Hintertuxer Gletscher
… 🧊 Glacier area 🛹 Snow park 8/10, our rating
Open today according to the lift company: 21 km, 9 lifts (as of 18 October). Current status at the lift company →
Photo: Unbekannt · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Year-round operation abandoned, autumn season from 2 October
Skiing on the Hintertux glacier ended on 26 July 2026 and was not resumed. Austria no longer has a year-round ski area. Zillertaler Gletscherbahnen cite demand in high summer rather than snow as the main reason. Update of 29 September 2026: the autumn season begins on 2 October. The lift company says it will announce which lifts and pistes are open at the season start.
As of 26 July 2026. Always check the current situation with the resort.Hintertuxer Gletscher lies in the Tirol region and is a manageable ski area: 60 kilometres of piste served by 21 lifts.
The area runs from 1500 to 3250 metres above sea level, giving around 1,750 metres of vertical. That takes the terrain above the 3,000-metre mark, which markedly improves snow reliability on the upper slopes.
The ski terrain reaches up to a glacier, and the season runs autumn to early summer. There is no summer skiing here any more, but the state of the glacier remains a live issue.
Freestylers get a well-developed snow park, an adult day pass costs EUR 68.
Of note: Austria’s only 365-day ski area until 2022. The figures refer to the glacier, not the wider Zillertal 3000 network.
Piste map, map & webcams
Interactive piste map
Every piste and lift colour-coded by difficulty, zoomable, built on OpenStreetMap. Community-maintained data; where it differs, the official piste map next to it is authoritative.
Open on OpenSkiMap →Official piste map
The lift company’s drawn piste map, plus lift status and tickets.
hintertuxergletscher.at →Webcams
Live images from the mountain on the resort’s official site, usually several locations.
View webcams →Piste maps and webcam images belong to the lift companies and are protected by copyright. That is why we link directly to the original instead of copying it.
What sets this ski area apart
The Hintertux glacier at the head of the Zillertal was for decades the only ski area in the Alps operating 365 days a year. The glacier lies high and faces north, and it was precisely that combination which sustained year-round skiing for so long.
That has now come to an end as well. What exactly changed, and why, we set out in a separate article.
The area remains one of the highest and most snow-reliable in the Eastern Alps, and for Swiss visitors it is the nearest glacier with a long season. It appears in our list as one of the few areas outside Switzerland, because for the question of where you can ski in summer and autumn it cannot be left out.
Frequently asked about Hintertuxer Gletscher
How high is Hintertuxer Gletscher?
The ski area runs from 1,500 to 3,250 metres above sea level, a vertical range of 1,750 metres. For snow reliability the lower figure matters more: that is where the snow disappears first, and where a mild December is felt before it is felt at the top.
How many kilometres of piste does Hintertuxer Gletscher have?
60 kilometres on 21 lifts, according to the operator. There is no binding standard for measuring piste kilometres, so the figure is comparable between resorts only to a point. The lift count says at least as much about how big a place feels.
What does a day pass at Hintertuxer Gletscher cost?
EUR 68 for an adult day pass at the standard rate, as of summer 2026. Booked early it is often less; on a peak Saturday it is not.
When does Hintertuxer Gletscher open?
The usual season window is autumn to early summer. For winter 2026/27 the resort has announced 2 October 2026 as its starting date (Gletscher). Every announced date depends on enough snow and cold.
Does Hintertuxer Gletscher have a glacier?
Yes. Glacier terrain makes the early season more reliable, because the snow layer is supported from below by ice. The summers since 2022 have shown that this is no longer a guarantee either: several Alpine glacier areas have given up summer skiing altogether.
Is there a snowpark at Hintertuxer Gletscher?
Yes, and a good one: we rate it 8 out of 10. That rating is our own assessment, based on the size and number of features, how regularly the park is shaped, and whether it runs all season. It does not come from the lift company.
Hintertuxer Gletscher in the magazine
The big opening weekend: Titlis, Diavolezza, Cervinia and the World Cup in Sölden, and on Wednesday it snows everywhere
On 24 October Diavolezza, Cervinia and Adelboden start and the World Cup season begins in Sölden. The Titlis (29 October) and Mölltal (provisionally 1 November) open later. Who opens when, what is already running and what the weather brought.
Where to ski this weekend: eleven resorts compared, and Zermatt gets 30 centimetres
Zermatt is skiing again, Kaunertal opens, Sölden moves to the Tiefenbach glacier. Every open resort in the Alps with open piste kilometres, lifts and price per kilometre, plus the weather: on Sunday it snows heavily in the south.
Dry first, then it turns: the weather up to the Titlis opening and the World Cup in Sölden
The next two weeks in 51 weather runs: dry and cold until Friday, ideal for the snow guns. From 17 October it turns unsettled, and in one run in four the south gets half a metre or more.
A cold snap for the season start: Sölden, Stubai and the Kitzsteinhorn open this weekend
On Thursday it snows on the glaciers, in all 51 model runs. On Friday Sölden and Stubai start, on Saturday the Kitzsteinhorn. How much snow falls where, who is already running and who is still waiting.
Where this resort stands
Nearby ski areas
Distances are straight-line, not driving time. In the Alps a ridge between two valleys can turn 12 km into a two-hour drive.
Key figures
- Region
- Tyrol
- Season
- autumn to early summer
- Kilometres of piste
- 60 km
- Elevation
- 1500 to 3250 m (1,750 m of vertical)
- Lifts
- 21
- Adult day pass
- around EUR 68 (guide value)
- Summer skiing
- no
- Glacier
- yes
- Snow park
- 8/10, our editorial rating
- Coordinates
- 47.066, 11.664
- Official website
- hintertuxergletscher.at
All values are guide figures still being verified. For day-to-day information, use the resort’s official website.