Ankogel
3,252 m
Austria
Also known as AnkogëlAlso known as
Ankogël
- Elevation
- 3,252 m
- Prominence
- 578 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: I (SummitPost (no real climbing in good conditions)) · Hochtour mit Kletterei (I+) (de.wikipedia / Almenrausch)
A short high-mountain outing made possible by the Ankogelbahn from Mallnitz: a balcony path, the snowfields left by the Lassacher Kees, the Radeckscharte, the broad Kleiner Ankogel shoulder and a narrow ridge to an easy, slightly exposed summit block with one move of I+. About 650 m of ascent, 2½–3 hours from the lift.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 3.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +711 m
- −85 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,252 m
- Time Up
- 2h 58m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 08m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the top station of the Ankogelbahn (2,630 m) walk a few minutes down the access track towards the Hannoverhaus, then turn east onto the Goslarer Weg (502), signed Ankogel–Celler Hütte. It traverses the boulder slopes below the Grauleitenspitze with little height gain. At the second signpost leave the Goslarer Weg (which continues over the Großelendscharte to the Osnabrücker Hütte) and climb left towards the double summit. Above a step lie the remnants of the Lassacher Kees: keep right on a rib of blocks and ice-polished slabs between the old firn fields, turn a rock band on the right and cross the last, moderate snowfield diagonally left to a notch just east of the Radeckscharte (about 2,870 m), roughly 1½ hours from the lift. Sparse paint marks and a trail lead up the blocky west ridge to the Kleiner Ankogel (3,096 m), more a shoulder than a summit, with a steep drop to the Radeckkees on the north. A narrow connecting ridge leads to the summit block of the Ankogel. The path climbs just right of (south of) the ridge over blocks and sandy gullies, slightly exposed and unprotected; a few metres below the cross is the crux, an easy move of I+. The summit is a narrow crest with a wooden cross. In spring and early summer large cornices can overhang the ridge: keep well back from the edge. Descend by the same route. The traverse east to the Osnabrücker Hütte crosses glaciers and needs glacier equipment. Check the last downhill ride of the cable car (usually around 16:30) before you set off.
Start
Ankogel Bergstation2,626 m
- Ankogelbahn Mallnitz (valley station 1,280 m – middle station – top station 2,630 m), summer from late June to September
- Train to Mallnitz-Obervellach (on the Tauern line), then bus 5114 or the free summer weekend hiker bus to the Ankogelbahn valley station
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankogel Bergstation → Ankogel | 3.5 | 711 | 85 | 2h 58m |
Waypoints
- Lift: Ankogel Bergstation2,626 m
- Col: Radeckscharte2,865 m
- Shoulder: Kleiner Ankogel3,080 m
- Summit: Ankogel3,252 m
Key Passages
- Snowfields of the Lassacher Kees below the Radeckscharte
- Narrow ridge from Kleiner Ankogel to the summit block
- Short I+ move a few metres below the summit cross
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 85%Overview
The peak that gave the Ankogel Group its name and one of the first glaciated 3,000 m summits ever climbed (1762). Today a cable car from Mallnitz puts the 3,252 m summit within a half-day T4 scramble.
The Ankogel stands on the main ridge of the eastern Hohe Tauern, on the border between Carinthia and Salzburg above Mallnitz and Bad Gastein. It is the second-highest summit of its group after the Hochalmspitze (3,360 m), a sharp double summit of gneiss with the Kleiner Ankogel as a western shoulder and glaciers flowing north into the Anlauftal and east towards the Osnabrücker Hütte.
The Ankogelbahn from Mallnitz climbs in two sections to 2,630 m, which makes this one of the most accessible 3,000 m peaks in the Eastern Alps. The marked normal route from the top station is only about 650 m of ascent, but it is a real mountain route: boulder fields, the snowfields left by the shrinking Lassacher Kees, an unprotected ridge and a short, slightly exposed summit block (I+).
The summit view takes in the Großglockner, the Schober group, the Lienz Dolomites and the glaciers of the Hochalmspitze. With the cable car it fits into a half day; combined with a night at the Hannoverhaus it is a good introduction to Tauern high-mountain terrain.
Climbing Notes
Fit, sure-footed mountain walkers with some experience of snowfields and easy scrambling can do it in a day from Mallnitz using the cable car. Arrive in time for the first uplift (around 08:30) and keep an eye on the last ride down. The ascent is only 650 m, but at 3,000 m afternoon thunderstorms are common and the ridge and summit block are serious when wet, icy or snow-covered. Early in the season the old Lassacher Kees is snow-covered and crampons and an axe make sense, and spring cornices hang over the ridge to the north. A night at the Hannoverhaus (DAV, 15 minutes from the top station) allows an early start or a combination with the Grauleitenspitze. Inexperienced parties should go with a guide or bring a short rope for the summit block.
History
Mathias Rieser, a farmer from the Patschg farm in Böckstein, made the first ascent in 1762 from the Anlauftal, which makes the Ankogel one of the earliest glaciated 3,000 m peaks to be climbed; it is often cited as the start of mountaineering in the Eastern Alps (some sources give about 1742). Camptocamp credits Christian Ries and P. Thurwieser with an ascent on 17 October 1822. The original summit was about 3,263 m high; part of it collapsed in a rockfall on the night of 6–7 January 1932.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Ski area; summit only for ski-mountaineers in good conditions
- Mar
- Ski tours from the cable car in good snow and avalanche conditions
- Apr
- Spring ski tours; cornices on the ridge
- May
- Cable car closed between seasons
- Jun
- Summer cable car starts late June; snow on the route
- Jul
- Hannoverhaus open July–September
- Sep
- Last weeks of cable car and hut; early snow possible
- Oct
- Cable car may run into October; hut closed, ridge often icy
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Book the Hannoverhaus (DAV) through the Alpenverein hut reservation system; in winter the hut is not reachable once the cable car stops.
- Fees
- Ankogelbahn cable car fare (discounts with the Kärnten Card)
- Hut overnight fees with discounts for alpine club members
- Rules
- Hohe Tauern National Park: stay on paths, no camping or bivouacking outside huts
- Parking at the valley station is free but unguarded; park before the footbridge (behind it is private ground)
- Getting There
Mallnitz
Klagenfurt (KLU), about 110 km; Salzburg (SZG), about 110 km via the Tauern rail tunnel
- Train to Mallnitz-Obervellach on the Tauern railway (Salzburg–Villach), then local bus 5114 to the Ankogelbahn; free hiker bus on summer weekends
- By car from the south: A10 to Spittal an der Drau, then via Obervellach to Mallnitz
- By car from the north: Gastein valley to Böckstein and the car-shuttle train through the Tauern tunnel to Mallnitz
Hazards
- Rockfall
- Exposure
- Weather
- Cornices
- Avalanche
Huts & Shelters
1- 2,565 m
HannoverhausHutStaffed
60 beds · July to September and December to April (with the cable car); winter room with 3 places