Liebenerspitze

The Liebenerspitze is a 3,399-metre double summit in the Ötztal Alps, straddling the Austrian-Italian border between Obergurgl and Pfelders. Its Italian name, Cima della Chiesa, marks the watershed between the Gurgler Ache and the Passer rivers. The mountain honours Leonhard von Liebener, a 19th-century engineer who mapped the area. The South Tyrolean side lies within the Texelgruppe Nature Park, protecting alpine meadows and rugged rock faces. The first climbers, Victor Hecht and Johann Pinggera, reached the top on 26 July 1872 via the west ridge. The mountain’s history begins with early cartographers and the growth of Alpine tourism in the late 1800s. Hecht and Pinggera’s route over the west ridge became the standard way up, while the east ridge offers a quieter descent. Modern climbers use the Zwickauer Hütte, a stone refuge built in the 19th century, as their base. From the hut the climb takes about two and a half hours along a well-marked path that crosses snowfields and boulder fields. Visitors who reach the summit stand on a narrow crest with views across the Ötztal and the Texel mountains. The Italian side drops steeply into the Passeiertal, while the Austrian side looks down on the Gurgl valley. The contrast between the two landscapes is striking—green high pastures on one side, rocky limestone on the other. On clear days the Ortler and the Wildspitze appear in the distance, adding to the panorama. The route itself is graded PD, with short scrambling sections that reward careful footwork.