The Großer Krottenkopf is the highest

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 area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

Allgäu Alps The Allgäu Alps () are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located on the Austria–Germany border, which covers parts of the Germany, German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and the Austrian states of Tyrol (state), Tyrol an ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It is

Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen The Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying of Austria (, BEV) is the body responsible for official surveying, geo-information and weights and measures (metrology) in Austria. It belongs to the ' (Federal Ministry of the Economy Location and Digi ...

Austria:
Austrian Map online (Austrian 1:50,000 map series)
''. and is part of a side branch of the

Hornbach chain The Hornbach chain () is a string of mountains, about 15 kilometres long, in the Allgäu Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol (Bundesland), Tyrol. Geography The Hornbach chain branches at the Öfnerspitze from the main line of the Allgäu ...

, which branches off the main chain of the Allgäu Alps and runs for about 15 km eastwards.

Bases and ascent routes

*From

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in German ...

(), the Kemptner Hut at summit can be reached in four hours via the Spielmannsau using the

E5 European long distance path The E5 European long distance path or E5 path is one of the European long-distance paths from the French Atlantic coast in Brittany through Switzerland, Austria and Germany over the Alps to Venice in Italy. It is waymarked over the whole 3200 k ...

. *The Kemptner Hut is the northern base for an ascent on the Krottenkopf using the

normal route A normal route or normal way (; ) is the most frequently used climbing route for ascending and descending a given mountain peak; it is usually the easiest and often the most straightforward route. Other generic names include the ''Tourism, tourist ...

(easiest ascent). The path runs from the hut initially southwards, then swings east to the''Oberer Mädelejoch'' () on the border between Germany and Austria. It then runs over scree eastwards to the col of ''Krottenkopfscharte'' () and, following the numerous red dots, requires an easy climb (

UIAA grade Many climbing routes have grades for the technical difficulty, and in some cases for the risks, of the route. The first ascensionist can suggest a grade but it will be amended for the ''consensus view'' of subsequent ascents. While many cou ...

I) over stone-covered slabs to the summit in just under three hours.

Sure-footedness Sure-footedness is the ability, especially when hiking or mountain climbing, to navigate difficult or rough terrain safely. Such situations place demands on a person's coordination and reserves of strength as well as requiring sufficient appreciati ...

and, in the summit region, a

head for heights To have a head for heights means that one has no acrophobia (irrational fear of heights), and is also not particularly prone to fear of falling or suffering from vertigo (the spinning sensation that can be triggered, for example, by looking down ...

are required. *Another path leads from Holzgau () in the upper Lech valley to the Großer Krottenkopf. The E 5 path runs through the ''Höhenbachtal'' valley northwards and past the Simms Waterfall (with its snack bar or ''Jausenstation'') and on to the ''Untere Roßgumpenalpe''. Just below the lower ''Mädelejoch'' the path forks off to the ''Krottenkopfscharte''. This tour takes just under four hours. * Alternatively there is an ascent from the Bernhardseck Hut (), past the ''Mutte'' and the Strahlkopf (), or from

Elbigenalp Elbigenalp is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of th ...

in the Lech valley up the Bernhardstal valley. * There is a climbing route along the north

arête An arête ( ; ) is a narrow ridge of rock that 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 ...

. This involves two short and one longer vertical passages at

III. The starting point is the notch of ''Hermannskarscharte'', which is reached on a trackless route from the Kemptner Hut through the

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

of Öfner Kar.

References

Literature and maps

* Dieter Seibert, ''Allgäuer Alpen'', Alpine Club Guide, Munich, 2004, *

Alpine Club map Alpine Club maps (, often abbreviated to ''AV-Karten'' i.e. AV maps) are especially detailed maps for summer and winter mountain climbers, hikers, and ski tourers. They are predominantly published at a scale of 1:25.000, although some sheets have ...

1:25,000 series, Sheet 2/1, ''Allgäuer- Lechtaler Alpen, West''

External links

The Große Krottenkopf
at www.fuehrer.oberstdorf-online.de.
"Krottenkopf" at Summitpost
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krottenkopf Two-thousanders of Austria Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Tyrol (federal state) Allgäu Alps

Bases and ascent routes

See also

References

Literature and maps

External links