Krippenstein, Mountain summit in Obertraun, Austria.

Krippenstein is a mountain summit in the Dachstein range near Obertraun, Austria, sitting at around 2,100 meters above sea level. From the top, you can see across a wide stretch of the surrounding Alps, the Hallstatt lake below, and the glaciers of the Dachstein massif.

The first cable car to reach Krippenstein was built from 1947, making it the first two-thousand-metre peak in the area opened up by a cable car, initially as a middle station on the route from Obertraun toward the Dachstein massif. In 2007 the two sections between Obertraun and Krippenstein were renewed in eight months at a cost of around ten million euros, and the rebuilt Dachstein-Krippensteinbahn was officially opened on 12 January 2008.

The name Krippenstein refers to the mountain's shape, and the summit carries the Krippensteinkapelle, a chapel commemorating the 1954 Heilbronn Dachstein accident that killed seven students. Nearby stands the Pionierkreuz on the 2034 m fore-summit. Since the Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut region became a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Welterbespirale viewing platform, shaped like a ship with spiral access, has marked the main summit.

The Dachstein-Krippenstein cable car from Obertraun reaches the summit station about 100 m east of the main peak, with a stop at Schönbergalm (around 1350 m) near the Dachstein Giant Ice Cave. From the top, marked trails continue into the high mountains, including the Heilbronner circular route of about 3 hours to the Dachstein plateau. A five-hour ascent on foot is possible via two routes from Obertraun.

Directly beneath the walking trails on Krippenstein lies a network of ice caves that stay below freezing all year, no matter the season. These caves rank among the largest accessible ice caves anywhere, and their entrance is only a short walk from the cable car stop.