The Gleirscher Fernerkogel lies a good seven kilometres as the crow flies northeast of Längenfeld in the Ötztal valley and just under 7 km southwest Praxmar in the Lüsenstal valley. To the east two glaciers climb the mountain to a height of 3,100 metres. North of the east ridge is the Gleirschferner glacier; to the south is the Weißkogelferner, rapidly disappearing as a result of global warming, whose firn field is now only just under 300 metres long. Neighbouring peaks are the Hintere Grubenwand (3,175 m) on the east ridge, separated by the col of Roßkarscharte (3,053 m); the Winnebacher Weißkogel (3,185 m) to the south; and the Sonnenwände peaks to the north, whose highest top is the Hintere Sonnenwand (3,112 m). To the west the 500-metre-high rock face of the Gleirscher Fernerkogel drops steeply into the valley of the Zwieselbach.