Sölden & Ötztal

Sölden in the rear Ötztal is one of Austria's best-known glacier ski resorts, with pistes up to over 3,000 m. The futuristic Gaislachkogl summit station houses the 007 Elements experience for the James Bond film Spectre, which was filmed here. In summer the Ötztal Glacier Road, Austria's highest panoramic road, leads up.

Highlights

• Glacier ski area up to over 3,000 m
• 007 Elements on the Gaislachkogl
• Ötztal Glacier Road in summer
• Three summits over 3,000 m with cable cars

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

Deep into the Ötztal Alps cuts the valley of the same name, at the end of which lies Sölden, one of the highest and most snow-sure winter sports resorts in Tyrol. Two mighty glaciers stretch above the village, and several three-thousand-metre peaks frame the ski area, making Sölden one of the few year-round snow destinations in the Alps. Those who follow the valley further reach neighbouring South Tyrol over the bold Timmelsjoch pass, an ancient connection across the main ridge.

The true fame of the Ötztal, however, lies in the ice. In 1991 hikers discovered the mummified body of a man at the Tisenjoch near the Similaun, a man who had died up here around 5,300 years ago in the Neolithic period. “Ötzi”, the man from the ice, is regarded as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in Europe and gave the valley its byname. Across the rugged Timmelsjoch pass an old smugglers’ and packhorse route has always led over to South Tyrol, a crossing that long linked Sölden with the Mediterranean world beyond the main ridge. In the most remote corner, in the mountaineering village of Vent, begin the classic routes onto the glaciated giants all around, from where the pioneers of alpinism set out as early as the 19th century. Thus the Ötztal is a world in which the eternal ice connects past and present in a striking way.