Hintertux Glacier

The Hintertux Glacier (German: Hintertuxer Gletscher) is the tourist name for the glaciers of the Gefrorene-Wand-Kees, also called the Tuxer Ferner, and the nearby Riepenkees at the top of the Tuxertal, a side valley of the Zillertal in the Austrian state of Tyrol. At its highest point the ski region reaches a height of 3,250 m (10,660 ft) in the saddle between the peaks of the Gefrorene-Wand-Spitzen.^[2]

The Hintertux Glacier is one of two ski resorts in the world offering skiing all year round.^[3] Both glaciers can be accessed by gondola and chair lifts.^[2]

The ice of the Hintertux Glacier is up to 120 metres (390 ft) thick at its deepest point and between 500 and 1,000 years old. It has a length of about 4 km (2.5 mi), but this varies annually by up to 40 metres (130 ft). As a result, the lifts have to be moved several times a year so that the masts remain vertical. 61 of the ski resort's support constructions are located on glacier ice. The glacier contains up to about 190 million cubic metres of ice.^[4][5]

The Hintertux Glacier offers skiing all year round since 1968 when the chairlift Gefrorene Wand was constructed, the world's first chairlift with towers built on glacier ice.^[6] Skiing in summer at the Hintertux Glacier is possible because the ski area is located on a high‑elevation glacier, where snow and ice persist year‑round. Glaciers are large, moving bodies of compacted snow and ice that remain at or near freezing temperatures even in summer. At elevations above about 3,000 m such as at Hintertux, the temperature stays low enough for snow and firn (compressed snow) to endure throughout the year. This means that even during warm months, sufficient snow remains on the surface for downhill skiing.^[7] The Hintertux Glacier is one of only two ski resorts in the world offering skiing all year round, the other being Zermatt in Switzerland.^[3]

The ski area offers 62 kilometres (39 mi) of pistes in winter and 18 kilometres (11 mi) in summer, covering a total skiable area of approximately 233 hectares (0.90 sq mi)).^[8] Of the 62 kilometres in winter, 17.2 km (27%) are classified as easy/blue, 35.1 km (55%) as intermediate/red, and 11.7 km (18%) as difficult/black.^[9] The longest run to the valley, the Schwarze Pfanne ("black pan"), measures 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) with a vertical drop of 1,750 metres (5,740 ft).^[8]

There is a freestyle snowpark called Betterpark whose entrance is located at the Olperer lifts at 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) above sea level, making it the country’s highest freestyle area. It serves as a training facility for advanced and professional riders and features four lines (pro, medium, jib and easy) with 9 jumps and 21 jib obstacles, and is typically open from April to the end of May and from mid-September to December.^[10][11][12]

At the free-of-charge Flohpark Hintertux near the parking lot at the valley station, children can learn how to ski on with the help of conveyor belts and beginner lifts. For children at intermediate level, the ski resort offers the following areas: The Kidsslope Hintertux features snow tunnels and is accessible via the Ramsmoos T-bar lift. The Funslope Hintertux in the Sommerbergalm ski area features wide banked turns, dynamic wave tracks and large snow elements, and is accessible via the Tuxerjoch 4‑seater chairlift.^[13]

The ski area features 21 lifts and cable cars reaching elevations of up to 3,250 metres (10,660 ft).^[8] The area has a total lift capacity of 94,000 people per hour. The Hintertux valley station (Talstation Hintertux) is located at an elevation of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).^[8]

To transport the large number of tourists on the Hintertux Glacier, three large gondola lifts of the Funitel type have been built: the so-called Gletscherbus ("glacier bus") gondolas where the gondolas are suspended on two steel cables and are able to carry 24 people each. The Gletscherbus gondolas have been built by Doppelmayr. The third large gondola lift was opened in the 2008/2009 winter season; it is called the Gletscherbus 1 and runs from the valley station up to the Sommerbergalm. It replaced the older 4-person gondolas that had previously handled the transport of people to the Sommerbergalm along with the 8-person gondola lift that is still running. In order to ensure all-year operations, there are two cableways in each section of the feeders from the valley station to the Gefrorene Wand.^[7][8] The Gletscherbus 3 which serves the upper section of the ski area is the world's highest bicable gondola lift. It received new cabins in 2021.^[7][8][14]

The Gefrorene Wand single-cable 10-person gondola lift replaced the 30-year-old Gefrorene Wand 3a double chair lift in 2011. It has been built by Doppelmayr and features heated seating.^[7][15]

In addition to its winter sports facilities, the Hintertux Glacier features a panoramic viewing terrace at an elevation of 3,250 metres (10,660 ft), offering extensive views of the surrounding Alpine landscape. The terrace is accessible year-round and can be reached by cable car via the gondola lift Gletscherbus 3.^[7]

The region is also suitable for mountaineering. There are plenty of Alpine huts, some managed all-year round. Numerous hiking trails begin at the Sommerbergalm, including the scenic route to the Tuxer Joch Haus that continues through the Weitental valley, passing the 40‑metre Schleier waterfall before returning to Hintertux.^[16]

The Spannagel Cave is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long and hence the largest cave system in the Austrian Central Alps. The cave entrance is located next to the Spannagelhaus mountain hut.^[17][18][19]

The Natur Eis Palast is a crevasse that was discovered in 2007 and is open to the public. Its entrance is just above the top station on the Gletscherbus 3 lift. Visitors can climb about 25 metres (82 ft) down into the ice using a combination of steps and ladders. The crevasse maintains a constant temperature of 0 °C (32 °F) throughout the year.^{[20][21][22][11]}

Hintertux Glacier is located in the Tyrol region of Austria at the end of the Tuxertal, a side valley of the Zillertal, around 87 km southeast of Innsbruck and 20 km south of Mayrhofen. The nearest major airports are Innsbruck Airport, which offers frequent European and UK connections, and Munich Airport, which provides extensive international services; both link efficiently to the resort via rail connections through Innsbruck and Jenbach. From Innsbruck, regular trains run to Jenbach, where travellers transfer to the Zillertalbahn for Mayrhofen and continue by bus to Hintertux. Local bus services operate between Mayrhofen, Tux and the Hintertux Glacier valley station, with several routes free for skiers. The resort is also accessible by car via the A12 autobahn and the Zillertalstraße B169 into the Zillertal, with a total driving time of under 1.5 hours from Innsbruck.^[23]

In 2017, the glacier was included in the music video of Ed Sheeran's song, Perfect, which shows a romantic story.^[24] Ed Sheeran is shown arriving in the Zillertal by disembarking from the Zillertal Railway at the station in Mayrhofen. Later in the music video, he is seen waiting for friends together with Zoey Deutch at the panorama bar of the Tuxer Fernerhaus. Scenes depicting après-ski activities were filmed at the Hohenhaus Tenne in Hintertux, which is located directly at the valley station of the Hintertux Glacier cable car. Sunset scenes were filmed at the Gefrorene Wand at an elevation of 3,250 m, with ski lifts and pistes of the Hintertux Glacier visible in the background.^[25]

• Hintertux Ski slopes
• The Hoher Riffler 3231m seen from the Spannagelhaus (Nov 2007)
• View from the valley of the Lärmstange (Nov 2007)
• View from the Hintertux Glacier (below the Gefrorenen Wand) looking south (Schlegeis) (Feb 2007)

• Homepage of the Hintertux Glacier
• Webcams of the ski resort