Did you know that ...

... at the Hintertux Glacier

the season in Hintertux is the longest of all of Austria?
39,400 persons per hour can be transported?
there is a piste area of 270 ha at your disposal?
lifts run in parallel so that skiing operations can be also maintained during periods of maintenance?
Gletscherbus 3 is the highest-lying bicable continuous gondola lift in the world?
visitors from around 57 nations ski and snowboard here?
about 170 employees are deployed for you during the winter?
there are 14 piste preparation machines in operation daily in order to perfectly prepare up to 64 km of pistes?
the artificial snow on the Hintertux glacier is prepared from air and water and nothing else?
that glacial ice moves between 0 and 40m every year and consequently support struts that stand on glacial ice have to be moved regularly?

... in Austria

skiing is 3 x safer than playing football?
cable cars are the most safe form of public transport? The probability of a holiday visitor suffering an accident on a cable car or ski lift is 0.00006 %.
a golfer pays up to € 75.00 for the use of an 18-hole course, whereas as a one-day ski pass on the Hintertux glacier only amounts to € 52.00 and guarantees a perfect winter sports experience?

Technical achievements

10er Gefrorene Wand

The 30 year old “Gefrorene Wand 3a” double chair lift with two glacier support towers on the Hintertux Glacier has been replaced by the world’s first 10 EUB Gefrorene Wand lifts with heated seating from the Doppelmayr Company.

Conveyance capacity: 2,800 persons / hour
Speed: 6.0 m / sec
Travel time: 4.94 min
Length: 1,257 m
Number of cabins: 46
Power: 2 motors 400 KW/1080 HP
Investment: € 10 million.

Gletscherbus 1

As of November 2008 the Gletscherbus 1 is in operation at the Hintertux Glacier. 3281 persons per hour are transported by the glacierbus 1 to the snow-sure pistes of the Hintertux Glacier. In only 5.25 minutes one glides from Hintertux (1,500 m above sea level) to the Sommerbergalm (2,100 m) from where Austria’s most attractive and impressive all year round ski region can be discovered.

Conveyor capacity: 3,281 persons/hour
Speed: 6 m/sec
Travel time: 5.25 min
Length: 1,413 m
Number of cabins: 24
Overall cable weight: 55,000 kg
Cable length: 5,650 m
Power: 4 motors 1,380 KW / 1,880 HP
One fully laden cabin max. 4,220 kg
Longest distance between support masts: 593 m
Highest ground clearance: 76 m

Gletscherbus 2

The first bi-cable cablecar in the eastern Alps
The Gletscherbus 2 has been transporting our guests from the Sommerbergalm to the Tuxer Fernerhaus since 1996. The travel time is only six minutes, and you can enjoy a splendid panoramic view underway, fully protected from the wind and weather. Zillertaler Gletcherbahn developed this Funitel, the first in the eastern Alps, in 1995 in collaboration with Doppelmayr. Since then, the Gletscherbus 2 has more than proved its worth!

Lower terminal: 2,100 m
Upper terminal: 2,660 m
Capacity: 3,200 persons/hour

Gletscherbus 3

With the Gletscherbus 3, which is surely the most spectacular cablecar in the Alps as well as the highest bi-cable cable car in the world, you can now travel from the Tuxer Fernerhaus directly to the Frozen Wall in just five minutes. The extreme geographic situation of the Gletscherbus 3, with its lower terminal at 2,660 m and its upper terminal at 3,250 m, formed a special challenge to the engineers, builders and fitters. This lift, which is our showpiece, has been in operation since 31 December 2000. Major revision works took place for this reason during May and June 2012. Both lift drives were removed and sent back to the manufacturers and all 4 motors were completely overhauled. The clamping cylinder was removed and replaced and the disc bearings at the base station of the lifts have been renewed.

Lower terminal: 2,660 m
Upper terminal: 3,250 m
Capacity: 3,000 persons/hour

150er Tux

Ever since the 23rd December 2001, the “150-er Tux” cable car has connected the Rastkogel/Tux ski area with the slopes at Penken/Mayrhofen, thereby creating the largest inter-linked ski area in the Zillertal Valley: „Ski & Glacier world Zillertal 3000“. 2 cabins with a maximum capacity of 150 persons each and a top speed of 12 m/s whisk skiers in only 5 minutes to a whole new dimension of winter fun.

Lower terminal: 1,706 m
Upper terminal: 2,415 m
Capacity: 1,750 persons/hour

Tecnical Snow - Conditions

What conditions are needed to create artificial snow?

Essential factors: Wet-bulb temperature, temperature, humidity
Additional factors: Air pressure, water pressure, water temperature, drop height

„To define, the wet-bulb temperature is the temperature a parcel of air would have when water is evaporated into it at a constant pressure level until saturation. The enthalpy of evaporation process thereby deprives it of air." Simplified: More water can evaporate at lower humidity. The energy required is extracted from the ambient air and leads to cooling – thus enabling artificial snow to be created at lower humidity levels and at warmer temperatures.

Winter Snow Making:

Snow making facilities are used on the downhill run from the Tuxer Fernerhaus to Sommerberg, the entire Sommerberg ski area and the “Schwarze Pfanne” downhill run to the valley. 246 lances (York Co.) | 246 snow towers | ca. 640 valves in the towers on the slopes regulate the snowmaking | max. production quantity by a York Rubis lance at water pressure of 50 bar: 13,300 litres of water per hour yield ca. 33 m³ of snow per hour.

Glacier Snow Making:

Snow making facilities are used from the top station of the glacierbus 3 lifts down to the Tuxer Fernerhaus. 26 FM | snow making towers (with 2 lances each) | 7 FM lances | 2 Sufag fan guns | max. production quantity by a FM tower at water pressure of 60 bar: 34,200 litres of water per hour yield ca. 85 m³ of snow per hour.

Depending on the conditions and type of snow making machinery, between 40 and 120 canons can be in operation simultaneously. The system can be automatically adjusted when there is only the slightest change in weather conditions (e.g. wind) and switched to alternative snow canons.

Slope markers and rescue service

Piste Markings

Our pistes in Hintertux are located in high alpine territory and mostly on glacier terrain. For this reason it is imperative that you observe all barriers, restricted areas and warning signs. The glacier pistes are secured using wooden poles with rope stretched between them. Never leave the marked piste area. Outside the secure ski area dangers associated with high alpine terrain prevail – no liability will be accepted by the lift company!

Piste and Rescue Service

Piste and rescue services only monitor and control the marked and open pistes. Accidents are to be reported to any one of the cable car offices in the ski area! The final inspection run by the piste control service takes place at16.00 hrs. Please, therefore, take note of the lift closing times displayed at the cable car stations. We are equipped with the RECCO avalanche beacon search devices!

Alpin 5 – Emergency Helicopter

To enable an even faster and reliable accident recovery service, the Alpin 5 emergency helicopter is stationed only 2 km away from Hintertux.

Pumping Stations

4 main pumping stations

PST Isse (supplies the PST Tuxerferner and winter resort snow making facilities)
PST Tuxerjoch (supplies the PST Tuxerferner and winter resort snow making facilities)
PST Tuxer Fernerhaus (supplies the glacier snow making facilities)
PST Keesboden (supplies the glacier snow making facilities + helps Sommerberg snow making facilities)

1 fill pumping station (Kunerbach)

To refill the reservoirs from Kunerbach.
The majority of water needed is created during the spring thaw and is stored in the 2 reservoirs without necessitating the use of pumping mechanisms. The melt water is taken from an area close to the Tuxer Fernerhaus. Likewise, the ponds are filled surplus supplies of natural spring water. The Tuxer Fernerhaus Restaurant drinking water supply is controlled using the snow making facilities, but flows through its’ own designated pipe system.

Pumping Station Power Output

PST Isse: 75 l/s
PST Tuxerjoch: 180 l/s
PST Tuxer Fernerhaus: 180 l/s
PST Isse: 180 l/s
Total pump capacity: 625 l/s - which is about 2,250,000 liters per hour

Power Supply

PST Isse: the PST is powered via a 25 kV power line (25,000 volts)
PST Tuxer Joch: the PST is powered via a 25 kV power line (25,000 volts)
PST Tuxer Fernerhaus: the PST is powered via a 25 kV power line (25,000 volts)
PST Isse: the PST is powered via a 25 kV power line (25,000 volts)
The maximum power consumption at full operation is approximately 7mW (7000 kW)

Reservoirs

Hintertux Glacier Snow Making Systems

Tuxerjoch Reservoir:

Storage capacity 70.000 m³
(70 million litres of water)

Keesboden Reservoir:

Storage capacity 78.000 m³
(78 million litres of water)

Isse Reservoir:

Storage capacity 22.000 m³
(22 million litres of water)

Summer Revision Work by the Snowmaking Teams

begins mid June and takes around 3 months
the entire system is checked for leaks and proper functioning
defective components are either repaired or replaced (valves, pumps, regulators...)
ongoing modernisation and modifications are made to the system to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption
water tanks are cleaned (drinking water quality must be guaranteed)
snowmaking reservoirs are made secure and fenced off
piste areas are cleared and cultivated
lances are set up around mid September, put into operation and the system is tested

Electric vehicle charging station at Hintertux Glacier

Spend an unforgettable day on the slopes of the Hintertux Glacier while your car charges from a renewable source of energy? 8 charging points are available next to the new parking garage "Aue" in Hintertux.

The fascination of ice

The world of ice at the Hintertux glacier is a true miracle of nature, that enchants every visitor to this unique visual backdrop. Most people know that you can even ski and snowboard on the Hintertux glacier during the summer. Many people are probably aware of the fact that snow turns into ice after a certain period. But there are few who actually know what it looks like inside the ice giant.

Glaciers in Austria

In Austria there are around 840 virtually untouched glaciers. At present skiing is possible on only 8 glaciers in Austria, 5 of which are situated in Tyrol. Of these, the Hintertux Glacier is the glacier ski region with the longest skiing season.

Glaciers have a past

The snow of yesterday turns into ice and moves within the glacier from the surface area down into the core below. It is there that we find the oldest ice – up to 1,000 years old on the Hintertux glacier. The duration of an ice particle‘s journey from the Firn region to terminus of an alpine glacier depends on the size of the glacier and can range from anything between 100 to 1,000 years! The ice at the Hintertux Glacier is between 500 and 1,000 years old.

A deep glacier

The Hintertux glacier is up to 120 m deep in places. The Gefrorene Wand Kees and Großes Riepenkees area covers around 6.3 km². From Gefrorene Wand (3250 m) up to the Tuxer Fernerhaus (2660 m), the glacier is 4.1 km in length. The Hintertux glacier consists of about 190 million cubic metres of ice – in turn corresponds 171 billion litres of water.

Crevasses

Glaciers move at varying speeds depending on the underlying terrain; for example over rocky ridges or around corners. These accelerations in glacier speed cause tension and can initiate a crevasse at or near the glacier‘s surface. The average depth of a crevasse in alpine glaciers is usually about 30 metres.

The Life of a Glacier

The existence and survival of glaciers depends long term on a fine balance of sustenance. In the accumulation area more snow remains lying on the ground than actually melts. After about 10 years the compacted crystals of Firn snow turn into watertight ice. The former snow now has a density of approx. 900 kg/m3 and can be termed as glacial ice. In comparison, water has a density of 1,000 kg/m3. Surprisingly, air temperature in summer is not a decisive factor regarding glacial melt – up to two thirds is caused by natural radiation! Rocks ranging in a size of approx. 15 cm and upwards actually protect the glacier from solar rays. Smaller stones are heated up by the sun and sink into the top layer of ice forming cylindrical melt holes, known as cryoconite holes. For this reason it is very important that it snows often in summer on the Hintertux Glacier, so the glacier surface is white and damaging sun rays are reflected.

Glaciers are in a state of movement

According to the size of the glacier and climate conditions, alpine glaciers shift between 1 m and 200 m annually. Glaciers in Greenland and the Antarctic can move thousands of metres per year!
Shifts of up to 60 metres per year have been measured at the Hintertux Glacier. 61 supporting struts of our facilities stand on glacial ice. Because of the movement of the glaciers, the locations of these facilities move and have therefore have to be constantly repositioned, sometimes up to three times in a year.

Interesting facts about Hintertux Glacier

Insights into the world at 3,250 m