| Kuchenspitze | |
|---|---|
 The Kuchenspitze (top left) and the Großer Kuchenferner glacier (centre and left). The col is the Kuchenjöchli (centre right). | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Not the main summit[1] |
| Elevation | 3,148 m (AA) (10,328 ft) |
| Prominence | 578 m ↓ Lattejoch |
| Isolation | 13.0 km → Hoher Riffler |
| Listing | Alpine mountains above 3000 m |
| Coordinates | 47°02′54″N10°13′48″E / 47.04833°N 10.23°E /47.04833; 10.23 |
| Geography | |
| Parent range | Verwall Group |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 3 September 1977 byAndreas Madlener undJulius Volland[2] |
TheKuchenspitze is amountain,3,148 m (AA), in theVerwall between the valley ofStanzer Tal andPaznaun in the west ofNorth Tyrol.
The mountain rises south ofSt. Anton am Arlberg in the Stanzer valley. Northeast of the summit is theDarmstädter Hut.[2]
The Kuchenspitze is the second highest peak in the Verwall Group after theHoher Riffler.Its main summit is not the 3148spot height, but the peak to the south; to the north are several other subpeaks.[1]The mountain is glaciated. In its northcirque (Nordkar) is theGroßer Kuchenferner; to the west, theKleiner Kuchenferner; and, to the south, between the main summit and the subpeak of theKüchlspitze (3,147 m), is theGroßer Küchlferner. The ridge continues northwards via the col ofKuchenjöchl (2,730 m) to theScheibler (2,978 m) and theKartell Group above St. Anton. The Kuchenspitze is a little to the north of the main chain of the Verwall, which runs over the Küchlspitze.The entire west side of the mountain drains into theKartellspeicher reservoir and theMoosbach into theRosanna, the west flank into theFasulbach, which empties into the upper Rosanna.
Two of the peaks, including point 3148, werefirst climbed by Andreas Madlener and Julius Volland on 3 September 1877, the actual main summit by Wilhelm Strauß with his guides, Josef Ladner and Gottlieb Lorenz on 19 September 1884.[2] At that time it was one of the few unclimbed main summits of the group, because the main chain of the Verwall was ascended around 1860 as part of a state survey.
Today, the mountain is rarely visited. It may be ascended, for example, from St. Anton in the Verwall valley near theKonstanzer Hut directly or via the Kuchenjöchl, or up the Moosbach valley, and from the south fromIschgl via theMadleinalpe, or fromMathon via theFriedrichshafner Hut. The Darmstädter Hut usually the base. The routes to the summit are then at least difficult (UIAA grade II/SAC WS) and, in places, challenging climbs.[2][3]
