Sonntagkarspitze

The Sonntagkarspitze is a mountain 2,575 metres high in the Karwendel range of the Austrian Alps. It stands in the Gleirsch-Halltal chain, where the Kaskarspitze joins to the west and the Hintere Bachofenspitze to the east. Steep 700-metre cliffs drop northwards into the Hinterautal valley, while a sharp ridge runs south, dividing the Kaskar and Sonntag cirques. Four Tyrolean villages—Innsbruck (Arzl district), Thaur, Absam and Scharnitz—meet at the summit. The mountain was first climbed on 1 August 1870 by the German alpinist Hermann von Barth, who that same day also made the first ascents of the Kaskarspitze and the Jägerkarspitzen. A normal route from the Pfeishütte hut takes about two and a half hours and is graded UIAA I with clear waymarking. An easier but less obvious route from the Sonntag cirque takes three hours and was long regarded as the standard ascent. Paths lead on to the Kaskarspitze in one hour (grade III) and to the Hintere Bachofenspitze in ninety minutes (grade II). The summit itself offers wide views over the Karwendel peaks and the Inn valley below.