Hintertux Ski Resort Skiing & Snowboarding
Hintertux Glacier ski resort is blessed with a crown of north facing glaciers that provide the basis for it’s 365 days a year operation.
The thing one notices on the way to the top of Hintertux Glacier is that resort’s vertical skiable terrain is sadly split in half near Sommerberg. Having said that, one can still ski a full 1300m vertical from top of Gefrorene Wand (3,250m) down to bottom of the Sommerberg chair at 1950m.
Whilst there is precious little in the way of infrastructure at the top of the resort at Gefrorene Wand, other than a cool (cold actually!) rooftop terrace and access to ice caves, the views are stupendous. From here one quickly understands one of Hintertux Glacier’s main strengths - an intermediate skier & snowboarder's on-piste paradise.
Hintertux Skiing Highlights
Whilst there are many highlights to skiing & snowboarding Hintertux, try to tick off the following when visiting.
- Start early on a clear day and catch the first Gletscherbus gondolas all the way up to the top of Hintertux at Gefrorene Wand. Suck the cold air into your lungs and blast a few super-fast runs on piste before the rest of humanity. Have a break at the Tuxer Fernerhaus for kaiserschmarrn & germknödel for a sweet energy refill.
- Spend some time doing all of the slopes above Sommerberg as they are good fun. The ‘Fun-slopes’ are mandatory, as is hitting all the ‘hand-slappers’ along the way and ducking through all the tunnels. If you think you are too old & mature for such an activity, stop at the gondola station, take your skis off and download to the valley. Your skiing days are officially over until you rediscover what fun is! Skiing is supposed to be fun after all.
- Ski down for lunch at the Spannagelhaus on piste #2, take in the lay of the land and after a fine feed of Austian fare, try something not marked on the trail map! If the snowpack is deep (3m +) and stable, traverse directly from the hut across the steep slopes and into the Kleiner Kunderbach valley. Ski the cruisy bottom half of the classic ‘Kleegrube’ freeride route. This sector avoids the more dangerous glacier sections above. Push hard left down the bottom to join up with piste #2 again just it makes a sharp left-hand turn.
- On a powder day (or good quality snow day at least), ski the many and funtastic ski routes in and around the Lärmstange 1 chair, taking in the beauty of the awesome vertical wall of Lärmstange peak.
- Practise your carving whilst lapping the super wide Kaserer pistes. Build up some leg strength riding the T-bars back up. It’s a great reminder of the good old days, because rest assured, in the ski world, the 'good old days' is a thing.
- If the off-piste snow is in good condition, complete at least one glacier terrain freeride route. The easiest are from below Olperer into the Schlegeis glacier. There are more challenging options for sure, but only do them if skilled & equipped or guided!
- Try to ski the full length of both valley trails (#1 &1a) without stopping, then hit the Hohenhaus Tenne for a well-deserved après ski beverage.
- Visit the other Zillertal ski resort locations, and amongst other things…. At Tux ski from the top of Eggalm and divert off the piste to ski down amongst the hay barns. At Mayrhofen ski the 1,300m vertical descent from Ahorn with the dawn (Ahorn cable car opens at 7.30am). Also at Mayrhofen, but on the other side, complete the steepest run in Austria, the infamous Harakiri slope, as fast as possible.
Ski Lifts
Hintertux Glacier’s lift system is starting to show its age, but still delivers skiers efficiently around the slopes. From the valley, Gletchscherbus 1, 2 and 3 are a series of efficient 24 person gondolas (tele cabins) going to very top of 3,250m at Gefrorene Wand. The gondolas are all separate and one must exit each top station to get into next one. A smaller and more economical 8-person gondola runs after the morning rush to Sommerberg.
In the Sommerberg sector, take the escalator up from the gondola station to the Tuxerjoch 4er chair and a short (70m vert) beginners T-bar. The excellent funslope is located here. The sector receives some early morning sun and is the best lift for progressing beginners and intermediates. Off-piste powder can be harvested to the far skiers' right of the Tuxerjoch chair, ending on the groomers along the T-bar. The cracking return trail to the valley from the top of Tuxerjoch is a thigh testing 960m vert (trail 1). It splits off near the bottom to go to other accommodation further down valley. The 6-seater chair rising up to Sommerberg from the Grosser Kunerbach valley doesn’t serve any piste terrain but is just a link lift to get skiers back up the 150m vertical to Sommerberg. This marks the sad Hintertux Glacier terrain split!
From Gefrorene Wand many of the lifts are T-bars servicing glacier terrain. An exception is, the old Schlegeis 3er chair fixed grip services 300m vertical (2,770 -3,070m) on the sunny side of Hintertux on the ever-shrinking Schlegeis Glacier. Simple intermediate piste with off-piste options left and right. There is an interesting off-piste descent from the Gletscherhütte under the chair.
Out wide, the Lärmstange chair serves the pick of the terrain for advanced skier and boarders. The new Larmstange 1 moves riders up diverse north-aspect powder fields & routes. Above is the Lärmstange 2 which provides access to some tasty, but shortish terrain and links ither side into the high alpine lifts (T-bars) on the glaciers.
Hintertux Glacier Trail Map
The Hintertux Glacier ski trail map provides an accurate & easy to follow summary of all the lifts & pistes at the resort. More detailed maps &/or local experience are required to explore the glaciated freeride margins of the resort and other freeride routes lower down (i.e. Black Pan 1 & 2).
Check out the ski trail map for Hintertux below.
Lift Passes
Hintertux Glacier is open all year round but has a defined 'winter' season from early October to early-May every year. Summer skiing has a reduced lift ticket price as the terrain is limited to around 20km of trails on the upper mountain glaciers.
During the main part of the 'winter' season, the ski area has an interlinked lift pass with all the ski resorts in the Ziller (and Tuxer) valley via the Zillertaler Super Ski Pass. Any local ski pass purchased of 2-days or more duration allows unfettered access to the nearby ski areas of Mayrhofen, Zillertal Arena and Hochzillertal. The Zillertal Super Ski Pass is valid for the valley’s massive 544km+ of ski trails & 180 ski lifts but is only for the period when all the other resorts are open from early December to late April.
Check out the Zillertal Super Ski Pass resorts map below.
On-Piste Terrain
Beginners
Hintertux Glacier’s singled biggest limiting factor is its lack of many accessible pistes for novice beginners. Whilst the trail map indicates many blue beginner trails, the reality is that only intermediates will be able to easily access all but the lower runs. Glacier based trails on the Olperer and Kaserer T-bars require some skill to access that lower beginners will not possess. The reality is beginners are largely restricted to the area between Sommerberg and the Tuxer Joch.
Intermediate
Hintertux piste terrain is predominantly for intermediates. Long wide glacier pistes serviced by a series of T-bars will strain the legs and stretch you every time they are used. Snowboarders and short persons may find some of the T-bars challenging.
The 600m vertical descent from the Fernerhaus on piste #2 is an absolute beauty for intermediates. Similarly, the Schwarze Pfanne valley trail is one of the region’s best.
Advanced
Advanced terrain at Hintertux is limited to a couple of short piste runs. The remainder of the advanced terrain is in the off-piste, marked routes and backcountry. A number of these are fabulous and sufficiently challenging. Several of the best routes are serviced by the new Lärmstange 1 chairlift. Ski routes can still be skied if the chair is not running, but the return trip will require uploading on at least 3 lifts in an awfully long loop.
Terrain Parks & Funslope
Below the looming Olperer summit, a large terrain park, named ‘Better Park’ is located entirely above 3000m. It has a range of progression features and big airs. The park is serviced by the Olperer 1 & 2 T-bars.
The Funslope was created on Hintertux Glacier for the first time way back in season 16/17, and what a revelation it was and still is! Located above Sommerberg under the Tuxerjoch quad chair, the Fun-slope has a series of tunnels, hand slaps (tap the big hand as you ski by for some sound and movement), loops, figure 8s, berms, jumps and tabletops. Is fun for everyone and a reasonable distraction if the snow is crap and there is nothing more fun to do!
Off-Piste & Backcountry
Aside from a few parts above Sommerberg, there is not alot at Hintertux that is obvious for freeriders. However, there are many options on the margins for the more adventurous, and with a little reconnaissance, particularly if the snowpack is deep all the way to the valley base, a whole lot of fun be had. As with any glacier area, caution & knowledge is required. We will leave it at that! From Tuxerjoch there are a few fun freeride descends that require only a little effort to access called Black Pan 1 & 2. Both join the Schwarze Pfanne valley trail as it reaches the treeline.
There are loads of straightforward off-piste opportunities on the mountain. A series of freeride routes run down the mountain from below the Tuxer Ferner at 2,600m. Of all the routes, #13 is the most interesting in full snow cover. In good conditions the valley route (#1a-Waldabfahrt) would be worth a look after one does a screaming descent on the excellent (previously mentioned) Schwarze Pfanne valley piste (#1). The forests adjacent to #1a can be skied when the snow level is deep down low.
If in doubt about your skills or navigation, get a mountain guide or ski instructor to help you.