The Lofer Mountains and the Leogang Mountains are closely linked and are referred to as one subgroup, the Steinberge
Image gallery: Lofer Mountains
The Lofer Mountains are located in Austria, strictly speaking in North Tyrol and Salzburg. They are a mountain chain in the Northern Limestone Alps, closely connected with the Leogang Mountains: Both groups border on each other and are sometimes defined as one subgroup, called Steinberge (Stone Mountains), divided only by the 1,202 m high Römersattel pass. As a karst mountain chain, the Lofer Mountains offer a wide cave system: The most famous is the Prax Ice Cave in Salzburg.
The Lofer Mountains are delimited by the Chiemgau Alps in the north, the Berchtesgaden Alps in the east and the Leogang Mountains in the south-east, while in the south-west there are the Kitzbühel Alps, and in the west the Kaiser Mountains. In Tyrol, there are holidays destinations such as Waidring and Hochfilzen in the Pillersee Valley. Also the Loferer Alm, a famous skiing area, is located on Tyrolean territory, but it belongs to Mt. Steinplatte and not to the Lofer Mountains.
Peaks: The highest mountain is the Grosses Ochsenhorn with 2,511 m a.s.l. which offers several challenging climbing routes. Further important peaks are Mt. Grosses Reifehorn (2,480 m a.s.l.), Mt. Breithorn (2,413 m a.s.l.), Mt. Rothörnl (2,394 m a.s.l.) and the 2,155 m high Seehorn.
Trails: In the Lofer Mountains, there are two fixed-rope routes as well as the Schmidt-Zabierow Mountain Hut, the only mountain hut of the Austrian Alpine Club in this mountain chain. Also the Nuarach High Route leads to seven peaks in the Lofer Mountains. Otherwise, this mountain chain is not really famous, as it is not opened up by lift facilities. The ascent to the peak of the Loferer Skihörndl (2,286 m a.s.l.), however, is a popular ski tour during the winter months.
