Kaunertal

The Kaunertal is a narrow valley running north to south in the Ötztal Alps of Austrian Tirol. It branches east from the upper Inn Valley near Prutz and ends at the Gepatschferner, Austria’s second-largest glacier. The valley sides are formed by the Kaunergrat on the east and the Glockturmkamm on the west, while the upper section is dominated by the long Gepatschspeicher reservoir. A side valley, the Verpeiltal, leaves the main valley near Feichten heading east. The Fagge stream flows north from the reservoir, turns west, and finally joins the Inn at Prutz. The valley’s dramatic scenery and reliable snow cover have shaped its modern tourism. In 1873 the German Alpine Club built the Gepatschhaus, the first of its huts in Austria, which brought the first guided visitors. After the Second World War the road was improved, the Gletscherstraße opened in 1960, and the Weißseeferner glacier became a ski area in 1980. By 2013 annual arrivals had reached 63 705, four times the 1981 figure. The 1985 Snowboarder Kaunertal Opening made the valley a pioneer for that sport in the Alps. Visitors find wide green meadows on the sunny slopes and dense spruce forest on the shady side. The Kaunergrat walls rise steeply above the eastern skyline, while the gentler Glockturmkamm hides several high valleys still covered in forest. The Gletscherstraße climbs through high alpine terrain to the reservoir and the Gepatschhaus hut at 2 750 m. In winter the road serves the glacier ski area, and in summer it attracts motorcyclists and hikers heading to the reservoir and the surrounding peaks.