Rofanspitze

The Rofanspitze is a 2,259-metre peak in the Rofan range, part of the Brandenberger Alps in Tirol. It stands with a main summit and a 2,221-metre western top about 400 metres apart. The broad west flank mixes grassy slopes and rocky ribs, while sheer cliffs of main dolomite rise on the north, east and northwest sides. Below the 40-degree summit zone the rock walls plunge almost vertically, especially on the east side and at the nearby Rofanturm. Walkers reach the top from the Erfurter Hütte, a high alpine hut set above Maurach. Climbers have used the Rofanspitze since 1911 when Franz Nieberl soloed the Nieberl Gorge on a UIAA grade IV route. In 1912 Eichhorn, Bonacossa and Botsford opened a harder line on the west face at grade V. By 1939 K. Kögl and A. Gruber had reached UIAA VI on the Rofanturm north wall, and in 1947 Matthias Rebitsch and Sepp Spiegl freed a route on the east face at grade VII-. Since the 1990s routes up to UIAA IX- have been bolted on the peak’s walls. From the Erfurter Hütte a clear path leads north-east along the Grubastieg to the Grubascharte at 2,102 metres. From there the final climb crosses steep meadows to the summit cross in about two hours. To the north-east the Rofanturm rises as a slender 100-metre pinnacle, and beyond it the Zireiner See sits at 1,799 metres. To the south-west the Achensee stretches below, while the village of Maurach lies just over four kilometres away.