The Rastkogel is a 2,762 metre high, pyramidal, mountain on the main crest of the

Tux Alps The Tux Alps (german: Tuxer Alpen) or Tux Prealps (''Tuxer Voralpen'') are a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps, which in turn form part of the Eastern Alps within Central Europe. They are located entirely within the Austrian federal state o ...

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 federal 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 ...

Location and area

The Rastkogel lies five kilometres north-northeast

as the crow flies __NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver ...

of '' Vorderlanersbach'' (municipality of Tux) in the

Tuxertal The Tuxertal is a valley located in Tyrol, Austria. A side valley of the Zillertal, from which it branches at Mayrhofen, the Tuxertal is about 13 km long and accessible on the Tuxer Straße (Tux Road). From Mayrhofen () to Hintertux (1500&n ...

, the westernmost

side valley Side valleys and tributary valleys are valleys whose brooks or rivers flow into greater ones. Upstream, the valleys can be classified in an increasing order which is equivalent to the usual orographic order: the tributaries are ordered from tho ...

of the

Zillertal The Ziller Valley (german: Zillertal) is a valley in Tyrol, Austria that is drained by the Ziller River. It is the widest valley south of the Inn Valley (german: Inntal) and lends its name to the Zillertal Alps, the strongly glaciated section o ...

. Its neighbouring peaks are: to the west, separated by the ''Nurpensjoch'' saddle (2,525 m), the ''Halslspitze'' at 2,574 metres, and beyond that over the

Wattentaler Lizum {{Coord, 47, 10, 21, N, 11, 38, 16, E, region:AT-7_type:landmark, display=title The Wattentaler Lizum (locally also Wattener Lizum) is the name of the head of the Wattental valley which branches off the lower Inn valley near Wattens. ''Lizum'' mean ...

, the '' Hirzer'' (2,725 m). To the north lies the '' Roßkopf'' (2,576 m) and - jutting far out into the

Inn valley The Inn ( la, Aenus; rm, En) is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The river is long. It is a right tributary of the Danube and it is the third largest tributary of the Danube by discharge. The highest point of its drainage basin is ...

- the ''

Gilfert The Gilfert is a peak in the Tux Alps. It is the most northerly extent of the Rastkogel Massif and can therefore be seen from almost anywhere in the Lower Inn Valley. Location and countryside The summit bears a large cross, as do the two nor ...

'' (2,506 m) and, to the east, separated by the ''Hoarbergjoch'' (2,590 m), the '' Pangert'' at 2,550 metres. Due to its prominent location in the south of the Tuxertal, the Rastkogel is an oft-frequented mountain. At its summit the crest divides like a cross into the three aforementioned directions, although its rock faces are mainly oriented in a north-south direction. To the south the massif drops relatively steeply into the Tuxertal.

Bases and routes to the summit

An ascent of the Rastkogel as an Alpine mountain hike along the normal route, which is the easiest one, takes about 3 hours, approaching from the north along the southeast ridge (''Südostgrat'') from the

Rastkogel Hut The Rastkogel is a 2,762 metre high, pyramidal, mountain on the main crest of the Tux Alps in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. Location and area The Rastkogel lies five kilometres north-northeast as the crow flies of '' Vorderlanersba ...

(2,117 m). Another route runs from the Weidener Hut (1,799 m) to the northwest over the Haslspitze and the west ridge (''Westgrat'') taking a good four hours to gain the summit. On the southwest flank of the Rastkogels there is a

skiing area 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 Nor ...

that is reached from Vorderlanersbach on a

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 ...

. A popular route for those staying in Mayrhofen is to take the Penken lift to the top station and then walk along route 23 to Penkenjoch with views across the Zillertal Alps. Route 57 should then be followed (clearly signposted) past the Wanglalm hut. Route 57 then climbs up to the summit of the Wanglspitze at 2420m continuing on to Hoarbergjoch at 2590m. Continue NNW along route 57 until it joins route 51. Continue along route 51 which becomes steeper until the ridge is reached. Turn west along a well marked trail that leads to the summit of Rastkogel. The final km involves some mild scrambling. The recommended time for the walk is 3.5 to 4 hours each way. These timings are for an average walker in good conditions. The Penken lift starts at 9.00 am and the last trip down is at 4.30pm (2011). It is worth checking before starting as if there are no more lifts it is another 2 to 3 hours walking down to Mayrhofen. (The 1:35000 Mayr map 33 Zillertaller Alpen has all the route numbers for the area clearly marked.)

Sources and maps

* Walter Klier: ''Gebietsführer Zillertaler Alpen (Nördlicher Teil) und Tuxer Voralpen'', Munich, 1990, * Walter Klier: ''Zillertal, mit Gerlos- und Tuxer Tal'',

Bergverlag Rother Bergverlag Rother is a German publisher with its headquarters in Oberhaching, Upper Bavaria. Since 1950 the company, that formerly went under the name of ''Bergverlag Rudolf Rother'', has published the Alpine Club Guides in cooperation with the ...

, Munich, 2008. * Freytag & Berndt-Verlag Vienna, Wanderkarte 1:50,000, Blatt WK 151, ''Zillertal, Tuxer Alpen, Jenbach-Schwaz''. {{ISBN, 978-3-85084-751-3

External links

Ski tour description

View at the summit of the Rastkogel
Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (state) Two-thousanders of Austria Tux Alps