Hintertux Glacier
Encyclopedia
The Hintertux Glacier 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 Austria
n state of Tyrol. Both glaciers are accessed by gondola and chair lifts and, when there is sufficient snow, are used as a glacier skiing region all year round. At its highest point the ski region reaches a height of 3250 m (10,662.7 ft) in the saddle between the peaks of the Gefrorene-Wand-Spitzen
.
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.
In addition to the winter sports facilities the Hintertux Glacier offers an all-round view of the Alps from just under . 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 km long and the largest cave system in the Austrian Central Alps. The cave entrance is immediately next to the Spannagelhaus.
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 down into the ice using a combination of steps and ladders.
s 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 Gletscherbus 3 is the highest cable car system using two cables in the world.
The glacier buses are cable cars of the Funitel
type. 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. In all there are 18 lifts to transport winter sports tourist and other visitors from the Hintertux valley station (Talstation Hintertux, 1500 m) up to the glacier.
Tuxertal
The Tuxertal lies in Tyrol, Austria and is a side valley of the Zillertal, from which it branches at Mayrhofen. It is about 13 km long and accessible on the Tux Road . From Mayrhofen to Hintertux in the municipality of Tux, the village that gives the valley its name, there is a height...
, a side valley
Side valley
The terms side valley and tributary valley refer to valleys whose brook or river is confluent to a greater one.Upstream, the valleys can be classified in an increasing order which is equivalent to the usual orographic order: the tributaries are ordered from those nearest to the source of the river...
of the Zillertal
Zillertal
The Zillertal is the biggest valley branching off the Inn valley in Tyrol, Austria drained by the river Ziller. It is surrounded by the strongly glaciated Zillertal Alps to the south and east, the lower grass peaks of the Kitzbühel Alps to the east and Tux Alps to the west...
in the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n state of Tyrol. Both glaciers are accessed by gondola and chair lifts and, when there is sufficient snow, are used as a glacier skiing region all year round. At its highest point the ski region reaches a height of 3250 m (10,662.7 ft) in the saddle between the peaks of the Gefrorene-Wand-Spitzen
Gefrorene-Wand-Spitzen
The Gefrorene-Wand-Spitzen are two summits on the Tux Crest , a mountain chain in the Zillertal Alps, one of the ranges of the central Eastern Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The north summit is recorded as 3,286 metres high in the literature, but is 3,288 metres high according to the Federal...
.
Ice
The ice of the Hintertux Glacier is up to 120 metres (393.7 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 (131.2 ft). As a result the liftsSki lift
The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...
have to be moved several times a year so that the masts remain vertical. The glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
contains up to about 190 million cubic metres of ice.
Tourism
The Hintertux Glacier offers skiing all year round. Its height means that there are usually good snow conditions, enabling almost all pistes and lifts to be kept open. The glacier skiing region has its own ski school for both beginners and advanced skiers.In addition to the winter sports facilities the Hintertux Glacier offers an all-round view of the Alps from just under . The region is also suitable for mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
- 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
Spannagel Cave
The Spannagel Cave is a show cave near Hintertux, in the Zillertal Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Currently about 10 kilometres of cave have been discovered; guided tours enable access to 500 metres of the cave. Its entrance lies below the Spannagelhaus , a mountain hut run by the Austrian...
, which is over 10 km long and the largest cave system in the Austrian Central Alps. The cave entrance is immediately next to the Spannagelhaus.
A crevasse
Crevasse
A crevasse is a deep crack in an ice sheet rhys glacier . Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the sheer stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rates of movement...
- 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 down into the ice using a combination of steps and ladders.
Lift and cable cars
To transport the large number of tourists on the Hintertux Glacier, three large gondola liftGondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
s 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 Gletscherbus 3 is the highest cable car system using two cables in the world.
The glacier buses are cable cars of the Funitel
Funitel
A funitel is a type of aerial lift, generally used to transport skiers. The name funitel is a portmanteau between the French words funiculaire and telepherique. Funitels have not only been used as a means to transport skiers; there is one used to transport finished cars between different areas of...
type. 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. In all there are 18 lifts to transport winter sports tourist and other visitors from the Hintertux valley station (Talstation Hintertux, 1500 m) up to the glacier.