Where to Ski And Snowboard - New lift opens Ischgl freeride terrain

New lift opens Ischgl freeride terrain

20th December 2013, by Abi Butcher

The Piz Val Gronda cable car opens in Ischgl today

The Austrian ski resort of Ischgl opens its €18.5million (approximately £15.4m) Piz Val Gronda cable car on Sunday, which will give access to 100 hectares of freeride skiing.

The much-anticipated lift offers access to powderfields previously only accessed by ski tourers and those towed up by snow cat. There will be a pisted red from the top station for skiers who prefer to stay on groomed runs.

Each of the two PVG cabins holds 150 people and they have the capacity to carry 1,300 passengers per hour.

And the Tyrolean resort has unveiled even more good news for next season — the replacement of the existing four-seater Pardatschgratbahn gondolas with a luxury 28-seater tri-cable gondola system. The project will cost a massive massive €40m (approx. £33.4m) and will be the world’s highest height difference tri-cable gondola with a 1,251m height difference from the base station in the village up to the Pardatschgrat peak at 2,624m.

The new lift will have 31 cabins, transporting skiers and snowboarders from the village to the top station in just over nine minutes. Overall lift capacity is 2,800 people per hour.

The Piz Val Gronda (PVG) lift will open on 22 December – an early Christmas present for freeride fans to access powderfields previously accessed only by the most dedicated skiers and boarders who were towed up by snowcat.

A pisted red run from the top station will allow skiers and boarders who prefer to stay on the slopes to also enjoy the stunning views of the Fimbatal valley and peaks including the Fluchthorn, Wildspitze and Hohe Riffler.

Each of the two PVG cabins holds 150 people and they have the capacity to carry 1,300 passengers per hour.

Ischgl is renowned for its big name Top Of The Mountain concerts at the beginning and end of every season, plus at Easter. Next May, Robbie Williams will close the 2013/2014 season.