The Zuckerhütl is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

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 ...

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 ...

. At 3,505 metres (11,499 feet), it is the highest peak of 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 betwee ...

and lies at the southern end of the

Stubaital The Stubaital is an alpine valley in Tyrol, Austria. It is the central valley of the Stubai Alps. The river Ruetz flows through the valley. This 35-km long valley runs in northeastern direction from the main chain of the Alps to Schönberg im S ...

Valley. It derives its name, the German for

sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a ri ...

, from its conical shape. In nearby

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

it is known as ''Pan di Zùcchero'', the Italian term for sugarloaf. On the mountain's north face the huge ''Sulzenauferner'' glacier falls 1,000m from its summit, resembling an

icefall An icefall is a portion of certain glaciers characterized by relatively rapid flow and chaotic crevassed surface, caused in part by gravity. The term ''icefall'' is formed by analogy with the word ''waterfall'', which is a similar phenomenon of t ...

which looks unclimbable without ladders. It is the views of this great glacier which give Zuckerhütl its name. On its south face a 500m high cliff drops down from the summit.

Climbing

The summit was first reached by the pioneering German alpinist Joseph Anton Specht in 1862. Specht was a founder member of the

German Alpine Club The German Alpine Club (german: links=no, Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV for short) is the world's largest climbing association and the eighth-largest sporting association in Germany. It is a member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the ...

. It is now a very popular destination due to it being the highest mountain of the Stubai Alps and because of the view from the summit, which takes in all the major peaks of the Stubai Alps, the

Ötztal Alps The Ötztal Alps ( it, Alpi Venoste, german: Ötztaler Alpen) are a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps, in the State of Tyrol in western Austria and the Province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography The Ötztal Alps are arrayed at ...

, the

Zillertal Alps The Zillertal Alps ( it, Alpi Aurine; german: Zillertaler Alpen) are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. Name The range is named after the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) on its north. Geography The ...

and the

Ortler Alps The Ortler Alps ( it, Ortles-Cevedale ; german: Ortler-Alpen; rm, Alps da l'Ortler) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group in the Central Eastern Alps, in Italy and Switzerland. Geography The Ortler Alps are separated ...

. The normal route is along the east ridge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuckerhutl Mountains of Tyrol (state) Mountains of the Alps Alpine three-thousanders Stubai Alps

Climbing

See also

References