Black Ibex: Austria's new steepest run at Kaunertal glacier

Are you up to the challenge? The Kaunertal glacier in Tyrol just opened what is now the steepest groomed run in Austria. The Black Ibex has a gradient of 41.3 degrees which equals a slope of 87.85 percent. This is even steeper than the legendary Mausefalle at the Streif in Kitzbühel, which boasts a slope of 85 percent. Check out the new run for yourself in our gallery.

You'll have to be a very steady and experienced skier to race down the Black Ibex. The 41-degree gradient on the first 500 meters (1,640 feet) makes it impossible to slow down enough to stop. The remaining 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) are a lot less steep, though, and easier to handle.

You can reach the run's starting point with the recently built Falginjochbahn. The lift was opened in fall 2019 and transports visitors up to 3,113 meters. More than €10 million were spent on the construction of the new 100-person lift.

There are three runs leading into the valley from Falginjoch, one of them being the Black Ibex. It is marked as 1b in the trail map above.

>> Current lift ticket prices for the Kaunertal glacier

Since the run needs a lot of natural snow, it couldn't be opened until February 22, 2020. Prior to its grooming, the run was a deep snow slope for freeriders. They will have to move to the areas left and right of the Black Ibex now.

Schneehöhen

It is no coincidence the new run was named Black Ibex. Ibexes love cliffs and are experts at climbing and jumping around steep slopes. The Kaunertal is also home to Austria's largest ibex colony.

Grooming the slope is no piece of cake for the workers at the resort. In order to groom the run despite the extreme slope of over 41 degrees, the snowcats are attached to a winch.

In total, the ski resort at the Kaunertal glacier offers 23 kilometers of groomed runs and six lifts. Thanks to its high altitude the season there is especially long, with slopes open from September until June. Unlike the other Tyrolean glacier resorts like Sölden or Hintertux, the Kaunertal is usually not very crowded. If you get there early enough in the morning, you might even have the slopes to yourself.

Offene Lifte und Pisten

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