Hausstock

Hausstock
The north-west face of the Hausstock
Elevation	3,158 m (10,361 ft)
Prominence	655 m (2,149 ft)[1]
Isolation	9.8 km (6.1 mi)[2]
Parent peak	Tödi
Location
Hausstock Location in Switzerland
Location	Glarus/Graubünden, Switzerland
Range	Glarus Alps
Coordinates	46°52′32″N 9°4′0″E / 46.87556°N 9.06667°E / 46.87556; 9.06667Coordinates: 46°52′32″N 9°4′0″E / 46.87556°N 9.06667°E / 46.87556; 9.06667
Climbing
First ascent	1832
Easiest route	South ridge

The Hausstock is a mountain in the Glarus Alps, on the border between the cantons of Glarus and Graubünden. It overlooks the valleys of Linthal (Glarus) and Surselva (Graubünden). The Hausstock was the site of the 1799 withdrawal of the Russian army under General Alexander Suvorov. A well-known destination already in the nineteenth century with British and American climbers, the mountain remains popular with mountain climbers and skiers.

Geography, geology

Like the rest of the nummulite formation of the high Glarus Alps, the Hausstock contains fine-grained black sandstone.^[3] The mountain is part of the Glarus thrust, a major thrust fault; the top layer consists of Verrucano formations, 250-300 Ma old, on top of chalk, 100-150 Ma, and flysch, 35-50 Ma.^[4] In 2008, the thrust was declared a geotope, a geologic UNESCO world heritage site, under the name Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona.^[5][6] The Glarus thrust can clearly be seen on the mountain at approximately 2,950 metres (9,678 ft).^[7][8][9]

History

In October of 1799, Russian General Alexander Suvorov made a strategic retreat from the French Revolutionary forces in Italy over the Panix pass, elevation 2,407 metres (7,897 ft), which connects the town of Glarus, at 472 metres (1,549 ft), and the hamlet of Panix, at 1,300 metres (4,265 ft). Panix is located on the east side of the mountain along the Schmue stream. The event is frequently mentioned in British mountain guides from the nineteenth century, adding interest to the mountain, and still attracts tourists to the area.^[10] A plaque in Paxis commemorates the event.^[11] Today, there is still a military presence: the Swiss army maintains a firing range for tanks; the army "even uses mine throwers to target the glacier on the upper flanks of the 3,000-metre high Hausstock Mountain."^[12]

According to the American mountaineer W. A. B. Coolidge, the first ascent of the mountain was made in 1832.^[13] The trek through the pass, under the shadow of the mountain, is described extensively in the works of the famous Irish naturalist and alpinist John Ball,^[14] who mentioned the Hausstock in many of his works.^[15] The Hausstock is one stage in what William Martin Conway, president of the Alpine Club from 1902 to 1904, called the "North Tour through the Alps," a route popular in the nineteenth century with British and American travelers; the mountain was often reached via a long ridge that connects it to neighboring Ruchi,^[16] at 3,107 metres (10,194 ft).^[17] The Hausstock is the highest of the mountains around the village of Elm, from which it is usually ascended;^[18] it continues to be a popular mountain to climb,^[19] and there is a mountain hut, the Panixerpasshütte, in the Panix pass.^[20]

Today, the Hausstock is a popular wintersports resort, accessible via the village of Elm with a ski lift system installed in the early 2000s.^[12] The "Hausstock" ski tour^[21] is said to be "incredible.... Long and varied with a rewarding view from the summit."^[19]

References

External links

• Hausstock on Summitpost
• Hausstock on Hikr