The Mädelegabel is a 2,645 metre high mountain, made of

main dolomite Main Dolomite (german: Hauptdolomit, hu, Fődolomit, it, Dolomia Principale) is a lithostratigraphic unit in the Alps of Europe. Formation was defined by K.W. Gümbel in 1857. Middle to Late Triassic sedimentary record in the Alpine realm is ...

, 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 ...

near

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 ...

. 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, with rock faces up to 400 metres high. Together with the

Trettachspitze The Trettachspitze is a mountain in the Allgäu Alps in Germany. Due to its striking appearance (a very steep, narrow horn of rock when seen from the west and east) it is one of the best-known mountains in the Allgäu Alps. Location and area T ...

and the Hochfrottspitze it forms the famous triumvirate of peaks on the main crest of the Allgäu. Its name comes from ''Mähder'' - a mown mountain pasture in the vicinity - and ''gabel'' from the appearance of the triumvirate to the north which recalls a fork (German: ''Gabel''). Originally the Mädelegabel was the name for all three peaks of the triumvirate; only later were they distinguished from one another by name. The border between

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and

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 ...

runs along the mountain ridge. On its southeastern slopes is the Schwarzmilzferner, a small glacier. The extremely popular Heilbronn Way (''Heilbronner Weg'') runs past the summit, below it and to the south.

Ascent

The Mädelegabel can be quickly reached from the Heilbronn Way. The route branches off the Heilbronn Way on the ridge just above the Schwarmilzferner glacier and follows the marked path, taking about 30 minutes to reach the summit. It involves a UIAA grade I climb which is not difficult as it is not very exposed and the going, on solid rock, is firm. As a result, the mountain receives a lot of visitors. Bases that can be used for the ascent include the Waltenberger Haus (2.5 hours to the summit), Kemptner Hut (2.75 h) and

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 numbe ...

(5 h). The Mädelegabel is a popular spring ski tour starting from the Lech valley and overnighting if need be at the Kemptner Hut. The mountain was probably first climbed during survey work in 1818/19 which was completed by the border commission in 1835. It was certainly conquered in 1852 by

Otto Sendtner Otto Sendtner (27 June 1813 – 21 April 1859) was a German botanist and phytogeography, phytogeographer born in Munich. He received his education at the University of Munich, where he was a student of Karl Friedrich Schimper (1803–1867). Aft ...

on today's normal ascent.Ernst Zettler, Heinz Groth: ''Alpenvereinsführer - Allgäuer Alpen''. 12., completely new, updated edition. Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich 1985, (p. 204).

Gallery

File:Mädelegabel Summit cross.JPG, Summit cross File:Guggersee Trettachspitze Maedelegabel Hochfrottspitze.JPG, The Mädelegabel group from the

Guggersee The Guggersee is a small mountain lake in the Southeastern Walsertal Mountains (''Südöstliche Walsertaler Berge''), a subgroup of the Allgäu Alps. It is located at a height of 1,709 metres,Kompass walking, cycling and ski touring map: She ...

to the northwest File:Maedelegabel_von_Osten.jpg, The Mädelegabel (left) and

(right) from the east File:Maedelegabel.jpg, View of the Mädelegabel (2nd peak from right). Left: the Kratzer and left in front of it, the Kemptner Hut

References

Sources

*Ernst Enzenperger: ''Die Gruppe der Mädelegabel'', Munich, Jos. Köselsche Buchhandlung, 1909 * *Thaddäus Steiner: ''Die Flurnamen der Gemeinde Oberstdorf im Allgäu'', Vol. II, Selbstverlag des Verbandes für Flurnamenforschung, München 1972 * *

Alpenvereinskarte 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''

External links

Die Mädelegabel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madelegabel Allgäu Alps Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of Tyrol (state) Two-thousanders of Austria Oberallgäu Two-thousanders of Germany