Verpeilspitze

The Verpeilspitze rises as a sharp 3 423-metre summit in the Kaunergrat range, a high ridge that divides the Kaunertal from the Pitztal in Tirol. Its steep walls fall away to the north-west, south-west and east, while long ridges stretch west and north from the top. The South-East Ridge, the usual route up, turns east after less than a kilometre and leads to the Parstleswand. In the East Face the remains of the Neururer Ferner glacier are split into two parts, and the mountain’s name comes from the Rhaeto-Romanic word for ‘locked away’, describing its hidden position. The easiest ascent starts from the Kaunergrathütte hut and follows a marked path west before branching north at a signpost. A broad south-west flank leads climbers up a steep scree gully—often a snow gully in early summer—towards a col on the South-East Ridge. Red paint marks the gully’s entrance, and once on the ridge the route crosses partly snow-covered slabs to below the final wall. A short chimney on the left leads to a col, then the climb returns to the ridge and follows it to the top. Fixed belays and route markers provide both protection and guidance, and the summer ascent is free of ice, graded UIAA II. The total time from the hut is about three hours. The first ascent was made on 4 September 1886 by Theodor Petersen and Anna Voigt from Erfurt, guided by Stefan Kirchler, Johann Penz and Johann Praxmarer. They approached from the Verpeiltal, crossing the now vanished Rotenkarferner and Plangeroßferner to reach the South-West Face. Eleven years later Ferdinand Hennig and the Sommer brothers climbed directly up the South-West Flank, descending by the original route. On 19 August 1902 Jakob Albert and Ingenuin Hechenblaikner completed the first ascent of the East Wall, adding another chapter to the mountain’s climbing history.