Stubai Glacier

The Stubai glacier ski area at the head of the Stubaital is the largest in Austria, running from about 2,600 metres to 3,210 at the Schaufelspitze, and its proximity to Innsbruck - three quarters of an hour - makes it the city's high-altitude ground for a long season that typically runs from autumn into late spring. The Top of Tyrol platform at 3,210 metres is a steel walkway cantilevered off the ridge with a view over the Stubai and Ötztal Alps and into Italy. In summer the lifts run for walkers and the Stubai high trail circuits the valley on a multi-day hut route. Like every glacier in the eastern Alps this one is shrinking measurably, and the operators now use snow farming and covers over parts of it to slow summer melt.

What you actually see

• Austria's largest glacier ski area - from 2,600 up to 3,210 metres.
• The Top of Tyrol platform - a steel walkway cantilevered off the ridge.
• A long ski season - typically autumn into late spring.
• Visible glacier management - covers and snow farming used against summer melt.

When to go

October to May for skiing; June to September for walking. A day.

Honest expectations

Altitude affects people at 3,200 metres - go up slowly. Weather closes the top lifts often. The glacier is retreating and covered sections are visible, which some find dispiriting.

Nearby

Neustift and the Stubaital villages are below; Innsbruck is north.