The Pyramidenspitze is a mountain, 1,998 metres high, of the

Kaisergebirge The Kaiser Mountains (german: Kaisergebirge, meaning ''Emperor Mountains'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps. Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser. The mountains are s ...

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 ...

. The Pyramidenspitze is only the second highest summit in the Zahmer Kaiser after the largely unknown,

Vordere Kesselschneid At the Vordere Kesselschneid is the highest summit in the Zahmer Kaiser, the northern chain of the Kaiser Mountains in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Its summit is located southeast of the oft-visited Pyramidenspitze and is separated from it by a ...

, but is the most well-known and most frequently climbed. To the south and west of the Pyramidenspitze is a high,

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

ified plateau, covered with

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and Sou ...

, which falls steeply into the valley of the

Kaisertal The Kaisertal (formerly ''Sparchental'') is a striking mountain valley between the mountain chains of the Zahmer and Wilder Kaiser in Austria's Kaisergebirge range in the Tyrol. In the ravine (''Sparchenklamm'') on the valley floor flows the str ...

and has a long

arête An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequen ...

with several summits extending towards

Kufstein Kufstein (; Central Bavarian: ''Kufstoa'') is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 19,600 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The great ...

. To the north it is separated by a

wind gap A wind gap (or air gap) is a gap through which a waterway once flowed that is now dry as a result of stream capture. A water gap is a similar feature, but one in which a waterway still flows. Water gaps and wind gaps often provide routes which ...

from the Jovenspitze. To the northwest the Pyramidenspitze drops steeply over the Eggersgrinn and to the northeast it drops down rock precipices into the Winkel

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

(''Winkelkar'').

Routes

The Pyramidenspitze may be reached from the west from the

Vorderkaiserfelden Hut The Vorderkaiserfelden Hut (german: Vorderkaiserfeldenhütte) is an alpine hut in the Kufstein district, Austria. It is located at Naunspitze The Naunspitze is a peak Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen Österreich: Austrian Map online (Österreichische Karte 1:50.000)''. in the Zahmer Kaiser, the northern ridge of the Kaiser Mountains in Tyrol, Austria. Seen from the west it is ...

(1,633 m),

Petersköpfl The Petersköpfl is a 1,745m high summit in the Zahmer Kaiser, the northern ridge of the Kaisergebirge mountain range in the Austrian state of Tyrol. To the east, the Petersköpfl is linked by a ridge to the Einserkogel; to the west it is separa ...

(1,745 m) and Einserkogel (1,924 m) that leads 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 ...

without any real difficulties in 2.5 hours. More challenging is the northern route which departs from

Durchholzen Durchholzen is a village in the municipality of Walchsee in the Austrian state of Tyrol and has 570 inhabitants. Geography Durchholzen lies around 3 km southwest of the municipal centre of Walchsee. The lowest point in the parish is Durchholze ...

. As far as the Winkel cirque the path is problem-free, but from there on there is a ''

klettersteig A via ferrata (Italian language, Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and ...

'' (A/B) to the summit. The walking time is three hours in total. In places there is a risk of major rockfalls on this route.

References

External links

Tours in the Zahmer Kaiser

Tour description
{{in lang, de Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (state) Kaiser Mountains