Geißkarkopf

The Geißkarkopf is a 2,385-metre peak in the Ankogel group of the Central Alps. It stands on the border between the cadastral communities of Bad Hofgastein and Heißingfelding in Salzburg. The mountain’s northern slopes belong to Harbach, while its north-western flanks hold the Laderdinger Alm. To the south-east lies the Rastötzenalm in a high valley basin. Two streams, the Kirchbach and the Kampbach, rise on the mountain’s slopes. The Geißkarkopf is one of 55 summits in the Gastein valley that make up the Gasteiner Gipfelkranz. Climbing the peak is recognised as difficult and dangerous. In 2004 the mountaineer Helmut Simon, who discovered Ötzi, died in an accident on these slopes. The summit zone is composed of phyllite, quartzite and breccia, with harder green-schist layers beneath the Geißkarkopf fold. Marble, phyllite and mica-schist appear on the southern and north-eastern sides. Visitors find marked routes that lead up the steep terrain. The Gamswild-Ruhezone at the top is closed from 1 December to 31 May to protect wildlife. On the northern slopes grow patches of rusty-leaved alpine rose. South-west of the summit, near the Rastötzenbach, green alder shrub forest grows in sections. Views extend to the Laderdinger Gamskarspitz and the Tennkogel nearby.