Sledging is a winter sport typically carried out in a seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sledge. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skeleton and bobsledding.
The practical use of sleds is ancient and widespread. They were developed in areas with consistent winter snow cover, as vehicles to transport materials and people, far more efficiently than wheeled vehicles could in icy and snowy conditions.
The earliest evidence of tobogganing may be a story from the Cimbrian War (113-101 B.C.), fought between Rome and the Germanic and Celtic tribes of the Cimbri and the Teutons, Ambrones and Tigurini. In 103, the Cimbri caught the Romans by surprise after they successfully crossed the Alps into Northern Italy using their shields as sleds.
In former times sledges were used by people in Tirol to get down into the valley during the snowy winters, and farmers also used them to transport heavy items.
Sledging (tobogganing or rodeln) is one of my favorite winter activities and one of the most fun and action-packed things that you can do in winter.
Tobogganing is an inexpensive sport that is becoming increasingly popular and a real highlight for families, but also for young people, groups of friends and local tobogganing fans.
Tirol is a paradise for sledging. There are more than 750 kilometers of well-maintained toboggan runs in Tirol, some of them over 8 kilometers long and floodlight at night.
A toboggan ride is part of the perfect winter holiday. Everyone, children and grownups, can enjoy it. Sledging is great fun, especially for those who are looking for new experiences to complement a ski holiday.
Tobogganing is not difficult, and you can learn it quickly. Within two and a half hours, you already learn the most important things like braking and cornering.
The Glungezer ski resort is located above Hall in Tirol in the Tux Alps, just 12 kilometers away from Innsbruck.
The area receives its name from the Glungezer mountain (2,677 m) and is nestled in a Nature paradise with stunning panoramic views.
The new 3,7-kilometer toboggan run Tulfein - Halsmarter in Glungezer leads along a wide forest road with great 10 hairpin bends and a magnificent view over the Inn Valley and the Karwendel Mountains from the top station.
The toboggan run is known for its easy access.
The comfortable 10-seater Glungezer gondola takes you directly from the valley station to the Halsmarter middle station in just 6.5 minutes.
From there you can get to the start of the run on a gondola of the Tulfein Express, a combination lift with gondolas and comfortable six-seater chairs.
The starting point is at the top of the Tulfein-Express cable car. The toboggan run is very wide for the most part, becoming just a little narrower from the Heinrich Geisler footbridge onwards.
Top station (Tulfein): 2,054 m
Bottom station (Halsmarter): 1,560 m
Height difference: 494 m
Gradient: 10 - 17 %
Your ski pass allows you free use of the cable cars. You can also buy a single ride ticket for 12 euros.
You can rent your "rodel" (sledge) at the Alpengasthaus Halsmarter.
Prices Toboggan Rental
Sport-toboggan (single-seater) € 7
Family-toboggan (double-seater) € 8
Children toboggan € 5
The toboggan run is open on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 17:30 to 20:30. There is no track lighting so a headlamp is highly recommend.
When the full moon and a starry sky illuminate the snow-covered mountains you don't need artificial lights, and the memories will stay with you forever!
If you are always looking to try out something new, then you should have a go on a "Klumper". The term "Klumper" was invented in Tulfes and describes a type of sledge with just one ski-like runner and a wooden seat mounted across it on which riders have to maintain their balance.
Glungezer is one of the 13 ski resorts included in the SKI plus CITY Pass Stubai Innsbruck.
The SKI plus CITY Pass offers the full package in one ticket. It includes 13 ski areas (Glungezer, Stubai Glacier, Axamer Lizum, Schlick 2000, Kühtai, Hochötz, Muttereralm, Bergeralm, Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen, Serlesbahnen, Elferbahnen, Patscherkofel, and Oberperfuss - Rangger Köpfl), 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.
After a great day of ski or sledging in Glungezer we recommend you to visit Hall in Tirol. Hall is is one of Austria’s most beautiful towns with the largest Old Town in the state of Tirol. Every year, the best-preserved historic Old Town and the Burg Hasegg complex with its Mint Tower and accompanying Mint Museum enchant visitors from all over the world.
