Tux Alps | |
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![]() Patscherkofel (2,246m/7,369ft) | |
Highest point | |
Peak | Lizumer Reckner |
Elevation | 2,886 m (9,469 ft) |
Coordinates | 47°10′N11°38′E / 47.167°N 11.633°E |
Geography | |
Country | Austria |
State | Tyrol |
Parent range | Central Eastern Alps |
The Tux Alps (German : Tuxer Alpen) or Tux Prealps (Tuxer Voralpen) 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.
The Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps (AVE) calls this range the Tux Alps. The name Tux Prealps was declared in the 1984 edition of the AVE as outdated and not longer applicable. The reality is that the mountain range can hardly be described as "prealps" in view of their sheer extent and height. The description only makes any sense when the range is seen in the context of the Zillertal Alps to the south, which are considerably higher than the Tux Alps and permanently covered in glaciers.
The Tux Alps are surrounded by the following other ranges in the Alps:
To the north the lower Inn valley forms the boundary of this range from Innsbruck downstream to the Inn's confluence with the Ziller. The Ziller valley (Zillertal) borders the range in the east from the mouth of the Ziller on the Inn upstream as far as Mayrhofen. In the south the Tuxertal valley outlines the range from Mayrhofen to Hintertux. From there the boundary continues up to the saddle of the Tuxer Joch and through the Schmirntal valley to Sankt Jodok. To the west the Tux Alps are bounded by the Wipptal valley from Sankt Jodok downstream to Innsbruck.
The Tuxer Joch saddle links the Tux Alps to the Zillertal Alps.
The Tux Alps are a popular ski touring and hiking area. Its ski resorts are Glungezer, Lizum im Wattental, Hochfügen-Hochzillertal, Penken and Kellerjoch, Patscherkofel. The Patscherkofel mountain was a venue for the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics held in nearby Innsbruck.
The largest part of the Tux Alps comprises low grade metamorphic rocks, that are classified as part of the Innsbruck quartz-phyllite complex (quartzitic phyllite slate). Next to this zone of Paleozoic rocks to the south there is a localised zone of various Mesozoic rocks, the so-called Tarntal Mesozoic. This complex zone belongs, like the quartz-phyllite zone, to the tectonic unit of the Lower Eastern Alps. Amongst the rocks of Tarntal Mesozoic may be found dolomite and limestones that are the basis of rock faces (Kalkwand and Torwand) in the area of the Wattentaler Lizum. On the other hand, there are also elements of the former ocean bed, in the shape of serpentinite that make up the Lizumer Reckner. The southern perimeter of the Tux Alps belongs to the tectonically deeper-lying Penninic Hohe Tauern window . [1] Here in the Tux Alps these are mainly rocks of the Penninic Glockner Nappe (calc-schist envelope of the Tauern). The northeasternmost corner of the Tux Alps, from the area of Schwaz to Fügen im Zillertal, belongs to the Upper Eastern Alpine greywacke zone , which consists of Paleozoic rocks. Silver and copper were once extensively mined in this zone in the area around Schwaz. [2]
The long-distance hiking trail known as the "Munich to Venice Dream Path" (Traumpfad München-Venedig) runs through the Tux Alps. This is not an official long-distance trail. Nevertheless, the route, which was first proposed in 1977, has achieved a greater profile than many of the other trails officially established and maintained by states or rambling clubs.
The 9th day leg of the dream trail runs from Hall in Tirol up to the Glungezer Hut; the next stage over the seven tuxer summits and the Naviser Jöchl to the Lizumer Hut which is operated by the Austrian Alpine Club section at Hall.
The 10th and 11th days run from the Lizumer Hut to the Tuxer Joch Haus, then over the Pluderling Saddle and the Gschützspitze Saddle.
Other long-distance trails in the Tux Alps are the Eagle Way (Adlerweg), the Via Alpina (red), Olympic Way (Olympiaweg), Glungezer & Geier Way No. 335 (Glungezer&Geier-Weg 335), and Central Alpine Way No. 02a.
The following Alpine Club huts are located in the Tux Alps:
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.
Mayrhofen is a town in the Zillertal in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is located approximately an hour from the Tyrolean capital city of Innsbruck.
The Zillertal Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy.
The Bezirk Schwaz is an administrative district (Bezirk) in Tyrol, Austria. It borders Bavaria (Germany) in the north, the districts of Kufstein, Kitzbühel and Pinzgau (Salzburg) in the east, South Tyrol (Italy) in the south, and the Innsbruck-Land district in the west.
The Ziller Valley is a valley in Tyrol, Austria that is drained by the Ziller River. It is the widest valley south of the Inn Valley and lends its name to the Zillertal Alps, the strongly glaciated section of the Alps in which it lies. The Tux Alps lie to its west, while the lower grass peaks of the Kitzbühel Alps are found to the east.
Patscherkofel is a mountain and ski area in the Alps, in Tyrol in western Austria, 7 km (4 mi.) south of Innsbruck. The peak rises to a summit elevation of 2,246 m (7,369 ft) above sea level. The town of Igls at its northwest base is at 870 m (2,854 ft), a vertical drop of 1,376 m (4,514 ft).
Tux is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
Navis is a municipality in the district Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 19 km southeast of Innsbruck in a valley with the same name which is a side valley of the Wipptal. The extensive territory of this municipality runs from the Sill up to the 2,359 m high Klammjoch saddle and the 2,886 m high Lizumer Reckner in the Tux Alps. The village is provided with fresh drinking water thanks to the clean Navisbach. The origin of the village name is unknown but settlement began at the end of the 13th century. Copper and silver were found in the 15th and 16th century.
Schmirn is a municipality in the District Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
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 Wattentaler Lizum is the name of the head of the Wattental valley which branches off the lower Inn valley near Wattens. Lizum means "alpine pasture at the head of the valley" in Tyrolese. The Wattentaler Lizum lies at the eastern end of the valley in the municipality of Wattenberg.
The Tuxer Joch is a mountain pass in the Zillertal Alps at a height of 2,338 m (AA) that links the lower Zillertal valley with the Brenner route just north of the Brenner Pass. To the northeast just below the summit lies the Tuxer Joch-Haus.
The Lizumer Reckner is, at 2,886 m above sea level (AA), the highest mountain in the Tux Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
The Gilfert is a 2,506-metre-high (8,222 ft) peak in the Tux Alps. It is the most northerly extent of the Rastkogel Massif and can therefore be seen from almost anywhere in the Lower Inn Valley.
The Rastkogel is a 2,762 metre high, pyramidal, mountain on the main crest of the Tux Alps in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol.
The Glungezer is a mountain in the Tux Alps in Tyrol southeast of Innsbruck in Austria.
The Rosenjoch is a mountain, 2,796 m (AA), and the highest point of the Voldertal and Arztal in the western Tux Alps. The top which bears a summit cross lies on the Inn Valley Mountain Trail between the Glungezer Hut and Lizumer Hut in the Wattentaler Lizum and is thus frequently climbed in summer. The Rosenjoch may also be reached from the Voldertal Hut.
The Geier is, at 2,857 m above sea level (AA), the second highest mountain in the Tux Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
The Lizumer Hütte is an Alpine club hut of the Hall in Tirol section of the Austrian Alpine Club in the Tux Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The hut is located in the rear Wattental in the middle of the extensive ski touring and hiking area of the Wattentaler Lizum. Due to its location and size, the hut is also used for a wide variety of alpine courses and seminars.