Hundskopf

The Hundskopf is a 2,403-metre peak in the Goldberggruppe of the Central Alps. It stands on the border between Bad Hofgastein to the east and Rauris to the west, with the Türchlwand to the south and the Kramkogel to the north. A small alpine pasture called Hofmannalm lies on its north-western slopes, belonging to the hamlet of Vorstandrevier. A spring on the mountain feeds the Vorsterbach, which joins the Rauriser Ache. A natural pond 200 metres west of the summit holds special ecological value. The Salzburger Almenweg long-distance trail crosses the south-eastern flanks of the Hundskopf. A stamp box for the Austrian Alpine Club’s hiking badge system marks the route here. The peak is one of 55 summits in the Gastein valley that make up the Gasteiner Gipfelkranz, the highest grade of badge. Its summit zone lies within the Tauern window, where marble, phyllite and mica-schist dominate the rock. The eastern slopes near the top form the Gamskogel wildlife-rest area, closed from 1 December to 31 May. Further east lies the Wieden Leidalm red-deer zone, closed from 1 November to 31 May. Botanists have recorded Hellwig’s ground beetle on the mountain, while stands of rusty-leaved alpine rose grow on the north-western and north-eastern slopes, set back from the summit.