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Writer's pictureRaúl Revuelta

Ski Resorts. A Guide to the Best Instagram Hotspots (I): Sölden

Are you a Ski Fan looking for the best Instagram hotspots? In Ski Paradise you will find the best ski resorts and a guide to the most Instagrammable places to share with your friends and followers.


Ice Q Gourmet Restaurant Terrace and Gaislachkogl Platform. Picture: Ski Paradise

One of the great attractions of Sölden is the possibility of accessing, and ski down, three mountains higher than 3000 meters: Gaislachkogl (3058 m), Tiefenbachkogl (3250 m) and Schwarze Schneide (3340 m).


A safari ski called "BIG3" will allow us to ski across all ski area in one day and enjoy an overview of the entire ski domain. The "BIG3 Rally" is perfectly signposted and starts at the base station of the Giggijoch mountain gondola. An experience, reserved for good skiers, that in a day of skiing allows us to descend 10,000 meters of accumulated altitude and 50 kilometers of slopes, while we enjoy stunning panoramic views.


The special "BIG3" experience on skis is a truly memorable adventure comprising 3 eye-catching viewing platforms towering high above the sea of summits in the Ötztal Alps.


Gaislachkogl Platform (3.048 m.)


Ice Q Gourmet Restaurant and Gaislachkogl Platform. Picture: Bergbahnen Sölden. Christoph Nösig

To reach the platform you must take the Gaislachkogl (I) Mountain Gondola at the base of the ski resort (1363 m.). It takes just 6.7 minutes to reach the middle station at 2174 m and glide with the eight-seater gondola into the semicircular, transparent building, change to the 3S cable car, whose gondolas have space for 28 people 5.5 minutes to reach the mountain station at 3040 m. The ride on the tricable gondola is particularly impressive. 3S stands for the 3-rope technology , in which two suspension ropes and one traction rope are used. The tricable gondola rests on three huge supports spaced up to 1200 m apart.



Next to the top station of Gaislachkogl mountain gondola you'll find the light glass-steel construction of the panorama restaurant at Gaislachkogl. Take off your skis and walk across the suspension bridge from the top of Gaislachkogl to the panoramic roof terrace where breathtaking 360-degree views await you.


Sölden 007 ELEMENTS. Picture: Bergbahnen Sölden.

Since 2018 Sölden has a new attraction, the 007 ELEMENTS, a brand-new James Bond Installation that takes you on a journey to the cinematic universe of the planet's most famous secret agent.​

The installation focuses on the latest production of the Bond factory, Spectre, which was shot in Sölden but also showcases the other titles in the 24-film series.

​It is located within a beautiful building designed and built by the Tyrolese architect Johann Obermoser on the top of the Gaislachkog mountain, at more than 3,000 meters above sea level.

​007 ELEMENTS guides visitors on a journey through a series of high-tech, interactive galleries, each distilling the craft of the signature elements that define a James Bond film — the beautiful title sequences and dramatic scores; the jaw-dropping action sequences; the cars, gadgets, and technology; the breath-taking locations and iconic studio sets and lastly, a host of compelling characters.



Schwarze Schneid Natural Platform (3340 m.)


Sölden. Rettenbach Glacier, Schwarze Schneid Gondola. Picture: Ski Paradise.

From the base station located at an elevation of 2,674 meters above sea level on the Rettenbach Glacier take the Schwarze Schneid gondola (I + II) and in around 6 minutes you’ll top out at the highest elevation you can reach by gondola in Ötztal Valley (3247 m.).

About 90 vertical meters (15/20 min. walking time) above the mountain station of the lift you'll find a pyramid and place of strength, perching at an altitude of 3340 m in the middle of a circular platform made of larch wood - framed by the sky and snow. Those who conquer the steep ascent will be rewarded with picturesque vistas of countless three thousand meter high peaks. The 360° view also comprises the Dolomites in the south and Zugspitze in the north - some 100 km away.

The longest downhill ski run leads from the BIG3 platform of Schwarze Schneide (3340 m) to the base station of Gaislachkogl mountain gondola (1370 m). With a vertical drop of 1970 meters and an approximate length of 15 km is the longest ski run in Austria.

Schwarze Schneid Natural Platform. Picture: Ötztal Tourismus Philipp Horak

Tiefenbach Platform (3.250 m.)


Sölden. BIG3, Tiefenbach Platform. Picture: Ski Paradise

Take the Tiefenbachbahn Gondola and you’ll top out on Tiefenbach Glacier at an elevation of 3,200 meters. At the top, stunning views of Tirol’s highest mountain, Wildspitze Peak, await you. These are some of the country’s best views, and this is the best way to see them.

If you are coming from the Rettenbach Glacier, you can easily change from one glacier ski area to the next either on skis through the 200 m long ski tunnel or via connecting glacier lifts.

A 15 m high pyramid at the top station of Tiefenbach mountain gondola marks the adventure's core. The glass-covered footbridge, suspended by steel ropes, towers high above the valley, protruding some 20 meters above the glacier's abyss and ending in the airy nothingness. Only nearby Wildspitze, Tirol's highest peak, competes with the dizzying 60-meter deep view of rocks and ski slopes.

The glacier ski area of Tiefenbach Glacier stretches between altitudes of 2795 and 3249 meters.


Sölden. BIG3, Tiefenbach Platform. Picture: Bergbahnen Sölden. Christoph Nösig


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