Hochalmspitze
3,360 m
Austria
- Elevation
- 3,360 m
- Prominence
- 942 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Aug
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: AD- (Camptocamp (3b, glacier gear)) · PD (Bergwelten (WS)) · VF B (Bergsteigen.com (mostly B, sections of C))
The usual way up the 'Tauernkönigin' today: from the Gößkarspeicher car park to the Gießener Hütte (2,215 m), then by marked paths over the Lassacher Winkelscharte and the Winkelspitze, briefly along the edge of the Trippkees glacier, and up the cabled Detmolder Grat (mostly B, sections of C) to the summit. About 1,700 m of ascent; a long, high alpine day.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 8.7 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,737 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 3,360 m
- Time Up
- 6h 55m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 4h 38m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the car park at the Gößkarspeicher reservoir (about 1,680 m) in the Gößgraben, a side valley of the Malta valley, path 533 climbs through forest and across the hut access road to the Gießener Hütte (2,215 m) in about 1½ hours. The road to the car park is open from 1 July to 30 September. From the hut, marked path 519 heads north through boulder fields to the Lassacher Winkelscharte (2,856 m). Path 535 then follows the blocky ridge to the Winkelspitze (about 3,120 m, grade I) and crosses roughly the last 50 m along the western edge of the shrinking Trippkees glacier to the start of the Detmolder Grat at about 3,150–3,190 m. The ridge, about 180 m high, is equipped with cables and pegs: mostly via ferrata grade B with harder sections of C and exposed easy rock in between. It leads directly to the summit cross (3,360 m). Allow about 4 hours from the hut to the summit and 5½ hours from the car park. The traditional descent by the south-east ridge over the Steinerne Mandln and down onto the Trippkees (the 'Rudolstädter Weg') has become much harder and riskier as the glacier has retreated: since 2022 it can involve abseiling or climbing very steep ice. Most parties now descend the Detmolder Grat; ask the hut staff about current conditions. The ridge ices up quickly outside high summer, when it becomes a serious mixed climb.
Start
Parkplatz Obere Thomanbaueralm1,638 m
- Train to Spittal an der Drau, bus to Gmünd or Malta; no regular public transport into the Gößgraben was found (taxi from Malta).
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parkplatz Obere Thomanbaueralm → Gießener Hütte | 4.4 | 553 | 0 | 2h 23m |
| 2 | Gießener Hütte → Hochalmspitze | 4.3 | 1,180 | 20 | 4h 31m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Parkplatz Obere Thomanbaueralm1,638 m
Car park at the Gößkarspeicher reservoir; road open 1 July – 30 September
- Hut: Gießener Hütte2,204 m
- Col: Lassacher Winkelscharte2,857 m
- Shoulder: Winkelspitz3,091 m
- Col: Obere Winkelscharte3,121 m
Near the start of the Detmolder Grat, at the edge of the Trippkees
- Summit: Hochalmspitze3,360 m
Key Passages
- Lassacher Winkelscharte
- Blocky ridge over the Winkelspitze
- Traverse along the Trippkees edge
- Cabled Detmolder Grat (B/C)
Equipment
0/8 packedDownloads
Route confidence 75%Overview
The highest peak of the Ankogel Group in Carinthia (3,360 m), known as the 'Tauernkönigin', queen of the Tauern. Its normal route from the Gießener Hütte combines a long alpine approach, a glacier edge and the cabled Detmolder Grat.
Hochalmspitze rises at the eastern end of the Hohe Tauern, between the Malta valley and the Seebach valley above Mallnitz. Its north and east sides still carry glaciers, the Hochalmkees and Großelendkees, while the south side above the Gößgraben is a complex of rock ridges and the remnants of the Trippkees. The summit is the highest point of the Ankogel Group and one of the most prominent peaks in Carinthia.
There is no walking route to the top. The standard summer ascent starts at the Gießener Hütte and climbs the Detmolder Grat, a 180 m ridge fitted with cables and pegs (via ferrata B/C), after a long approach over the Lassacher Winkelscharte. The old alternative over the Steinerne Mandln has been made much harder by glacier retreat. From the Malta valley, the east side via the Villacher Hütte and the Hochalmkees is above all a spring ski-mountaineering route.
It is a big day for experienced alpine walkers and via ferrata climbers: about 1,150 m from the hut and 1,700 m from the car park, at over 3,000 m, with the season short and the road to the trailhead open only from July to September.
Climbing Notes
You need via ferrata experience at grade C, sure-footedness on exposed blocky ridges, basic crampon technique and the fitness for a day of 9–10 hours at up to 3,360 m. A short glacier section and hard snow or ice on the ridge mean crampons and an ice axe should be carried. Parties without alpine experience should hire an Austrian mountain guide.
Typical itinerary: walk up to the Gießener Hütte (1½ hours) in the afternoon, start at first light for the summit (about 4 hours) and descend the same way to the car park. Book the hut through the Alpenverein online system; it takes cash only. Afternoon thunderstorms are frequent in July and August, and the cables attract lightning.
The descent over the Steinerne Mandln, traditionally combined with the Detmolder Grat as a loop, now involves steep ice or abseils after glacier retreat; ask at the hut before planning it. Outside July to mid-September the ridge is often iced and the road to the trailhead is closed.
History
A party of Jakob Haman, Josef Moritz and Andreas Pucher reached the snowy foresummit on 30 August 1855. The first ascent of the main summit was made on 15 August 1859 by Paul Grohmann with Andreas Pucher and Franz Moidele. The Detmolder Grat was first climbed in 1877 by O. Chiari and K. Dürr, and the Rudolstädter Weg on the east side in 1892.
Season
Best Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Possible
- June: Not advisable
- July: Good
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Not advisable
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; Gößgraben road closed; ski tours only from the Malta valley side for experts
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Ski-mountaineering via the Villacher Hütte and Hochalmkees for experienced parties
- Apr
- Spring ski tours on the east side
- May
- Late ski tours; summer routes snowbound
- Jun
- Snow on the ridge; Gößgraben road and hut open only from late June/1 July
- Jul
- Hut and road open from 1 July; snow and ice may remain on the ridge
- Aug
- Best conditions; afternoon thunderstorms
- Sep
- Often stable; hut closes around 21 September (2026)
- Oct
- Hut closed, road closed from 1 October; ridge often icy
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Gießener Hütte (DAV Sektion Gießen-Oberhessen): reservations only through the Alpenverein online system (alpsonline.org, hut ID 563); no phone or email bookings. Staffed late June/1 July to around 21 September; winter room with 12 places otherwise.
- Fees
- Hut overnight fees, with discounts for Alpine Club members; the Gießener Hütte accepts cash only
- Rules
- The road through the Gößgraben to the Gößkarspeicher car park is open from 1 July to 30 September
- Mountain bikes are not permitted on the hut path
- Getting There
Malta and Gmünd in Kärnten (Malta valley); Mallnitz on the west side
Klagenfurt (KLU); Salzburg (SZG)
- Car: A10 Tauern motorway to Gmünd, then the Malta valley road; at the Fallbach waterfall turn into the Gößgraben and drive to the car park at the Gößkarspeicher (about 1,680 m; road open 1 July – 30 September)
- Public transport: train to Spittal an der Drau, then bus to Gmünd or Malta; no regular service into the Gößgraben was found
Hazards
- Glacier
- Rockfall
- Exposure
- Weather
- Crevasses
Huts & Shelters
1- 2,215 m
Gießener HütteHutStaffedBooking required
54 beds · Staffed late June/1 July to around 21 September (closes 21 September 2026); winter room 1 October – 30 June