Pitztal Glacier

The Pitztaler Gletscher lies at the head of the Pitztal and is the highest glacier ski area in Tyrol, with lifts reaching about 3,440 metres at the Hinterer Brunnenkogel. Access from Mittelberg is unusual: rather than a surface cable car, a funicular runs through nearly four kilometres of tunnel inside the mountain to emerge at the glacier station, which was built that way because the terrain and avalanche exposure ruled out a surface line. At the top the Café 3440 is the highest café in Austria, with a viewing platform out over the Ötztal Alps and the Wildspitze, the second highest peak in the country, directly opposite. A proposed merger of this ski area with the Ötztal glacier next door was contested for years on environmental grounds and was withdrawn.

What you actually see

• An underground funicular - nearly four kilometres of tunnel to the glacier station.
• Tyrol's highest ski area - lifts to about 3,440 metres.
• Café 3440 and its platform - the highest café in Austria, facing the Wildspitze.
• The Ötztal Alps - the high peaks across the glacier basin.

When to go

September to May for skiing; summer for the platform. A day.

Honest expectations

At 3,440 metres altitude sickness is a real possibility - ascend gradually. Wind and cloud close the top lifts often. The glacier is retreating and parts are covered in summer.

Nearby

Sölden and the Ötztal glaciers are east; Imst is north.