Mountain ranges / Tux Alps / Glungezer Hütte

Glungezer Hütte

Country: Austria

Mountain range: Tux Alps

Altitude: 2610 m

Latitude/Longitude:

47,20972°N 11,52705°E

Type: mountain hut

Weather forecast:

Views: 1,610

Popularity: 30% (2635. place)

Number of images: 6

Number of trails: 1

Number of GPS tracks: 0

Description of hut:
A characteristic southeast panorama of Innsbruck is formed by a prominent east-west mountain ridge. The entire ridge is quite gentle, resembling a high-alpine plateau. Ascents are possible to both prominent local peaks and the smaller summits protruding from this "plateau". On the west, Patscherkofel leads (topped by a 67 m radio-TV transmitter visible from the valley), while on the east are the much higher Glungezer and Sonnenspitze.
Pedestrian access to the peaks of this group can be greatly shortened by two year-round cable cars: Patscherkofelbahn and Glungezerbahn. Between them runs the popular tourist high-alpine trail Zirbenweg ("stone pine path"; stone pine is a rare pine species) (9 km, 3:00 h). The entire ridge is renowned for its lush high-alpine flora (early summer rhododendron meadows) and superb views of Innsbruck, the Inn Valley, and the Nordkette range north of Innsbruck.
Glungezerhütte is a high-alpine hut located in the eastern part of the described ridge, on the saddle between Glungezer and Sonnenspitze (both easily reachable in 10 minutes).
Two more facts: The legendary mid-20th-century alpinist from Innsbruck, Hermann Buhl, began his mountaineering career on Glungezer with an ascent with his father as a 10th birthday gift. On February 29, 1964, in very poor weather, a plane crashed into the eastern cliffs of Glungezer, killing all 83 people on board (memorial plaque on a sub-peak).