Glungezer Ski Resort Austria
Glungezer is an Innsbruck ski resort that rises high above the village of Tulfes & is in the process of bringing its 1,350m vertical of north-aspect ski terrain into the modern world with the recent replacement of its most vintage lifts. Already with one of the longest valley trails in the region, one of the resort's big attraction for powder hounds is the huge potential of the freeride off-piste terrain from Glungezer's 2,677m summit. Only 300m vertical above the top ski lift, a modern alpine hut, Glungezerhütte (2,610m), is perched high in a saddle providing one of the highest winter lodgings in the Tyrol and potential descents up to 10km long!
Pros
- Long skiable vertical of over 1,300m.
- Modern access lifts.
- Uncrowded.
- Quality on-piste trails, particularly for intermediate skiers & snowboarders.
- Surprising amount of off-piste terrain including trees.
- Very good snow quality of the north-aspect, upper mountain slopes.
- Huge ski-touring & freeride potential from a night in the Glungezerhütte.
- Some superb local accommodation with all season-long availability.
- Affordable lift pass.
- Nice mountain restaurants.
- Good public transport access by train & bus, plus ample free car parking for day trippers right near the lift station.
Cons
- Despite extensive lift modernisation, the majority of upper mountain trails & off-piste terrain served by a slow double chair
- Limited advanced terrain on piste.
- Valley trail lacks snow-making and is more like an adventurous off-piste run at lower elevations than a marked and groomed piste (we did have fun doing it though!).
- Local villages lack restaurants & bars, particularly mid-week.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Local villages are very quiet after hours.
- No après ski bar at the bottom of the mountain!
- Overall limited terrain for only a few days of exploration in good snow. A stay is best combined with ski-touring up to the Glungezer summit, plus visits to other Innsbruck ski resorts by rental car to give maximum flexibility.
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
Just like nearby Patscherkofel, Glungezer has undergone a recent modernisation that changes the way one skis the resort. The journey to the highest lifted point at 2,304m (Schartenkogel) is infinitely quicker with the recent installation of two new lifts. The 23km of piste trials sounds smallish, and it is. However, the skin to the top of Glungezer peak is a must and adds a true powder-hound dimension to a visit, not to mention a potential skiable vertical descent of over 1,650m - outstanding!
Piste trails are mostly intermediate in pitch and north-aspect providing excellent quality. Low crowds during the week ensure groomers stay fresh all day. The off-piste options are more extensive than at first appears. From the top of the resort at Schartenkogel, traversing skiers right provides access to a mass of alpine & light tree terrain which ends back on the groomed piste #2 below Tulfein. Skiers left of piste #5 provides additional variants. Tree skiing would be possible all the way to the base in a cold deep season (rare these days!). Due to the strong winds during our visit, we did not venture up to the Glungezerhütte and will endeavour to do this on a return visit soon! However there looks to be nice 600m vertical freeride descents back into the Schartenkogel lift base from the hut. Full-on off-piste freeride descents are possible from Schartenkogel top station into the Voldertal (the next valley to the east), but local knowledge is required to ski tour back to the gondola base in Tulfes.
The full valley descent back down to the Tulfes lift base involves a variety of slopes & includes a fun, adventurous 'rural' section down low that crosses a road twice and lacks snow-making. It should be treated with caution in lean times! The descent is well over 8km in length & one of the longest in the region. Judging by the number we passed, it also appears popular with the uphill skinning crowd. We understand there are plans to upgrade the last few kilometres of the descent with snow-making in the near future.
Check out the ski trail map for Glungezer below.
The most recent ski lift changes to Glungezer include a new gondola from the base at Tulfes (930m) to mid-mountain at Halsmarter (1,560m), and a new combined gondola/chairlift from Halsmarter to Tulfein at 2,055m altitude. Other lifts include the Halsmarter surface tow which serves a superb, forest lined beginner run perfect for improving skills or just letting it rip in long carves. Thankfully the days of long, slow ascents are almost over for good at Glungezer; they just need to replace the old, slow (and important) Schartenkogel chair and the resort will be all squeaky new!
Interlinked Lift Ticket with Ski+City Pass
Glungezer already has a good value ski lift pass, however the resort is also part of Innsbruck’s Ski plus City Pass area which includes 13 ski resorts ranging from the small, like Nordkette, Oberperfuss & Patscherkofel, the in-between like Axamer Lizum, Bergeralm & Schlick 2000, up to the larger such as Stubai Glacier and Kuhtai (the highest resort base in Austria). A Ski + City pass is for a minimum 2 days and allows unlimited access to all 13 ski & sled resorts, plus a wide range of attractions in the city of Innsbruck. If planning on skiing multiple small resorts in a day the pass is good value. However, if just visiting one resort a day, the value of the pass diminishes greatly.
See here for the Ski+City Pass resorts map.
Where is Glungezer Austria?
The Glungezer ski resort is in the Tyrol, a 16½km (20min) drive from the centre of the world's greatest ski city, Innsbruck. The village of Tulfes is located at the base of the Glungezer gondola & a piste trail ends right on its outskirts. The major town of Hall im Tirol is 10km by road in the valley below Tulfes.
The nearest international airport for flight origins from within Europe & the UK is Innsbruck (INN), located a few minutes down the road. The excellent Munich (MUC) airport is the gateway for everyone else. Search & book here for all airport transfers.
Regular buses (route 4134) travel from Innsbruck to Tulfes via the village of Aldrans in 35min. Alternatively, one can catch a train to Hall-im-Tirol & change to the bus for Tulfes from there (that sector is free for skiers/boarders!). Private taxis, rental cars & shuttles provide another option.
For anyone with a rental car, there is an extensive tiered car park right at the lift base in Tulfes. Parking is free of charge.
See our Travel to Innsbruck page for detailed information on getting around the area.
Glungezer Accommodation
Local accommodation is either in the best ski city in the world, Innsbruck, or in the village of Tulfes, at the foot of the resort. The nearby village of Rinn also has some comfortable lodgings only a few minutes drive from the gondola base. On the mountain, 1 hour skin above the ski lifts, the Glungezerhütte has meals & overnight lodging in bedrooms & shared bunkrooms at 2,610m altitude.
Search & book here for all Glungezer ski accommodation.
To see the best accommodation options in the city, see our Innsbruck Accommodation Info page.
Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guiding
Ski rentals are available in Glungezer’s base at Tulfes via our local partners, just opposite the car park & gondola station. Receive a discount when you search & book via our Glungezer Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
Ski lessons & mountain guiding are available at Glungezer and the broader Innsbruck region. See our search & book via our Lessons & Guiding page for more info.
Review
The Powderhounds reviewed Glungezer in late January 2022 and had a lovely time on deserted slopes with fresh snow. Stay tuned for our sparkling repartee, new photos & insights.
See how the Innsbruck ski resorts of Glungezer, Patscherkofel, Nordkette, Kuhtai & Axamer Lizum compare to the rest of the European ski resorts on the Europe ski resort ratings page.
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