Arlspitze

The Arlspitze rises on the border between Dorfgastein and Sankt Veit in Salzburg’s Pongau district. Its summit sits within the 867-hectare Paarseen-Schuhflicker-Heukareck nature reserve. Three alpine meadows—Grabner-Heimalm, Hauserbauernalm and Rodelberg-Heimalm—spread across the south-western flanks above Maierhofen. A small lake, the Schuhflickersee, lies northwest of the peak, fed by streams that begin on the Arlspitze itself. Two of these, the Aubach and Unterbergbach, join the Großarler Ache, while the Heumoosbach drains eastward through the Kendlachgraben. The mountain belongs to the deeper section of the Großarler sandstone-breccia complex within the Tauern window. Its rocks consist mainly of metamorphosed Triassic dolomite and later polymict dolomite breccias and quartzites. An aluminium-rich soil supports alpine flora such as rusty-leaved alpenrose and the rare alpine clubmosses Diphasiastrum alpinum and Diphasiastrum issleri. The Gamswild resting zone is closed from 1 December to 31 May to protect chamois. The Arlspitze is one of 55 summits in the Gastein valley whose complete ascent earns the Gasteiner Gipfelkranz badge. A stamp box for hiking pins marks the route on the mountain. The name Schuhflicker recalls a local legend of a shoemaker turned to stone by lightning for blasphemy. In the 1920s the Nature Friends began guided hikes over the peak, and in the following decade it became a centre for ski tours in the Großarl ski area.