Hintertux Glacier

A piste on the Hintertux Glacier (the Tuxerfernerhang)

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.[1]

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

Hintertux Glacier Ski Resort is located in Tyrol, Austria
Hintertux Glacier Ski Resort
Hintertux Glacier Ski Resort
Location of the Hintertux Glacier in Tyrol, Austria

Ice

The ice of the Hintertux Glacier is up to 120 metres (390 ft) thick at its deepest point. 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. The glacier contains up to about 190 million cubic metres of ice.[4]

Tourism

The Hintertux Glacier offers skiing all year round. 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.[5] The Hintertux Glacier is one of only two ski resorts in the world offering skiing all year round, the other being Zermatt in Switzerland.[2]

The Hintertux Glacier in August 2017

The ski area features 21 lifts and cable cars reaching elevations of up to 3,250 metres (10,660 ft). It 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)).[6] The ski area includes the Schwarze Pfanne ("black pan"), the longest run to the valley, measuring 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) with a vertical drop of 1,750 metres (5,740 ft). The Hintertux Snowpark is located on the Olperer surface lift. There is a freeride slope that is open from October to May.[7]

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.[8]

View towards Hintertux, with view of the Lärmstange ski route

The region is also suitable for mountaineering – there are plenty of Alpine huts, some managed all-year round. One of these huts is the Spannagelhaus next to the natural monument of the Spannagel Cave, which is over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long and the largest cave system in the Austrian Central Alps. The cave entrance is immediately next to the Spannagelhaus.[9][10][11]

A crevasse – the Natural Ice Palace (Natur Eis Palast) – can also be viewed. 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.[12][13][14]

Lift and cable cars

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 glacier buses (Gletscherbusse) where the gondolas are suspended on two steel cables and are able to carry 24 people each. The third large gondola lift was opened in the 2008/2009 winter season. It is now called the Gletscherbus 1 and runs from the valley station up to the Sommerbergalm. It replaced the older 4-man gondolas that had previously handled the transport of people to the Sommerbergalm along with the 8-man gondola lift that is still running. In order to ensure all-year operations there are 2 cableways in each section of the feeders from the valley station to the Gefrorene Wand. The Gletscherbus 3 which serves the upper section of the ski area is the world's highest bicable gondola lift.[8][7]

Overall, there are 18 lifts to transport winter sports tourist and other visitors from the Hintertux valley station (Talstation Hintertux, 1,500 m) up to the glacier. The ski area has a total lift capacity of 94,000 people per hour.[7]

Trivia

In 2017, the glacier was included in the music video of Ed Sheeran's song, Perfect, which shows a romantic story.[15] 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.[16]

  • Hintertux Ski slopes
    Hintertux Ski slopes
  • The Hoher Riffler 3231m seen from the Spannagelhaus (Nov 2007)
    The Hoher Riffler 3231m seen from the Spannagelhaus (Nov 2007)
  • View from the valley of the Lärmstange (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)
    View from the Hintertux Glacier (below the Gefrorenen Wand) looking south (Schlegeis) (Feb 2007)
Panoramic view of the Hintertux Glacier from the Gefrorene Wand (Feb 2007)
Panoramic view from the Gletscher Hut (Feb 2009)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hintertux Glacier.

References

  1. ^ "Ski resort Hintertux Glacier (Hintertuxer Gletscher)". www.skiresort.info. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  2. ^ a b "The best spots in Europe for a summer ski holiday". euronews. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  3. ^ "Ski resort Hintertux Glacier (Hintertuxer Gletscher)". www.skiresort.info. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  4. ^ Information about the ice of the glacier Archived 2008-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Interesting facts about Hintertux Glacier – Insights into the world at 3,250 m". www.hintertuxergletscher.at. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  6. ^ "Der Hintertuxer Gletscher in allen 4 Jahreszeiten". Hintertux Reiseführer (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  7. ^ a b c "Der Hintertuxer Gletscher in allen 4 Jahreszeiten". Hintertux Reiseführer (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  8. ^ a b "Cookie-Information". www.hintertuxergletscher.at. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  9. ^ "Marmorschauhöhle". Spannagelhöhle (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  10. ^ "Schauhöhlen in Österreich: Spannagelhöhle". Schauhöhlen der Welt (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  11. ^ "Spannagelhöhle in Österreich, Tirol - alpen-guide.de". www.alpen-guide.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  12. ^ Brochure for the crevasse, accessed on 5 January 2011
  13. ^ "Zillertal: Mit einem Eisschwimmer in der Höhle des Hintertuxer Gletschers". kurier.at (in German). 2025-06-30. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  14. ^ "Natureispalast Erler GmbH". Natur Eis Palast (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  15. ^ "Video zu "Perfect" online: Ed Sheeran turtelt in Hintertux". oe3.ORF.at (in German). 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  16. ^ "Ed Sheeran's Music Video for „Perfect": The filming locations in Tyrol". www.tyrol.com. Retrieved 2026-02-09.

47°3′55″N 11°40′45″E / 47.06528°N 11.67917°E / 47.06528; 11.67917

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