Wollbachspitze

The Wollbachspitze is a 3 209-metre peak in the main ridge of the Zillertal Alps where the Austrian state of Tirol meets Italy’s Südtirol. It stands above the Wollbachtal to the south and the Stillupgrund to the north, with glaciers on all sides except the south face. The mountain’s neighbours are the Hollenzkopf 3 192 m to the southeast and the Gfallspitze 2 964 m to the southwest across the Wollbachjoch.

The first ascent in 1852 was made during a land survey, and the first guided climb for visitors came in 1878 when Reinhold Seyerlen reached the top with his mountain guide Stefan Kirchler. The usual route today follows the Östliche Stillupkees from the Kasseler Hütte 2 178 m, crossing the glacier then ascending the eastern flank to the Stangenjoch before turning south along the ridge to the summit cross.

From the top the view stretches over the Zillertal chain and the Ahrntal glaciers. The steep southern drop falls 1 000 metres into the Wollbachtal, while the long Ahornkamm divides the Stillupgrund from the Sundergrund to the north. Climbers also use a more challenging line from Sankt Jakob in the Ahrntal via the Wollbachalm and the south-west ridge.