Taschachwand

The Taschachwand is a 3,358-metre peak in the Ötztal Alps of Tirol, Austria. It stands within the Weißkam range, its flanks covered by the Taschachferner glacier. A high ridge runs north-east from the 3,482-metre Petersenspitze, bending west after the Taschachwand. Climbers face a 600-metre snow-covered ice wall with slopes as steep as fifty-five degrees. The first ascent was made in 1940 by Austrian mountaineer Karl Prusik, who also gave his name to the prusik knot. Most parties start from the Taschachhaus hut and reach the summit in about two and a half hours. From the top, the view stretches across the Ötztal Alps and the Inn valley. The Taschachferner glacier lies directly below, its crevasses and seracs catching the light. The ridge to Petersenspitze forms a dramatic skyline to the south-west.