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 area, and is usually higher t ...

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 the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

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 ...

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

Stubai Alps The Stubai Alps (, ) 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 between Austria and Italy. The ...

and lies at the southern end of the

Stubaital The Stubai Valley or Stubaital () is an alps, alpine valley in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria. It is the central valley of the Stubai Alps. The river Ruetz (river), Ruetz flows through the valley. This 35-km long valley runs in northeastern dire ...

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, ...

, from its conical shape. In nearby

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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 ...

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 (, 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 competent body for sport and competiti ...

. 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 (, ) are a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps, in the Tyrol (state), State of Tyrol in western Austria and the South Tyrol, Province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography The Ötztal Alps are arrayed at the head of ...

, the

Zillertal Alps The Zillertal Alps (; ) 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 range is bounded by the ''Tuxerjoch'' m ...

and the

Ortler Alps The Ortler Alps ( ; ; ) are a mountain range of the :Southern Limestone Alps, Southern Limestone Alps mountain group in the Central Eastern Alps, in Italy and Switzerland. Geography The Ortler Alps are separated from: # the Sesvenna Alps in the n ...

. The normal route is along the east ridge.

References

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

Climbing

See also

References