Ski Lift Towers Become Canvases: Art at Two Tyrolean Glaciers

As the ice retreats year after year, Tyrolean artist Hannah Philomena Scheiber has found a powerful way to capture the changing Alpine landscape. She has transformed support towers on the Wildspitzbahn in Pitztal and the Karlesjochbahn in Kaunertal into monumental works of art. Skiers can already see the installations at Pitztal Glacier. In Kaunertal, they will have to wait a little longer: the ski area has not yet opened for the season, although the cable car is already running for sightseers.

Scheiber turned the numerous support towers of the Wildspitzbahn at Pitztal Glacier and the Karlesjochbahn at Kaunertal Glacier into giant outdoor canvases. For months, she worked high above the ground, secured by ropes as she painted the steel and concrete structures. Wind, cold and sudden changes in the weather were all part of the job. S

tanding at the meeting point between the Alpine environment and modern infrastructure, the towers provide a fitting backdrop for work that explores the changing landscape and the retreat of the glaciers. More of Scheiber’s art is on display inside the Wildspitzbahn mountain station at 3,440 metres.

Born in 1991, she lives in the neighbouring Ötztal valley and has spent years exploring mountains, water and the fragile nature of glacial landscapes through her work.

Last weekend, Pitztal Glacier became the first ski area in Austria to open for autumn skiing. The slopes have been open since 26 September, and the Wildspitzbahn is also running, taking guests straight past one of the newly painted towers. The current schedule has the cable car operating from 7:10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., with skiing available until 1 p.m. for the time being.

This gives skiers a close-up look at both the painted towers and the exhibition inside the mountain station. Non-skiers can also ride the Wildspitzbahn and visit Café 3440.

For Beate Rubatscher-Larcher, managing director of the Pitztal Glacier lift company, the setting is a key part of the project’s appeal: “Art has the power to shift our perspective. On a glacier, the meeting point between nature and human design is especially tangible. The infrastructure itself becomes the canvas, offering a fresh view of the mountain, of change and of our responsibility for the future of the Alps.”

Offene Lifte und Pisten

At Kaunertal Glacier, the picture is different. The planned season opening has been postponed after a spell of persistently warm weather and temperatures well above freezing. No new opening date has been announced yet.

Sightseeing operations are continuing, however: the Kaunertal Glacier Road remains open daily, and the Karlesjochbahn runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., carrying sightseers up to 3,108 metres. Visitors can already see the artwork on the Karlesjochbahn’s support towers—the only thing still missing is the start of the ski season.

Wettervorhersage