| Nordkette also North Chain / Northern Range Inntalkette / Nordkette im Karwendel | |
|---|---|
 The North Chain seen from the Mandlspitze, looking west | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Kleiner Solstein |
| Elevation | 2,637 m above sea level (AA) |
| Geography | |
| Range coordinates | 47°18′00″N11°21′00″E / 47.30000°N 11.35000°E /47.30000; 11.35000 |
TheNordkette, also variously called theNorth Chain,Northern Range, rarely theInn Valley Range orInn Valley Chain (Inntalkette), is a range of mountains just north of the city ofInnsbruck inAustria. It is the southernmost of the four greatmountain chains in theKarwendel. To the west it is linked by the Erl Saddle to theErlspitze Group, to the east via theStempeljoch saddle (2,215 m (AA)) to theGleirsch-Halltal Range. To the south it is bounded by theInn valley. Its highest summit is theKleiner Solstein (2,637 m (AA)) in the west of the range.
The Nordkette is served by theNordkette Cable Car, which offers easy access to theski area and theInnsbruck Klettersteig. The latter starts in the east, nearHafelekar station (2,269 m (AA)) on the Nordkette Cable Car, and runs via the Seegrubenspitze, the Kemacher and theLangen Sattel toFrau Hitt and the Frau Hitt Saddle in the west. In addition, the Goethe Way (Goetheweg) runs from Hafelekar Station along thearête eastwards to the Pfeis Hut north of the Rumer Spitze. Below the Hungerburg - Seegrube section of the Nordkette Cableway runs theNordkette Singletrail, one of the most challenging routes in Europe forfreeridemountain bikers.
The followingAlpine Club huts in the area of the Nordkette offerclimbers bases for multi-day tours taking in numerous summits: theSolsteinhaus, theNeue Magdeburger Hut, thePfeis Hut and theBettelwurf Hut (in the Gleirsch-Halltal Range).
In the southwest, there is a small massif in front of the Nordkette, theHechenberg, which reaches a height of1,943 m (AA) at theKirchbergköpfl and which is separated from the Nordkette to the northeast and east by theKranebitter Klamm.
The most important summits of the Nordkette from west to east are the:
