Peitlerkofel / Sas de Pütia

Overview

Peitlerkofel as seen from Gömaalm

Peitlerkofel is the northernmost summit of the Dolomites and stands solitarily between Gadertal to the east and Vilnößtal to the west. Due to its isolated location it is a perfect summit for vistas, whether you want look at the surrounding Dolomite mountains or towards the Central Alps in the north and west. The mountain consists of two summits, Grosser Peitler (2875m) and Kleiner Peitler (2813m) which are divided by a deep cut.

The normal route ascent from the south is rather easy - you have to do a little climbing work when ascending the summitblock of Großer Peitler from the cut between the two summits. The trail is secured by cable, however, so that it poses no serious problems. Therefore - on a fine day - you must be prepared to share summit and ascent route with several hundreds fellow climbers.

On its northern flank Peitlerkofel drops some 600m towards Würzjoch (Passo di Erbe) on the road between Brixen (Bressanone) and St. Martin in Thurn (San Martino in Badia). This pass is a good starting point for any expedition, whether you want to climb Peitlerkofel or doo the round tour circling the mountain. In the north face there are a number of fine climbing routes the first of which has been opened in 1919 already and consists of pitches in IVth and Vth degree.

Getting There

There are two possible trailheads for doing any hikes or climbs in the vicinity of Peitlerkofel. The easiest possibility to reach them is by taking the Brenner motorway and turn off at Feldthurns (Valturno) into Villnößtal (Val di Funes).

Northern Trailhead: Würzjoch (Passo di Erbe)
Take the main road through Villnöß valley in the direction of St Martin in Thurn. You'll reach Würzjoch easily. For the normal ascent to Peitlerkofel, which starts from the south, you have to circle the mountain, however.

Southwestern Trailhead: Zanser Alm
Leave the Würzjoch road and turn right towards St. Magdalena. Drive on through to the end of the road at Zanser Alm. From here hike in the direction of Gampenalm, Schlüterhütte and Kreuzkofeljoch.

Southeastern Trailhead: Campill (Information by Mathias Zehring)
Take Gadertaler Staatsstraße (SS244) from either Bruneck (Brunico) or Corvara up to St. Martin in Thurn (San Martino in Badia). There turn into the road to Würzjoch and directly left into a little side street that leads through the hamlets of Seres (1568 m) and Misci (1621 m) to the destination of Campill. Leave the car at Seres or Misci which have some very impressive archaic farm buildings and head on trail no 4 towards Peitlerscharte.

Climbing History

It is assumed that the first ascent has been performed by local hunters. The first documented ascent was by a group around A. Posselt-Csorisch on June 25th 1885. This ascent roughly followed today's normal route.

The first ascent of the north wall of Peitlerkofel was performed by W. Erschbaumer, J. Hruschka, F. Neuner and L. Radschiller on August 24th 1919. The route is still climbed today. It is a route of 550 vertical meters with difficulty D+ (maximum 6th degree for a short pitch). The climb is done in 19 pitches. (I have a very detailed description, but unfortunately in Italian which I don't really understand).

The north face direttissimia was established in 1968 by locals Günther and Reinhold Messner, the west face was established in 1952 by Martin Schießler and Adolf Meyer.

Red Tape

Peitlerkofel belongs to the Natural Park Puez Geisler. Therefore within park boundaries any building activities are prohibited. Flowers, berries, mushrooms, minerals have to be left in their environment. Camping is prohibited and cars have to be parked in the official lots.


There are no fees for climbing, however you might have to be prepared for a small parking fee.

When To Climb

As with all Dolomite summits the best time is May through October but winter ascents are possible as well. Best time in my opinion is September or October since appartments are easily to be had and weather often is finest.

Accomodation

There are quite a lot of hotels and appartments to be had in the region of Villnöß. In the summer months you most certainly will need reservations. A good entry point ist the www.villnoess.com-page.

The tourist information can be reached via

Associazione Touristica
Val di Funes
S. Pietro 11
I - 39040 Val di Funes
Tel.:+39 0472 840 180
Fax:+39 0472 841 515
Mail: info@vilnoess.com

As for refuges, huts, etc, you can use the following:

Würzjochhütte
Tel: +39 0474 520066

Fornella Alm

Gömma Alm

Schlüterhütte
Tel: +39 0472 840 132

Gampenalm
Tel: +39 348 272 15 87

Zanser Alm
Tel: +39 328 89 26 257

Mountain Conditions

For weather conditions in South Tyrol look at the page of Meteo Alpin. For the english text you have to scroll down the right frame.

As for Webcams you can look at www.villnoess.com

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Images

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