pfunderer steinbergtal dahinter blick zum weisszint und hochfeiler fr
pfunderer steinbergtal dahinter blick zum weisszint und hochfeiler fr

Gran Pilastro

The highest peak of the Zillertal Alps, the 3,510 m high Gran Pilastro, is famous for its eponymous ice wall

The summit of Mt. Gran Pilastro in the Fundres Mountains is part of the Zillertal Main Ridge and represents the national border between Austria and Italy. It consists of a massive alpine central gneiss, covered by green slate. The north face is glaciated and forms a ramarkable 300 metres high ice wall. This route - the "Hochfeiler-Eiswand" - is one of the classic alpine routes. If you would like to scale Mt. Gran Pilastro (Hochfeiler in German) from South Tyrol, you can do so starting from Prati in the Val di Vizze valley or from Fundres.

Furthermore, also from Lappago in the Valle di Tures valley you can hike up to the Passo Ponte di Ghiaccio Mountain Hut (2,545 m a.s.l.) and further on to the summit. Or you can choose the easier version via south west ridge, which begins at the Gran Pilastro Mountain Hut at 2,710 m a.s.l. This was also the route the alpinist Paul Grohmann, co-founder of the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAV, Österreichischer Alpenverein), and the alpine guides Peter Fuchs and Georg Sarner from San Giacomo in Vizze di Dentro chose for the first ascent in 1865. The ice wall, however, can be scaled from the North Tyrolean Schlegeistal valley (first ascent by F. Dyck and Hans Hörhager in 1887).

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