Großes Wiesbachhorn

The Großes Wiesbachhorn is a mountain in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria and, at, is the third-highest peak of the Hohe Tauern range.Its entirely free-standing firn-capped summit forms the main peak of the Fusch/Kaprun chain and is often viewed in Alpine literature as a rival of the Großglockner. The great slope on its eastern and southeastern side plunges 2,418 metres to the Fuscher Ache - the greatest height difference between mountaintop and valley floor in the Eastern Alps. Of alpinistic significance was the first ascent of the Northwest Face (Nordwestwand) on 15 July 1924 by Franz Riegele and Willo Welzenbach. They were the first ones to use ice nails (Eisnägel) to assist them; these were later developed into the ice screws used today. The Northwest Face was one of the classic ice walls of the Eastern Alps; the ice has since melted, however.