Pirchkogel

The Pirchkogel is a 2,828-metre mountain in the Stubai Alps of Tyrol. It stands north of Kühtai village and the Dortmunder Hut, above the road over the Kühtai Saddle. To the east lie the rock faces of the Irzwänden, and to the south-west the twin peaks of the Grießkogel. Their ridges enclose a high plateau called the Schwarzmoos, or Black Moss. Four small mountain lakes dot this upland, the best-known being Gossenköllesee at 2,413 metres.

Researchers from the University of Innsbruck have worked at Gossenköllesee since 1933. The lake is only nine metres deep yet holds records of climate and land-use change over the last eight centuries. Sediment cores show how medieval grazing raised nutrient levels, and later trout stocking altered the lakebed minerals. The area once held Austria’s smallest UNESCO biosphere reserve, created in 1977, though its size meant the status was withdrawn in 2014.

Paths climb the Pirchkogel from several directions. The shortest and most popular route starts at Kühtai and follows the south-east ridge. Others run from Silz via the Silzer Alm, from Ochsengarten, or up the Schneetal valley from Stams. In winter these same routes become ski tours. The summit carries a signal post but no cross; a smaller summit cross stands at Marlstein a little lower down, visible from the west and north.