Fußstein

The Fußstein is a 3,380-metre peak in the Tuxer Kamm of the Zillertal Alps. It stands above the Alpeiner Tal, a side valley of the Valser Tal, with the Olperer to its north-east. Two glaciers lie on its flanks: the Olpererferner to the north and the Unterschrammachkees to the south-east. The summit cross marks the meeting point of the three municipalities of Vals, Schmirn and Finkenberg. The peak is a classic granite-gneiss climb and a favoured training ground for alpinists. The easiest route, graded UIAA I, runs from the Olpererhütte up the south-east flank, the line taken by the first ascensionists in 1880. The normal route, UIAA II, follows the south flank from the Geraer Hütte and was first climbed by Emil and Otto Zsigmondy in 1881. The most famous line is the north ridge, known as the Fußsteinkante, a UIAA V- climb first ascended in 1935 by H. Frenademetz and K. Tschaler. Below the south ridge lie the remains of a wartime molybdenum mine. Concrete platforms and sections of the old cableway still mark the site where ore was lowered to the valley. On the south side above the Geraer Hütte there is a small climbing garden, and another, less frequented one clings to the western end of the north face. The summit offers wide views across the Zillertal Alps and the surrounding high valleys.