Excavator work on Pitztal glacier draws criticism

Images of an excavator working on the tongue of the Mittelbergferner glacier at the Pitztal ski area have drawn criticism on social media. The Pitztal Glacier cable car company says the work is needed to secure an emergency route, while the state says no separate nature-conservation permit is required, ORF reported.

A webcam at the Braunschweiger Hut, a mountain hut, has shown the excavator digging and levelling the glacier tongue since Monday. The images have been shared thousands of times.

Critics posted dozens of comments on the cable car company’s social media channels, accusing it of damaging the glacier to keep skiing possible. By Wednesday morning, the company had not responded on its social media accounts.

Environmental groups have also raised concerns. The Alpine Club enlisted its lawyers and environmental experts, and complaints were submitted to the state environmental ombudsman and the Imst district authority.

In response to an inquiry from ORF, the cable car company described the work as maintenance to secure an emergency route within the ski area. It said the measure was essential to keeping operations running as the glacier retreats. The state said the work was intended to reconnect the route from the glacier ice to ice-free terrain.

The Imst district authority reviewed the work after receiving reports. The state said no separate nature-conservation permit was required for the intervention. Glacier ski areas must submit a three-year forecast of planned maintenance and repair work for approval, it said, adding that this process also applies at the Pitztal Glacier.

The company said it was carrying out only necessary adjustments and additions in the transition zone between the glacier and rocky terrain, citing low winter snowfall and high summer temperatures over the past three years. It did not provide ORF with a map showing the emergency route, but said the work was being carried out in direct coordination with the relevant authority.

State environmental ombudsman Johannes Kostenzer said the work could be repairs to the emergency route, adding that it was painful to see but that the ski area generally followed the requirements. The ombudsman’s office said it welcomed the public reports, particularly because the work was in a glacier area considered especially worthy of protection.

Glaciologist Andrea Fischer has described 2026 as a year of particularly heavy melt, following a winter with about 30 percent less precipitation than usual. Once the glaciers became snow-free, melting accelerated; on hot days, up to 10 centimetres of ice surface was lost. The ski area has also planned a new cable car near Linker Fernerkogel, intended to enable descents over the previously undeveloped Karlesferner and Mittelbergferner.