Brennkogel

Overview

Brennkogel - being part of the Glockner group - is the corner of the Tauern main ridge.
The mountain is located between "Fuscher Törl" (2.404 m) in the north-north-east and Hochtor (2.576 m) in the south-east. Both points can be reached via the "Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse", which is the most famous panoramic road in the eastern alps.
The first ascent was done very early, most probably by pilgrims.
The east-wall was already visited from mineralogists around 1800.
A. v. Ruthner and Pius Kronegger did the first traverse in 1836.

Brennkogel is - with the height of 3.018 m - not among the highest summits of the Glockner group, but it is deemed to be the most beautiful mountain of the eastern Glockner group. It is definitely an excellent and outstanding viewpoint.
From the West ridge of Brennkogel rises the nearby summit of Kloben (2.938 m), which is a very popular goal for ski tours (mainly ascended from the northern side).

Getting There

To reach the various trail-heads for the north and south ascents you have to use "Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse", a beautiful panoramic road.



The view shown above you will see, if you go in the direction of "Franz Josefs Höhe" at the roundabout on the south-side of the road. To reach the trailheads for Brennkogel you need to go in the direction of "Hochtor" and "Fuscher Törl".

The panoramic road can be reached either from the north via the village of Fusch (in the austrian province "Salzburg") or from the south via the village of Heiligenblut (in the austrian province "Carinthia").

Coming from the north:
- If you are coming from the northwest (from Germany via Munich) you can use the Autobahn (highway) A8 in Germany heading to the southeast until you reach the highway A10 near the city of Salzburg in Austria.
- If you are coming from the northeast (from the eastern part of Austria or Europe via Vienna) you can use the Autobahn (highway) A1 in Austria heading to the west until you reach the highway A10 near the city of Salzburg, too.
Continue on the A10 until you reach the exit "Bischofshofen" from there continue to Bruck, turn to the left and continue until you reach Fusch.

Coming from the south:
- If you are coming from the south (from Italy or from Slovenia) you can use the Autobahn (highway) A2 heading to the north until you reach the highway A10 near the city of Villach in Austria. Continue on the A10 until you reach the exit in the direction of "Lienz / Lendorf". From there simply follow the signs leading to "Grossglockner".

Airports:
The closest local airports are Salzburg and Klagenfurt (the capitol of the province Carinthia).
The nearest bigger airports are Munich (Germany), Vienna (Austria) and Ljubljana (Slovenia).

For more information and nearby huts check as well the SP page GLOCKNER GROUP of Matthias Zehring and the link Nationalpark Hohe Tauern

Routes overview

There are several routes to reach the main summit of Brennkogel:

- South route (UIAA: I), app. 2.5 hours from the Guttal-bridge (1.940 m) on the panoramic road via the lake "Brettersee" (2.483 m), the Brennkogel notch (2.637 m) and the SE-ridge to the summit.
Thanks to SP member Vid Pogachnik for the following hint:
This route is a nice ski tour in winter and spring, too. When doing this ascent as ski tour, you cross from below the Brennkogel-Scharte (notch) to the West ridge.

- Southeast-ridge direct (UIAA: II, in the lower part of the ridge), app. 1 hour from the Brennkogel notch (2.637 m) to the summit

- Southwest route (hike), from the lake "Brettersee" (2.483 m) via the western notch and using afterwards a rocky slope to the summit

- Northnortheast-ridge (UIAA: I), app. 2.5 hours from the left-serpentine after the "Fuscher-Törlhaus" via the saddle (2.407 m) and the northnortheast-ridge (avoiding three steps at 2.750 m, 2.825m and 2.935m always on their right side) to the summit



- Northnortheast-ridge direct (UIAA: III-), app. 3 hours from the left-serpentine after the "Fuscher-Törlhaus" via the saddle (2.407 m) and the northnortheast-ridge (climbing the three steps at 2.750 m, 2.825m and 2.935m always directly) to the summit

- Northnorthwest-face (UIAA: II), app. 2.5 hours from the Brennkogel glacier

- Northnorthwest-ridge (UIAA: III-), app. 1.5 hours from the Brennkogel glacier

There is a summit log and a cross on the main summit.



If you enlarge the picture above, you can see the summit cross at the highest point (3.018 m) on the very right of the summit ridge

Red tape

Brennkogel is located within the National park "Hohe Tauern"

For the use of the panoramic road "Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse" you have to pay toll (currently 26,- EUR per car for a single entry).
The road is open from the beginning of may until the end of october (the concrete days are depending on the road-/snow-conditions in spring and autumn).
During the night the road is closed - between 15th of june and 15th of september from 22:00 to 05:00, before and after these dates from 20:30 to 06:00.
The last possible entry is always 45 minutes before the night closure.

For more information check www.grossglockner.at or use the following phone number: ++43 (0) 65 46 / 650

When to climb

Best time: July to September, depending on the mountain conditions June and October can be fine as well.
Depending on the conditions and your skills the mountain can be climbed throughout the year.



The picture above shows the view from the Brennkogel NNE-ridge in october towards Grossglockner and Glocknerwand in the distance. The two pyramids in the right half of the picture are Sonnenwelleck (3.266 m) and Fuscherkarkopf (3.332 m).

Literature

Map:
Alpenvereinskarte (number 40) "Glockner group" (1:25.000)
ISBN 3-928777-87-4

Book:
"Glockner region" by Walter Mair (including 50 routes in the Glockner region)
As far as I know, this book is only available in german.
In this book you can find a detailed description of the easy route from the south to Brennkogel.
First edition from 2004.
ISBN 3-7633-4317-2
12,90 EUR
www.rother.de

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Images

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