The summit of Mt. Gran Pilastro is part of the Zillertal Main Ridge and represents the national border between Austria and Italy. It consists of a massive alpine central gneiss, covered by green slate. The north face is glaciated and forms a ramarkable 300 metres high ice wall. This route - the "Hochfeiler-Eiswand" - is one of the classic alpine routes. If you would like to scale Mt. Gran Pilastro (Hochfeiler) from South Tyrol, you can do so starting from Prati in Val di Vizze or from Fundres.

Furthermore, also from Lappago in the Valle di Tures you can hike up to the Passo Ponte di Ghiaccio Hut (2,545 m a.s.l.) and further on to the summit. Or you can choose the easier version via south west ridge, which begins at the Gran Pilastro Hut at 2,710 m a.s.l. This was also the route the alpinist Paul Grohmann, co-founder of the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAV, Österreichischer Alpenverein), and the alpine guides Peter Fuchs and Georg Sarner from San Giacomo in Vizze di Dentro chose for the first ascent in 1865. The ice wall, however, can be scaled from the North Tyrolean Schlegeistal valley (first ascent by F. Dyck and Hans Hörhager in 1887).