Kitzsteinhorn

The Kitzsteinhorn, which towers high above the hamlet, is Kaprun’s local mountain, and it offers guests a wide choice of activities, from hiking to mountain riding.

It is part of the Hohe Tauern Mountains, a mountain range with numerous 3,000-meter peaks. The Kitzsteinhorn is the only mountain in the Salzburger Land that rises beyond 3,000 meters and is home to the region’s sole glacier ski resort. Hikers will find a vast network of walking paths, while mountain bikers may tackle some difficult downhill terrain. And for those who have not had enough of the white stuff in the winter, there is enough of it here from October until early summer.

The mountain is located in the Salzburg municipality of Kaprun, north of the Alpine crest. Johann Entacher, a local climber, was the first to scale it in 1828.

Today, the Glacier Aerial Tramway from the valley station at 911 m (2,989 ft) has the tallest cable car pylon in the world, measuring 113.6 m (373 ft) tall with a diameter of 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in). On the top of the higher station, 3,029 m (9,938 ft) above sea level, there is a café and a panoramic deck.

Skiing on Mt Kitzsteinhorn began in the early twentieth century, when the German and Austrian Alpine Club built the Krefelder Hütte in 1907-09. The first cable car opened up the Schmiedingerkees and Maurerkees glaciers in December 1965, making it the first glacier ski slope in the Austrian Alps. Nonetheless, the resort has had to contend with environmental consequences including glacier retreat since 1850.

An underground funicular train debuted in 1974, following two and a half years of construction work to establish the 3,295-metre (10,810 ft) long tunnel, which would operate in parallel with the cable car for increased capacity. This funicular was the site of the Kaprun accident, which killed 155 people on November 11, 2000.Gletscherjet I (Glacier Jet I), a 24-person funitel, was introduced to replace the funicular on December 23, 2001.Gletscherjet II, a gondola lift, debuted the next year on October 19, 2002.