The Unterberghorn () in the Austrian district of

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...

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 ...

is the highest peak between the mountain ranges of the

Wilder Kaiser 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 ...

and

Loferer Steinberge The Lofer Mountains or Loferer MountainsHeuss, Theodor (1955). ''Preludes to life: early memoirs'', University of Michigan, p. 143. (german: Loferer Steinberge, lit. "Lofer Rock Mountains") are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in th ...

. The horn or

pyramidal peak A pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn in extreme cases, is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak which results from the cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from a central point. Pyramidal peaks are often examples o ...

has two summits - its subpeak is the ''Hefferthorn'' (1,735 m) - and is the local mountain (''

Hausberg {{italic title ''Hausberg'' (lit.: "house mountain", plural: ''Hausberge'') is German for a prominent mountain or hill in the immediate vicinity of a village, town or city, usually located on its municipal territory, but outside the built up are ...

'') for the villages of

Kössen Kössen is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 24 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 15.50 km north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache near the border to Germany. Geography K ...

(near the Bavarian border) and

St. Johann in Tirol St. Johann in Tirol is a market town in Tyrol, Austria, in the Kitzbühel district. In the regional ductus, the last syllable of the name is stressed as "Sankt yo-Hahn'". History St. Johann is situated in the Leukental, which extends from Jo ...

, between which it rises, west of the valley of the River

Großache The Großache is a river, long, in the east of the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Bavarian region of Chiemgau. Names The river is known by four different names, each applying to a different section of its course: above Kitzbühel it is the Joc ...

. It is all the more prominent because each of the two holiday villages lies in a deep basin. On the eastern side of the Ache valley the

Fellhorn The Fellhorn () is a mountain in the " Allgäu Alps" near Oberstdorf, Germany, on the border with Austria. It is known for its fields of alpenroses ( Rhododendron ferrugineum). According to Austrian sources the mountain is . Access In 1972, a g ...

, at 1,765 metres, is almost as high. The

rock face In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...

s of this mountain massif, which belongs to the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. ...

, run predominantly in a north-south direction, something which indicates the consistent pressure arising from Alpine

mountain building Mountain formation refers to the geological processes that underlie the formation of mountains. These processes are associated with large-scale movements of the Earth's crust (tectonic plates). Folding, faulting, volcanic activity, igneous intr ...

. Deep troughs also run in both directions, whilst a large area of alpine pasture, the ''Zellerinalm'' lies on its eastern flank. Another large ''alm'' forms the relatively gently sloping northern ridge, known as the ''Unterberg''. A cable car runs between this ridge and the ''Unterbergalm'' (1,278 m), whilst the alm hut is served by a good road and

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial l ...

s cover the entire north slope. The popular holiday and

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

is increasingly used by

hiker Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

s as well as

paraglider Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

s and

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

s. The rivers draining to the north are heavily affected by changing weather conditions that can lead to flooding in the area of

External links

Bergbahnen Kössen

www.scheibenwald.at
Mountains of the Alps Kaiser Mountains Mountains of Tyrol (state) One-thousanders of Austria Ski areas in Austria Tourist attractions in Tyrol (state) {{Austria-sports-venue-stub