| Hafelekarspitze | |
|---|---|
 The North Chain seen from Innsbruck. Centre: the Hafelekar top station, right: (east) the Hafelekarspitze | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,334 m (AA) (7,657 ft) |
| Coordinates | 47°18′46″N11°23′11″E / 47.312828°N 11.38632°E |
| Geography | |
| Parent range | North Chain, Karwendel |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Triassic |
| Type of rock | Wetterstein limestone [1] |
| Climbing | |
| Access | Nordketten Cable Car |
The Hafelekarspitze is a mountain in the so-called North Chain (Nordkette) north of Innsbruck in Austria.
Below and west of the summit is the top station of Hafelekar, the second section of the Nordkette Cable Car at a height of 2,269 m (AA) , from where the Hafelekarspitze may be reached in a few minutes by foot on a metalled path.
Not far from there is the Hafelekar Survey Station, a cosmic radiation observatory of the University of Innsbruck, the only one of its kind in Austria. It was here in 1937 that physicists Marietta Blau and Hertha Wambacher using Nuclear emulsion plates, made the first ever observation of nuclear disintegration 'stars' (Zertrümmerungsterne) caused by cosmic rays striking nuclei in the emulsion. [2]
In summer, the Hafelekarspitze is the start point for mountain hikes and tours along the Goethe Way (Goetheweg) to the Gleirschspitze, the Mandlspitze (2,366 m (AA) ), the Gleirschtaler Brandjoch saddle or to the Rumer Spitze. At the eastern end of the Goethe Way is the Pfeis Hut north and below the Rumer Spitze, which is used as a base for the long route via the Wilde Bande-Steig to the Lafatscher Joch (2,081 m (AA) ) and the Hallerangerhaus. In winter there is a ski route from the top station to the Seegrube (1,905 m (AA) ), the centre of the North Chain ski area.
The Kitzbühel Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps surrounding the town of Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria. Geologically they are part of the western slate zone.
The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. It is located on the Austria–Germany border. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part of Bavaria, Germany. Four chains stretch from west to east; in addition, there are a number of fringe ranges and an extensive promontory (Vorkarwendel) in the north.
The Tux Alps or Tux Prealps are a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps, which in turn form part of the Eastern Alps within Central Europe. They are located entirely within the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. The Tux Alps are one of three mountain ranges that form an Alpine backdrop to the city of Innsbruck. Their highest peak is the Lizumer Reckner, 2,886 m (AA), which rises between the glen of Wattentaler Lizum and the valley of the Navisbach. Their name is derived from the village of Tux which is tucked away in a side valley of the Zillertal.
Marietta Blau was an Austrian physicist credited with developing photographic nuclear emulsions that were usefully able to image and accurately measure high-energy nuclear particles and events, significantly advancing the field of particle physics in her time. For this, she was awarded the Lieben Prize by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. As a Jew, she was forced to flee Austria when Nazi Germany annexed it in 1938, eventually making her way to the United States. She was nominated for Nobel Prizes in both physics and chemistry for her work, but did not win. After her return to Austria, she won the Erwin Schrödinger Prize from the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
A nuclear emulsion plate is a type of particle detector first used in nuclear and particle physics experiments in the early decades of the 20th century. It is a modified form of photographic plate that can be used to record and investigate fast charged particles like alpha-particles, nucleons, leptons or mesons. After exposing and developing the emulsion, single particle tracks can be observed and measured using a microscope.
Hertha Wambacher was an Austrian physicist.
The Wetterstein mountains, colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps, crossing the Austria–Germany border. It is a comparatively compact range located between Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, Seefeld in Tirol and Ehrwald along the border between Germany (Bavaria) and Austria (Tyrol). Zugspitze, the highest peak is at the same time the highest mountain in Germany.
The Pinzgau Ridgeway is a roughly 25 kilometre long ridgeway in the Kitzbühel Alps in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg.
The Villgraten Mountains or Deferegg Alps, also called the Defreggen Mountains are a subgroup of the Austrian Central Alps within the Eastern Alps of Europe. Together with the Ankogel Group, the Goldberg Group, the Glockner Group, the Schober Group, the Kreuzeck Group, the Granatspitze Group, the Venediger Group and the Rieserferner Group, the Villgraten Mountains are part of the major mountain range, the High Tauern. Their highest summit is the Weiße Spitze with a height of 2,962 m above sea level (AA).
The Nordkette, also variously called the North Chain, Northern Range, rarely the Inn Valley Range or Inn Valley Chain (Inntalkette), is a range of mountains just north of the city of Innsbruck in Austria. It is the southernmost of the four great mountain chains in the Karwendel. To the west it is linked by the Erl Saddle to the Erlspitze Group, to the east via the Stempeljoch saddle to the Gleirsch-Halltal Range. To the south it is bounded by the Inn valley. Its highest summit is the Kleiner Solstein in the west of the range.
The Kleiner Solstein is a mountain, 2,637 m (AA) high, in the Nordkette in the Karwendel Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Despite its name it towers above its western neighbour, the Großer Solstein by almost 100 m (330 ft) and is thus the highest summit in the Nordkette. The southern side of the Kleiner Solstein facing the Inn valley is characterised by schrofen and steep-sided cirques. To the north it plummets in a rock face up to 600 m (2,000 ft) high towards the valley of Großkristental, which runs from the Gleirsch valley in a southwesterly direction to the Erl Saddle.
The Erlspitze Group, also called the Seefeld Group, is the southwesternmost side range of the Austrian part of the Karwendel mountains in the Alps. It forms a horseshoe-shaped highland around the valley of Eppzirler Tal and is joined in the south to the Nordkette by the Erl Saddle (Erlsattel) near Solsteinhaus. It is bounded in the west by the Seefeld Basin, in the east by the valleys of the Gleirschtal and the Großes Kristental; its forested northern foothills reach as far as Scharnitz.
The Reither Spitze is a mountain in the Karwendel in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol that, thanks to its location at the southwestern end of the Erlspitze Group, is particularly well known for its great views of the surrounding area from its summit. Its name is derived the village of Reith bei Seefeld, which lies at its southwestern foot.
The Nördlinger Hut is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the German Alpine Club that is situated at a height of 2,238 m (AA) south of the summit of the Reither Spitze in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is thus the highest refuge hut in the entire Karwendel range. It is located in the westernmost part of the Karwendel Alps, the Erlspitze Group, above the village and ski resort of Seefeld. From the hut there are expansive views over the Stubai Alps, the Inn valley and the Wetterstein Mountains.
The Hohe Munde is a 2,662-metre-high (8,734 ft) mountain at the eastern end of the Mieming Chain in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It has two peaks: the west top (2,662 m) and the east top or Mundekopf (2,592 m).
The Erlspitze, at 2,405 m (AA), is the highest mountain of the range to which it gives its name in the southeastern corner of the Karwendel Alps. Its pyramid-shaped summit makes it a good observation peak north of the Erl Saddle and the Solsteinhaus mountain hut.
The Solsteinhaus is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club located at a height of 1,806 m (AA) on the Erl Saddle (Erlsattel) between the mountains of the Nordkette and Erlspitze Group. It was opened in 1914 and totally renovated in 2007. It lies in the western Karwendel Alps in the state of Tyrol not far from the state capital of Innsbruck. Due to its central location and the numerous tour options it offers, the hut is a base for climbers taking part in tours of several days long, as well as a starting point for summit attempts. In addition the hut is a popular destination for hikers who can easily do a day tour to the hut. In winter the hut is closed, but there is a winter room for ski tourers. During safe avalanche conditions, high Alpine ski tours can be undertaken to the surrounding summits; but these all require good experience.
Kemacher is a summit of the Nordkette range in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
The Frau Hitt is a peak in the Nordkette, the southernmost mountain chain of the Karwendel in Austria. In appearance it resembles a woman on a horse, hence the name.
The Nordkette Cable Car in the Austrian state of Tyrol is a gondola lift from Innsbruck to the Nordkette, the southernmost mountain chain of the Karwendel.
