Hochiss, Mountain summit in Schwaz District, Austria

Hochiss is the highest mountain of the Rofan, the Brandenberg Alps subgroup in Tyrol, Austria, at 2,299 metres. Its north side drops in vertical walls up to 350 metres high, cut by difficult climbing routes, while the south side is easy to climb. The normal route leads below the summit and up to the summit cross in a hairpin from the west.

The peak served for centuries as a landmark for communities in the lower Inn Valley, whose residents used the surrounding slopes for pasture and hunting. The wider area around the Brandemberg Alps shows traces of human presence going back to early settlement periods.

The name Hochiss comes from the dialect word "Iss(e)", meaning a mountain pasture, a common element in field names of the Rofan and Karwendel. The Achensee 5-Gipfel-Klettersteig, a via ferrata of grade C/D, has crossed the south-east flank since 2010. The normal route from the Erfurter Hütte (1831 m) reaches the summit cross via a hairpin from the west.

The ascent calls for solid hiking boots and experience on steep, rocky ground, as several sections involve exposed terrain and fixed iron ropes. Setting out early gives you the best chance of avoiding afternoon weather changes that are common in the Tyrolean Alps.

The north face of the Hochiss was first climbed in 1911 by Hans Dülfer and Hans Fiechtl, who opened what is now called the Alte Weg at UIAA grade IV-. The Kögl-Schmid-Führe followed in 1940 at VI-, and in 1996 R. Moser and G. Gapp opened Das letzte Problem at VIII+.