Hochkönig Massif - Mandlwand Walls

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Geologically, the Hochkönig massif belongs to the Northern Calcareous Alps. The Mandlwand walls form the southern edge of the approx. 15 sq. m. large Hochkönig plateau, on which the only limestones alpine glacier in Salzburg, the "Übergossene Alm" is located

The massive Dachstein limestone that buiilds up the Mandlwand walls comes from the reef of the Tethys Ocean of the Upper Triassic period (200 million years), and is rich in fossils such as corals, sponges, mussels, and snails. Due to the local situation of the relative proximity of the Northern Calcareous Alps to the Greywacke Zone, the rock here has strong tectonic features. This results in the typical turret and spike formation.

The most important peaks of the Mandlwand walls all have a name. The highest of them is Gamsleitenkopf at 2,532 m. The others are called Hochstellkopf (2,478 m), Kleiner Sattelkopf (2,391 m), Großer Sattelkopf (2,526 m), Stangenkopf (2,400 m) and the two Vierrinnenköpfe (2, 300 m and 2,364 m).

All the towers and pillars have classic east alpine climbing routes. Bischofshofen alpine climber Albert Precht (1947-2015) scaled the 600 m high south face of the Hochkönig for the first time in 1983.