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Kaunertal Glacier Lifts Close at 3.00pm Shocker! What the....??

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Mrs MA and I are on a week-long Tirol glaciers road trip (using our Tirol Snow Card season passes) and skied at Kaunertal Glacier today, for the first time in about 10 years.

To our surprise, the lifts all closed at 3.00pm. In May? This is despite the Kaunertal website showing opening times of 9.00 am to 4.00pm. A very poor show I have to say - it surely has to be the earliest ski area closure in the Alps?? We're staying in Sölden so drove 2 hours to get there after the weather forecast was wrong and the day dawned sunny. As a result, we didn't start skiing until 11.45am. We wouldn't have bothered had we known about the early closure.

The ski area is a lot smaller and flatter than we remembered - so we're just glad we had our season passes and didn't have to pay *€55 Shocked for a day ticket.

(*Including compulsory toll for the road up to glacier.)

Off to Sölden Glaciers tomorrow - for a full day until 4.00pm wink
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Probably to preserve snow that's been totally temperature fecked. That plus no doubt sod all punters.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I'm fairly sure lifts for summer glacier skiing at Saas-Fee or Zermatt shut by midday, so I doubt it's a record

I'd recently checked the lift status at Kaunertal Glacier, and looking back at it today (maybe they've just changed it), it says the open lifts will shut at 15:00. Looks like some lifts open at 07:00, which compensates a bit for the early closures, and is in line with what I remember in summer

Probably a bit late for the advice, but for late season I'd always take the approach of getting up the hill as early as possible to get as much skiing in as possible before it turns to mush (and I like soft slush more than most). If that means it's still boilerplate (which I like less than most) at the start, you can always have a coffee and wait a while. That said, I'm more of a lark than an owl, and getting up early when skiing is involved is not a problem
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Quote:

The ski area is a lot smaller and flatter than we remembered

Oddly, I find that with most ski areas
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
mountainaddict wrote:
...The ski area is a lot smaller and flatter than we remembered ...

I think most, perhaps all, glacier ski areas in Europe are smaller than they used to be, and some have closed entirely. Just be grateful that there is still some summer skiing - there might not be in another 20 years. Sad
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Unbelievable post from OP with all glaciers in Europe in serious decline ,they won´t be here at all in the not too distant future. Glacial resorts such as Zermatt and Engleberg cover large areas under huge plastic sheets to slow down the melt during the summer.
Why in May would you want to ski at 4pm in the afternoon,be thankful the glacier is open at all for skiing
Many Glaciers are suffering after a dry Winter all over the Alps which does not bode well for the summer melt hopefully its a cool summer without too many heatwave s
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Jill t wrote:
Unbelievable post from OP with all glaciers in Europe in serious decline ,they won´t be here at all in the not too distant future. Glacial resorts such as Zermatt and Engleberg cover large areas under huge plastic sheets to slow down the melt during the summer.
Why in May would you want to ski at 4pm in the afternoon,be thankful the glacier is open at all for skiing
Many Glaciers are suffering after a dry Winter all over the Alps which does not bode well for the summer melt hopefully its a cool summer without too many heatwave s


A bit harsh JT. Not unbelievable IMHO. Why wouldn't you want to ski at 4pm in May, especially on a glacier where conditions will remain decent at that time? Val Thorens is open until 8th May (with skiing down to 2000m - well below glacier levels) and the last lift closes at 5.15pm. A week ago we were skiing there until (you guessed it) the lifts closed. wink

We all know glaciers are receding - but, as the OP says, other places on his current glacier tour are open after 3pm.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Probably a bit harsh ,I was ranting about climate change and the fact that glaciers are retreating , the annual race from the Allalin Glacier in Saas Fee this winter had to be moved lower down of the glacier due to the lack of snow this winter
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Fair dos Jill t.

I was about to ask if you had actually skied after February, or whether you were in the 'Oo er, will there be snow in April Comedy Club'? Laughing

The fact that is 'unbelievable' is not my original post, but that there are those who don't know that skiing at 3000m at this time of year is not summer skiing but is more akin to normal winter skiing. The poor souls really are missing a treat.

It's actually the end of the winter season at the moment - nothing to do with summer. So much so that, after fresh snow overnight, conditions today at Sölden were perfect, groomed, silky-smooth, winter corduroy. A world away from summer skiing and an absolute joy to ski. We even had some fresh tracks where bits of runs hadn't been groomed. A shame that there were only a maximum of a few dozen people there to enjoy it - but we weren't complaining, blasting about on deserted runs.

I'm sadly only too aware of issues around receding glaciers. I've seen the glacier at Hintertux covered in protective sheeting in summer and autumn and have seen how far it's receded up past Tuxer Fernerhaus since my first visit there over 30 years ago. Not sure what that's got to to do with skiing at this time of year though, when the glaciers still have full winter cover. There's not a crevasse in sight - illustrated by the numerous ski tourers we saw ascending on the glaciers between Sölden and Pitztal glaciers.

And I do know what time to get to a glacier to go skiing in summer. Over the years, Mrs MA and I have skied every month of the year in The Alps. We've skied at Tignes glacier loads in July (and August too, when it was open then) and know all about 7am starts and finishing by late morning. But, as highlighted above, it's not currently summer skiing season. The lifts actually don't open until 09.00 at Sölden - we were on the first one today. And while the snow on sunny slopes may soften by close of play at the moment, there's been no sign in our three days so far of the mush that is sometimes skied by 9.30am in high summer. In fact we were still finding pockets of powder at 3pm today.

Kaunertal Glacier did indeed have notices up showing lift opening time from 7am - but, as mentioned, we are staying 2 hours away so got there as soon as we could after the unexpected clear weather yesterday. I'll give them that one and concede that we could have enjoyed an epic eight hour ski day, had we been a bit nearer. However, I do still stand by my OP that - given current conditions - Kaunertal (like other Tirol glaciers) could be open beyond 3pm.

Anyway, here are a few snaps below from today to illustrate why the lucky few enjoy skiing to 4pm and (beyond wink ) in May so much. Deserted slopes and great snow...What's not to like? Very Happy









Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Thu 5-05-22 18:07; edited 1 time in total
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I`m in the Alps all year round and can also remember skiing in Hintertux back in the early 80s ,big changes have taken place since then not for the better.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Quote:
I`m in the Alps all year round and can also remember skiing in Hintertux back in the early 80s ,big changes have taken place since then not for the better.
I agree wholeheartedly - but am just pointing out that great snow conditions (and good skiing) can last beyond what most people regard as the normal winter season.

We hike and mountain bike in The Alps in summer too. The old photos in mountain huts that illustrate the retreat of the glaciers really are very sobering Sad All the reason to make the most of them, while we still can... Confused
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Its been snowing above 2500 metres the last few days that will help the glaciers
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
If the perfect cord in the photos existed at 4pm then it was harder than a diamond until 3:30!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:
Its been snowing above 2500 metres the last few days that will help the glaciers
It has indeed. It's rained non-stop at valley level in Neustift in Stubaital since our early evening arrival yesterday.

A miserable ski day up on the glacier today - mainly awful visibility and wet snow falling at 2600m. We were rather damp by we skied down to get the gondola back down from that altitude... Confused

Hoping for better tomorrow.

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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@mountainaddict, Not intended to come across as a smart**** but I’d suggest when glacier skiing you need to get out earlier, if 2 hours travel be off for 6am, aim to be on first lift fully breakfasted and warmed up. Many years ago, early 90’s went summer glacier skiing at Tignes and it was great for about 2 hours then everyone gave up mid morning for sunbathing at Grande Motte station, -2C soon became 20C and skiing in slush overheating in the sun wasn’t a great deal of fun. Cheap it isn’t either, but good for a laugh for 2 hours I’d say, i prefer mountain biking in summer and a forest lake or river when its time for a dip later on, skiing can wait until winter.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
See my posts above Markymark29

To reiterate:

- It was more like winter skiing than summer skiing for our recent glaciers trip. No resemblance at all to summer skiing.
- Conditions-wise, skiing in early May was much more akin to skiing in March than skiing in July.
- It was pretty cold for the time of year and we had fresh snow above 2400m on our last 4 days' skiing.
- Sölden lifts didn't open until 09.00 - we were there for first lift.
- Stubai lifts opened at 08.00 - we were there for first lift too.
- The only reason we got to Kaunertal Glacier so late (as I've said previously) was that we made a late decision to drive there when we saw the weather in Sölden was clear at 07.45 alarm time. We just wanted to try somewhere different.
- It was winter snow all day there - so no need to have arrived two or more hours earlier, except we'd have had a longer ski day. In fact it snowed heavily at all levels of the skiing for the rest of the afternoon after we'd been there for a couple of hours.

Each to their own and all that but (as I've posted many a time on here) we absolutely love summer skiing - slush, mush and all after a 7.00am start Very Happy A Grande Motte summer ski ticket is €35 or so, which I wouldn't regard as particularly expensive these days.

Looking forward to getting back there for our first post-covid summer skiing. We may even go back to an Austrian glacier before that.

We love mountain biking and hiking too - but can do that on an afternoon, after we've skied. Best of both worlds I'd say! wink
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