Patscherkofel.
Innsbruck Locals Home Mountain
Known to Innsbruck residents as a "local's mountain" (Hausberg) and a three-time Olympic venue, Patscherkofel is Innsbruck's Ski Paradise in the south: easy to recognise from its rounded shape and the prominent radio mast on its peak. Innsbruck locals appreciate the resort's proximity to the city, which is just 6,5 km away. Is easy to reach with the Free Ski Bus and the city bus line J.
Patscherkofel hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976 as well as the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012. In 2020 Patscherkofel also hosted the Winter World Masters Games, the world's biggest winter sports festival for 30+-year-olds
The ski resort was the venue for the men's Downhill race in the Winter Olympic Games, along with the bobsleigh and luge competitions in neighboring Igls.
In Innsbruck 1976, ski legend Franz Klammer of Austria, then age 22, won his Olympic gold medal at Patscherkofel in the Downhill, dramatically edging out defending Olympic champion Bernhard Russi of Switzerland by 0.33 seconds. The 3.020 km course had a vertical drop of 870 m and started at 1,950 m.
Egon Zimmermann, also of Austria, took the gold medal a dozen years earlier in the 1964 Olympic downhill. His winning time was 2:18.16, more than a half minute behind Klammer's.
The ski area has 18 km with 100% of the si area covered by snow-making facilities. One ropeway allows you to ski the whole mountain. Two additional T-bar Lifts (one of them at 1,900 meters for the users of the Snowpark) and two moving carpets in the beginners area complete the lift web.
The Patscherkofel was connected to Igls since 1928, by the old Patscherkofelbahn, which was finally replaced by the new one in 2017.
The 10-MGD Patscherkofelbahn I+II lift is a product of the last ropeway generation from Doppelmayr: the D-Line. This puts the Patscherkofel at the cutting edge of technology.
The new lift departs from a new location at the bottom of the Heiligwasser slope. With the construction of the Patscherkofelbahn, a new building with a sport shop, offices for two ski schools and the ski club, and the restaurant "Das Hausberg" was built at the valley station. The restaurant "Das Kofel" also opened at the mountain station with a panoramic terrace with fantastic views of the Inn Valley and the Stubaital.
Skiers, hikers, local residents and tourists alike can all enjoy comfortable access now to the mountain peak thanks to the new Patscherkofel lift and its barrier-free design in their 10-seater cabins. In the winter, the two-section lift carry passengers directly to a wide range of ski slopes and, in the summer, to the hiking paths. This establishes Patscherkofel Mountain even more as a year-round recreation area for the Tyrolean capital.
From the bottom station (1,010 m.), you can reach the central station (1,716 m) or the upper station (1,965 m) quickly, easily in 9 minutes.
Every Tuesday, and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. there is night skiing on the Patscherkofel. The illuminated slopes No. 8 and 9 are located directly at the valley station and can be reached with the Heiligwasser lift (T-bar).
Every Thursday in the evening between 6pm and 10pm the ropeway is open. You can enjoy dinner in the "Das Kofel" restaurant in the mountain station of the Patscherkofelbahn and experience the panorama on the terrace over the entire Inn Valley and Stubai Valley - or enjoy the sunset in "Das Hausberg".
There are three signposted ski touring routes available to ski tourers and snowshoe hikers, and with the ski touring night on Thursdays that runs until 10:00 pm something that can hardly be found elsewhere.
Patscherkofel is one of the 13 ski resorts included in the new SKI plus CITY Pass Stubai Innsbruck.
The new SKI plus CITY Pass offers the full package in one ticket. It includes 13 ski areas (Stubai Glacier, Axamer Lizum, Schlick 2000, Kühtai,
Hochötz, Muttereralm, Bergeralm, Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen, Serlesbahnen, Elferbahnen, Patscherkofel, Oberperfuss - Rangger Köpfl, and Glungezer), 22 city experiences, 3 indoor pools, the use of the entire ski bus network as well as the Innsbruck Sightseer hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
