Austria’s ski season is taking off thanks to the opening of the lifts at 3 more high-altitude ski resorts: Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltaler—three ski centers less famous than Sölden and Stubai, yet equally worthwhile thanks to an elevation that ensures good snow cover from October through June.
Pitztal
Thanks to its maximum elevation of 3,440 m, Pitztal is the highest glacier in the Austrian Tyrol; the ski season started ahead of schedule and the lifts opened their doors on Saturday, September 20.
Skiing is available on 5 km of ski slopes from 8:15 am until 1:00 pm.
Kaunertal
Temporarily closed – due to bad weather conditions Kaunertal is another glacier in the Austrian Tyrol to have started its season on Saturday, September 20; together with Pitztal it forms the area known as the “Glacier Park”, though at a slightly lower altitude. Even so, this year the glacier is reopening almost a month earlier than last year, offering skiers the Weisseefernerlift I, Weisseefernerlift II, and Falgin lifts with 4 km of open slopes and operating hours from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Mölltaler
Tyrol is not the only Austrian region to have kicked off the 2014/2015 ski season: joining the Tyrolean glaciers is the Mölltaler Gletscher, a Carinthian glacier located at 3,120 meters of altitude.
Despite its lower elevation compared to its Tyrolean “cousins”, it offers good snow conditions thanks to its terrain, exposure to cold air currents, and a modern snowmaking system installed directly along the glacier slopes.
The ski season began on Friday, September 19 with the opening of 3 ski lifts and 3 ski slopes open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Mölltaler Glacier, September 21, 2014
The start of the season on the Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltaler glaciers joins the earlier openings of Hintertux (open year-round), Sölden (open since September 9), and Stubai (September 13).
The ski season has not started only in Austria; across the Alpine arc several glaciers are open in both Switzerland and Italy. For more information, you can read the article where to go skiing in September/October
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