The Glungezerbahn

One of the neat things about an extended stay in the Alps is the opportunity to ski some places that you might never consider going to on a vacation. 

One of my colleagues at the University of Innsbruck invited Andrea and I to join her on a quick trip this afternoon up the Glungezerbahn.  You'd never find a ski area like this in North America given the odd arrangement of lifts and the very limited number of pistes.  First, there is a new 10-person gondola that takes you from just above the village of Tulfes to about 1560 meters. 

Then there is a T-bar that goes up another 500 vertical meters (1600 vertical feet).  Yes, a T-bar.  It has a hell of a view.   

Then there is a double chair going to the top of the lift served terrain.  There are a few "pistes" serviced by the double char, but for all intents and purposes, the intermediate T-bar services a single run.

Andrea ran some laps, while Iva and I skinned from the Halsmarter to the Schartenkogel.  Note the "well worn" skin track to the left of the groomed piste in the image below.  Several others were out getting in their afternoon cardio. 

Today was the first in a while in which the valley was clear, offering a spectacular view of Innsbruck and the Nordkette.   

It's worth a panorama of the Nordkette (click to enlarge) as it drops spectacularly to the Inn Valley.  Double Mt. Superior and replicate it many times.   

I hope to make a return trip for a future workout and perhaps a climb of the peak above the lift-served terrain.