A beautiful summit which is famous for being the first ever Alpine peak climbed by Sir Edmumd Hillary!

Statistics

2 - 3

hrs

592

m

592

m

16

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

Whilst the Hoher Burgstall is a great peak and provides an excellent hike, its biggest appeal is perhaps the opportunity it provides to walk in the footsteps of one of the World’s most famous mountaineers.

In 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary (along with Tenzing Norgay) made the first ascent of Mount Everest but just a couple of years before that, he climbed the Hoher Burgstall as his first ever peak in the European Alps.

He is reported to have found it quite straightforward in comparison to the savage peaks of his native New Zealand! Climbing the mountain nowadays is even easier thanks to the long Schlick 2000 cable car which whisks you from the village of Fulpmes up to 2100 metres.

From the top of the cable car go south-west up and over a fun ridge of summits starting with the Kreuzjoch peak and finishing at the Sennjoch Col.

There are some optional short sections of via ferrata if you want a little more adventure en route to the Sennjoch but if you don’t have via ferrata kit, you can easily traverse around the cable sections on the left. From the Sennjoch make the 5 minute climb to the excellent (and excellently positioned) Sennjochhütte, which serves an excellent selection of hearty food.

Head south-west and then due west to pass under the south face of the Niederer Burgstall peak and then climb up to a col due west of the mountain.

It’s only a 10 minute detour to tag the summit so nip up and return to the col.

Go west again and climb up beneath the north face of the Hoher Burgstall then up to the top of the mountain.

Parts of the path up to the peak are very steep and you might even be glad of your hands on certain sections.

The vista from the summit wonderful, with the Obergtal valley laid out to the west, the limestone towers of the Kalkogel the north, and the peaks of the high Stubai to the south.

Head south off the summit and follow a steep path down through avalanche barriers to a col overlooking the Hoher Burgstall's hanging east face.

Cross this to rejoin your route from earlier, and follow this back to the cable car.

Just to add a bit of variety it's nice to go left below the Kreuzjoch ridge and traverse back into the cable car.