Mölltal Glacier plans platform and piste works
Wednesday 2nd September 2026 on 13:45 in
Austria
Operators of Carinthia’s only glacier ski area, the Mölltal Glacier, plan to build an observation platform and level pistes on Schareck using blasting, ORF reported. They also want to widen an access route from the Gletscherjet to a piste.
The glacier has not hosted summer skiing for years, but the operators still want to invest in winter operations. Managing director Petr Nikl said the business now depends on the mountain’s elevation and temperatures rather than on the glacier ice itself, requiring investment in artificial snow.
The operators hope to open the winter season at the beginning of October despite this summer’s high temperatures. Meteorologists consider that uncertain, as at least 30 centimetres of snow and a cold front would be needed while the glacier continues to melt rapidly.
The planned observation platform on Schareck would serve summer tourism and provide an attraction in winter. Nikl said the approval procedures were already under way and that construction could begin next year.
The operators have also submitted an application to level the Schareck pistes with blasting, creating a better surface for piste preparation. A separate application concerns widening the route from the Gletscherjet to the piste. The authorities were reportedly already reviewing that application, although ORF Kärnten said it could not independently verify this.
Environmental groups strongly criticise construction work in glacier areas. They say interventions such as blasting can significantly affect untouched natural areas and landscapes. The Mölltaler Gletscherbahnen declined to provide further information. The next steps will depend on decisions by the responsible authorities.
The development of the Wurtenkees glacier for summer skiing caused controversy as early as 1983, when it was already considered one of the fastest-melting glaciers. Summer operations were suspended for the first time only 15 years later. This August, no ski area in the Alps was open for the first time in decades.