Overview
Goalkeeper on Sonnenjoch soccer pitch :-)
Ever fancied a game of soccer on a summit?
Yes?
Then you should put
Sonnenjoch on your shortlist.
I do not know many summits which are as broad and flat as a soccer pitch. Sonnenjoch is such a summit. Without the huge summit cross, erected on a massive stone footing you would have a hard time to find the highest point of this summit plateau.
Sonnenjoch is part of the long, south - north running Alpbach - Wildschönau range within
Kitzbüheler Alpen. Being the meeting point of the four valleys, Sonnenjoch is separating
Wildschönau and
Kelchsau / Langer Grund from
Alpbachtal and
Märzengrund (a tributary valley to Zillertal). Moreover, Sonnenjoch is the center of this range, even though not the highest point.
Being an easy hiking summit in spring, summer and autumn and a rather easy ski tour summit in winter and early spring, Sonnenjoch is one of the better known and therefore more frequently visited summits of the area. Nonetheless you will find your private space on this mountain, given the roomy summit plateau.
Neighbouring summits are
Gressenstein and
Großer Beil to the north - a nice traverse on a narrow trail -
Niederjochkogel and
Regenfeldjoch to the south - a more demanding traverse without trails and a bit of nice “Kitzbüheler scrambling” (insiders know what I mean).
Back to soccer on summits. I really do not recommend to try it in reality. One bad aimed cross and you have to look for the ball alternatively
1. at Gressensteinalm (600 m lower)
2. at Erlauer Hütte (1100 m lower)
3. at Gmünderhütte (900 m lower) or
4. at Faulbaumgartenalm (700 m lower).
Getting There
Main trailheads for Sonnenjoch are:
The general accesses are described on the Kitzbüheler Alpen main page.
Wildschönau signposts | Ascent to Gressensteinalm |
Routes Overview
Trails:
Sonnenjoch summit panorama
Traverses:
Großer Galtenberg as seen from Sonnenjoch | Torhelm-Kreuzspitze range as seen from Sonnenjoch | Salzachgeier range as seen from Sonnenjoch |
Ski routes:
Red Tape & Accommodation
Red Tape
There are no restrictions or regulations, as far as I know.
Summit view to the west | East ridge of Sonnenjoch | Gressensteinalm and Sonnenjoch (left) |
Accommodation
Wildschönau
Alpbachtal
Kelchsau
Hopfgarten
Kaltenbach / Stumm
Schönangeralm at the end of Wildschönau valley is a mountain inn with a genuine cheese dairy in summer - don´t miss that!
Gressensteinalm provides some drinks and food during the Alm season.
Otto - Leixl - Hütte is a private hut, accessible only for members of the possessing alpine club section.
Gear & Mountain Condition
Sonnenjoch summit
Sonnenjoch can be summited all year round.
In the hiking season you need full hiking gear and good shoes. The summit routes are easy hikes on mostly marked mountain trails and - near the valleys - forest roads. The traverse Sonnenjoch - Gressenstein - Großer Beil does need some easy rock scramble and, with low visibility - a knack for orientation.
The ski routes mainly are easy ones, too. Most routes are beginner routes, maybe with the exception of the west ascent from Otto-Leixl-Hütte to the summit, which is a steeper slope. All ski routes are a treat for the advanced ski mountaineer as well. Sonnenjoch as ski tour can be easily combined with Gressenstein and/or Großer Beil (only eastern ascents from above Gressensteinalm).
Full ski and avalanche gear is required.
Check the
Tirol avalanche bulletin here.
Current Weather:
Maps & Guide Books
Wildschönau ascent to Sonnenjoch
For a wide list of Kitzbüheler maps and guide books see the Kitzbüheler Alpen main page.
Maps
Alpenvereinskarte 1 : 50.000; Kitzbüheler Alpen West,
number 34/1, Deutscher Alpenverein, 2010; - topo map with trails; the same with ski routes.
Österreichische Karte 1 : 50.000 - UTM (ÖK50), map
number 3213, Wörgl
Guide Books
Available only antiquarian but an indispensable mountain guide book:
Georg Bleier / Kurt Kettner: Alpenvereinsführer Kitzbüheler Alpen, Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, München, 1984
Horst Höfler, Kurt Kettner: Kitzbüheler Alpen. Mit Skirouten. Führer für Täler, Hütten und Berge, Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, München, 1976
R. Weiss: Skitouren Kitzbüheler Alpen mit angrenzendem Salzburger Anteil am Nationalpark Hohe Tauern, Gebietsführer, Steiger Verlag Innsbruck, 2000 (there is an antiquarian edition from 1985 with only Kitzbüheler Alpen, too)