
Mölltaler Glacier
Carinthia's only glacier ski resort spans 2,108–3,122m with 36km of pistes, open October to May in the Hohe Tauern National Park.
Mölltaler Glacier is Carinthia's only glacier ski area and the highest ski resort in the province, spanning 2,108m to 3,122m across 36km of groomed pistes and 6.7km of marked ski routes in the Hohe Tauern mountain range. The terrain sits entirely above the treeline, with views across more than 30 three-thousand-metre peaks including the Großglockner — Austria's highest mountain. The resort's Carinthian location on the southern side of the Alps delivers an above-average number of sunshine hours per season, combined with snow reliability that attracts the Austrian and German national ski teams as official training users.
The 7km Eissee FIS run — the highest-elevation FIS descent in Carinthia — drops from the gondola's upper station through challenging terrain back toward the valley, while the Schareck summit at 3,122m provides wide glacier pistes and a snowpark with wave tracks, kickers and a boardercross course. The lift pass also covers the Ankogel ski area, extending the combined skiable terrain for those prepared to travel between the two mountains.
Mölltaler Glacier is a small, high ski area with a big vertical: 16 runs and 36 kilometres of piste fall 1,014 metres from the 3,122-metre Schareck summit to the base at 2,108 metres. The terrain is more demanding than its size suggests, with 56% intermediate, 26% advanced and 18% beginner pistes, and everything sits above the treeline. The Gletscher Express brings skiers to the upper zone around the Eissee, from where wide, high-altitude pistes spread out towards Schareck and suit carving at speed.
The 7-kilometre Eissee FIS run is the highest descent of its kind in Carinthia and gives strong skiers a long, challenging piste back towards the valley. For freeriders, two freeride zones sit below the summit, and the best lift-accessed off-piste terrain is directly beneath Schareck. A snowpark with wave tracks, kickers and a boardercross course adds variety. With only eight lifts and few runs, it works best as a short stay for confident skiers or as a day trip paired with the Ankogel area.
Mölltaler Glacier runs from mid-October through to the end of May, with the 2025–26 season open from 10 October 2025 to 31 May 2026. Annual snowfall averages 5.5 metres across the ski area, and the glacier's position above 2,100m ensures consistent coverage well into spring. The resort's south-facing Carinthian aspect delivers above-average sunshine hours relative to the Austrian average, making it particularly appealing for spring skiing in April and May when crowds thin considerably.
The extended season draws national race teams from Austria and Germany throughout autumn and winter, taking advantage of the perfectly groomed slopes and the Carinthia's highest FIS piste. The Glacier Snowpark typically opens from March, with spring conditions sustaining the kickers and boardercross course through to the season close.
Daily snow reports at Mölltaler Glacier go back to 2017, 10 winters on the books. Open the record to compare winters, lifts and piste.
Mölltaler Glacier is accessed from the village of Flattach in the Mölltal valley in Upper Carinthia, with the Mölltal Glacier Express funicular departing from the Innerfragant valley station. The resort sits within the Hohe Tauern National Park — Austria's largest national park — surrounded by the Sonnblick massif and within sight of the Großglockner. The nearest regional town is Obervellach, approximately 10km to the east along the Mölltal valley.
Salzburg Airport is the most practical international gateway, roughly 100km to the north via the A10 Tauern Autobahn. Spittal an der Drau, accessible by rail, is the closest major train station, with onward connections to Flattach by bus. For those holding the SkiHit regional pass, Mölltaler Glacier connects into a network spanning 168km of piste across seven ski areas in the East Tyrol region, with the Ankogel also included on the standard glacier lift pass.
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A Tyrolean summit lift that has been carrying guests up the Kitzbüheler Horn since 1955 is on borrowed time. Its licence runs to 2045, but a new inspection rule has made refurbishment uneconomic, so Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel will spend around €15 million on a replacement on the same line. It should hold roughly 100 people and keep running in winds that would stop today’s lift. Building starts in autumn 2027, which makes this winter and next summer the last chances to ride the old one.

Niseko Village is replacing a lift from the early 1980s with an eight-person gondola, Tsugaike gets a six-person chairlift, Madarao joins the Ikon Pass and Togari opens Asia’s first private ski resort. Here’s what is actually new in Japan skiing for 2026/27, plus what is still a year or two away.

Colorado’s early-season dominoes keep falling. Arapahoe Basin opened on Wednesday, Keystone follows on Friday, and now Wolf Creek is joining in on Saturday 31 October, just in time for Halloween. A storm on 23 and 24 October left 20 inches of natural snow in the San Juans, and three lifts will turn from 9:00 am, covering about 30% of the mountain. Expect rocks, unmarked obstacles and open water, but also Local Appreciation lift tickets at $73 for adults.

Keystone is next. After Arapahoe Basin claimed the first chairlift skiing of the season on Wednesday, Keystone opens on Friday 30 October at 9:00 am with more than two miles of snowmaking-built terrain on Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon, plus free donuts, coffee and a live DJ. Last year the order was reversed, when Keystone squeezed in a three-hour afternoon session to beat A-Basin by a day. Snowmaking has been running since 15 October.

Beaver Creek is getting ready for the biggest Birds of Prey ever, and this time it is not leaving the snow to chance. Crews started making snow on 27 October with 16 newly installed automated guns on the lower third of the course, after last December’s warm spell forced a downhill off the schedule. Seven races across two weekends run from 3 to 13 December, the most the course has hosted since its 1997 debut, and the guns start themselves whenever the weather allows.

Winter has officially started in North America, and it is one blue run long. On Wednesday 28 October, Arapahoe Basin fired up the Black Mountain Express at around 10:30 am after a surprise announcement just hours earlier, becoming the first major North American resort open for 2026/27. Cold nights, a dusting of natural snow and a lot of snowmaking made it happen in the resort’s 80th winter. More terrain is promised as the snow guns keep running.

Sulden am Ortler has called off its 31 October opening. The South Tyrol ski area has pushed its 2026/27 start back to Saturday 7 November, citing current weather and snow conditions and saying it will use the extra week to get the slopes in the best possible shape. The season is still scheduled to run through 2 May 2027. Elsewhere in Europe, around a dozen areas are already open, led by Sölden’s 30 kilometres of groomed runs.

Two days at Sölden, two races decided by a hundredth somewhere on the podium, and one very quick Brazilian. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen led from the first run to win the men’s World Cup opener by 0.48 seconds, with Loïc Meillard second and Marco Odermatt third. River Radamus charged from 15th to fourth on a rutted course, and Britain’s Freddy Carrick-Smith banked his first World Cup points. Braathen still hasn’t lost a giant slalom since Olympic gold.
5 live angles across the mountain. Tap any camera to go full-screen.
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