbed high peaks in the German Alps, Within the Allgäu Alps it is the fourth-highest summit, ...

. To the south are the Peischelspitze and the Ellbognerspitze, to the west the Hochgundspitze and the

Hochrappenkopf Hochrappenkopf is a mountain of Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member st ...

. To the northwest lies the 200 metre lower Rotgundspitze.

First climb

In 1854, during a

triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...

exercise, a "survey signal" (''Vermessungssignal'') was erected. When the mountain was first climbed for leisure purposes by

Hermann von Barth Hermann von Barth (5 June 1845 – 7 December 1876) was a famous German mountaineer. Life and career Hermann von Barth was born on 5 June 1845 at Eurasburg (Oberbayern), Eurasburg Castle. He initially studied law in Munich, where he was affili ...

on 6 August 1869, the signal was still there. Barth reached the summit approaching from the

Biberkopf The Biberkopf is a 2,599 m high mountain in the Alps on the border between Germany and Austria. Location and area The Biberkopf lies on the main crest of the Allgäu Alps on the border between the Bavarian district of Oberallgäu and the ...

via the ''Hochalpe'' and the ''Steinscharte'' from the northwest.Anton Spiehler in Eduard Richter: ''Erschliessung der Ostalpen'', Ist Vol., Berlin, 1893, pp. 62 ff. This is still the normal route today.

Bases and tours

*A suitable base for ascending the Hohes Licht along the normal route, the easiest ascent, is the

Rappensee Hut The Rappensee Hut (german: Rappenseehütte) is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the Allgäu-Kempten Section of the German Alpine Club. With 304 bedspaces it is the largest of all the 327 huts of the German Alpine Club. It received a record number ...

to the northwest at 2,091 metres. From the hut the summit may easily be climbed in 1½ hours. The route runs over the wind gap of ''Große Steinscharte'', that marks the border between German and Austria, and over the West Flank (''Westflanke'') to the top. *In 4½ hours the Hohes Licht can be reached from the ''Hochalptal'' valley from Steeg (to the south). The height difference for this tour is 1,527 metres. This ascent is also suitable for

ski touring Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the u ...

in spring.

Literature and map

* Dieter Seibert, ''

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 ...

Allgäuer Alpen'', Munich, 2004, *

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, Sheet 2/1, ''Allgäuer- Lechtaler Alpen, West''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Licht, Hohes Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (state) Two-thousanders of Austria Allgäu Alps