Top of Tyrol

Top of Tyrol is an open-air viewing deck on the north-eastern sub-peak of the Großer Isidor in the Stubai Alps. It sits at roughly 3 196 metres above sea level, high above the Stubai Glacier ski area in Tirol. The deck is reached almost directly from the mountain station of the Schaufeljoch cable car at 3 170 metres. A short flight of steps leads straight up to the platform from the exit of the lift. The structure was designed by LAAC Architects in Innsbruck and finished in September 2009 after two years of planning and building. The entire steel frame was flown in by helicopter and juts up to nine metres beyond the rock face. GEO magazine once listed Top of Tyrol among ten architecturally remarkable viewing platforms anywhere in the world. On clear days the deck offers a view of more than a hundred three-thousand-metre peaks. The panorama stretches across the Italian Dolomites, the Ötztal Alps and the surrounding Stubai Alps. In winter the platform is opened when snow and wind conditions allow, while in spring and summer it is a popular stop for hikers and sightseers.