The Sulzkogel is a mountain, , in the

Stubai Alps The Stubai Alps (in German ''Stubaier Alpen'') is a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps of Europe. It derives its name from the Stubaital valley to its east and is located southwest of Innsbruck, Austria. Several peaks form the border betwe ...

in the

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 ...

n 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 ...

Topography

The Sulzkogel lies about 3.5 kilometres south of the winter sports resort of

Kühtai Kühtai is a winter sports village in the Stubai Alps on the Kühtai Saddle between the Nedertal valley in the west and the Sellrain valley in the east. It is part of the municipality of Silz, in the district of Bezirk Imst, Imst, in the Austria ...

. To the west a sharp

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 frequ ...

drops away from the summit of the Sulzkogel into the valley of ''Längental'', separating the cirques of ''Mittagskar'' in the northwest and ''Stierkar'' in the south. To the northeast below the steep northeast face and east arête lies the ''Finstertal'' valley and the ''Finstertalspeicher'', a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

belonging to the Sellrain-Silz Power Station. To the north along a sharp arête are the ''Mittagsturm'' pinnacle (), the twin peaks of the ''Mittagsköpfe'' ( and ) and the Zwölferkogel (). To the south is the ''Gamskogel'' (). Between the Sulzkogel and the Gamskogel below a wide rocky ridge lies the Gamskogelferner, a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

that descends to an elevation of .

Paths

The

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 ...

, in winter a popular

ski tour 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 ...

, runs up the northern edge of the Gamskogelferner glacier and up the south ridge to the summit. The

first ascent 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 ...

was made by Julius Pock and Bernhard Tütscher who, in 1878, selected the route up the southwest flank from the Stierkar cirque. The north arête of the col south of the Mittagsturm is significantly more difficult (

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 ...

III+). Ascents are also possible along the east arête and along the ridge between the Sulzkogel and Gamskogel.

Literature

Gallery

File:Sulzkogel Nordost.JPG, The Sulzkogel from the northeast File:Sulzkogel Nordwest.JPG, From the northwest File:Sulzkogel und Zwölferkogel.jpg, Sulzkogel (left) and Zwölferkogel behind the dam of the Finstertalspeicher File:Sulzkogel von Westen.JPG, From the west

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline Mountains of the Alps Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of Tyrol (state) Stubai Alps