Kleiner Muntanitz

The Kleine Muntanitz is a 3 192-metre peak in the Granatspitz range of East Tyrol. It stands inside the core zone of Hohe Tauern National Park, north of Matrei village. The summit lies between the Wellachköpfe to the south and the Grosse Muntanitz to the north, with the Kampl saddle between them. To the south-east the Gradötzkees glacier fills the hollow below the three Muntanitz tops. To the north-west the Muntanitzkees glacier slopes down from the same ridge. Climbers usually start from the Sudetendeutsche Hütte and follow the Karl-Schöttner path over three of the four Wellachköpfe. From the northernmost Wellachkopf a short climb brings the Kleine Muntanitz’s horn-shaped summit into view. A second route leaves the Kalser Dorfertal, crosses the Gradötzkees and ascends the southern flank. The first men to reach the Grosse Muntanitz, A. v. Schmid and Th. Groder, used this southern approach on 2 September 1891 before continuing to the higher top. On the summit visitors look south-west across the Dorfertal to the Venediger peaks. The ridge walk to the Grosse Muntanitz offers glimpses of the surrounding granite towers. Below, the two glaciers still hold patches of old ice, though they have shrunk in recent decades. The air is thin and the silence deep, broken only by the occasional rumble of stone fall.