Anticipation for winter increases five-fold: The 5 Tirolean Glaciers kick off the new season

Last updated on 29.09.2022

Snow has fallen on the glaciers over the last few days and eager anticipation for carving virgin lines down the slopes increases with every new picture published. The formula “higher is better” certainly applies here, especially at the start of the season. Which makes the 5 Tirolean glaciers the perfect place to be: where you can ski in the glacier ski resorts of Kaunertal, Pitztal, Sölden, Stubai and Hintertux at over 3,000 metres above sea-level and there is ample space for fun on the slopes. Not only that, there are glacier hotels that cater perfectly for skiers, flexible ski passes and fun of the highest standards in the snow parks.

Start of the glacier autumn on the 5 Tirolean glaciers

While Hintertux Glacier is always open, the ski season on the Stubai Glacier starts on 30.09.  You can take your turns on the perfectly groomed slopes of the Kaunertal and Pitztal Glaciers too from 1st October 2022. Ski operations in Sölden started on 23rd September.

By rail to the slopes: environmentally friendly travel by train

The largest part of the CO2 footprint on a winter holiday is still caused by the journey to the resort, which is why Tirol offers numerous sustainable travel options in winter. The 5 Tirolean glaciers are easily and directly accessible by train from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as well as from the Netherlands and Italy. International trains stop directly and regularly at the regional train stations in Landeck-Zams (for Kaunertal Glacier), Imst-Pitztal (for Pitztal Glacier), Ötztal Station (for Sölden), Innsbruck Central Hauptbahnhof (for Stubai Glacier) or Jenbach (for Hintertux Glacier). The station shuttle, which can be booked online, then comfortably transports holidaymakers, their luggage and ski equipment to the glacier ski resorts. www.bahnhofshuttle.tirol

Arriving by train from Germany
Guests travelling to the Stubai and Hintertux glaciers, for example, can easily take the Nightjet service to the snow and even have their ski pass included in the ticket price.
https://kombitickets.railtours.at/de/im-nightjet-zum-schnee

There are also numerous direct ICE Intercity and Nightjet connections in winter. You can travel to Tirol quickly, comfortably and directly with Deutschen Bahn from Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and 7 times daily from Munich to Tirol.  

Arriving by train from Austria:
With 16 daily direct ÖBB (Austrian Rail) connections from Vienna with stops in St. Pölten, Linz and Salzburg, Tirol enjoys superb rail connections. The journey time is just under 4 hours. There are 2 daily direct connections from Graz.
A new service is being offered by WESTbahn from 11th December 2022, with 3 daily direct connections from Vienna to Innsbruck.

Arriving by train from Switzerland:
ÖBB/SBB (Austrian / Swiss Rail) operates a total of 7 times daily from Zurich to Tirol

Further information on how to get to Tirol can be found on www.tyrol.com/arrival.

The best way to get around in the ski areas is to take the ski buses, which you can use free of charge with a valid ski pass – so there is no need for a car. For all those who prefer to travel by car and are ideally in possession of an e-car, there are numerous charging stations in the glacier regions.

Discover all the glaciers with the White 5 ticket or save money when booking online.

All five glaciers can be experienced with the “White5” ski pass, which is available this season from 1st October 2022 to 15th May 2023. It can be used for a total of 10 days during the entire validity period – for all facilities in the winter and glacier ski area of Sölden, as well as the Kaunertal, Pitztal, Stubai and Hintertux glaciers. The White5 is also extremely flexible: the 10 days can be redeemed on one or all 5 Tirolean glaciers, however you wish, on 10 consecutive days or individual ski days. This system can be compared to the popular “block of ten” tickets for the swimming pool. The White 5 is valid in the coming season from 1st October 2022 to 15th May 2023 at a price of 542 euros.

A good tip for all 5 Tirolean glaciers: book your ski pass in advance online. This saves you queuing at the ticket office and gets you on the slopes much faster.

Sölden, Pitztal and Kaunertal also offer a dynamic pricing system for online tickets. The motto is “the earlier the cheaper”. This means that the price increases daily until the intended ski day, shortly before which the online and ticket desk prices are the same, ensuring great savings for early bookers. Not only money, but also time that would otherwise have been spent buying tickets at the ticket office.  With the cancellation guarantee option for three euros per ski pass day when buying a multi-day pass, you are well covered for unexpected cancellations in Sölden, Pitztal and Kaunertal. Thanks to this cancellation guarantee, unused ski passes are refunded up to five days before their intended first day of use, without having to state a reason. By the way, the six-day ski pass in Sölden purchased online is much more than just an entry ticket to skiing fun: it even includes admission to the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum and the 007 ELEMENTS James Bond Experience, as a free extra during the validity period of the ski pass.

Glacier Hotels: ideal accommodation for ski fans

They are just as varied as the skiing experiences you can have on the slopes of the 5 Tirolean glaciers – the glacier hotels. They are called glacier hotels because they are perfectly adapted to the needs of skiers. Glacier packages are particularly favourable and include winter services (ski safe, boot depot in the ski cellar, etc.) as well as free charging stations for e-cars in some establishments, wellness facilities and rental offers (ski accessories, backpacks, sledges, children’s ski accessories, etc.). 

All participating enterprises can be found on www.gletscherhotels.at

Let’s go to the park: the 5 Tirolean glaciers open their snow parks

Betterpark Hintertux is probably the first snowpark in Europe to kick off the new season and celebrates its opening from 30.09. to 03.10. Snowpark Kaunertal, X Park on the Pitztal Glacier and Snowpark Stubai Zoo – all open their park season in October at the latest, depending on snow conditions.

Kaunertal Snowpark is the longest in Europe, with the longest jib line in the Alps, and has much to offer with bordercross, kicker, waverides, wallride and pro lines. There are various snowpark events at regular intervals on the Kaunertal Glacier: winter kicks off for the 37th time with the Kaunertal Opening.

X Park in Pitztal consists of the Fun Park with family cross, funline and waveline as well as the largest and highest ski touring park in Austria powered by DYNAFIT. It is located between the top and middle station of the Mittelbergbahn gondola lift and offers these three lines in varying levels of difficulty – starting with the waveline to kickers, boxes and rails. Betterpark Hintertux is the highest freestyle spot in Austria. Freestylers can look forward to perfect jumps, a constantly changing jib setup and a half pipe. Things get going here on the first weekend in October. Stubai Zoo Snow Park is one of the best snow parks in the Alps:  the entire terrain with pro, medium, jib and easy line is one of the biggest snow parks in the world and impresses with maximum variety and perfect shaping. Throughout autumn, Stubai Zoo Snow Park provides the international freeski and snowboard pro scene with a training base, as part of the Prime Park Sessions. A special highlight is offered to visitors in November, as the sixth edition of the F.I.S. Freeski World Cup Stubai will take place from 16th to 19th November, bringing together the world’s freeskiing elite.

For more information, please visit: www.tirolergletscher.com

Please visit www.welcome.tirol for the latest and most useful travel information to and around Tirol concerning Covid-19.