The Ötztal Glacier Road, (), at 2,830 m (9,285 ft), is the second highest paved road in Europe. It is the access road from

Sölden Sölden () is a municipality in the Ötztal valley of Tyrol, Austria. Geography At c. , it is the largest municipality in the country. The population of 3,449 (as of 2003) is outnumbered by tourists, of which 15,000 can be accommodated. Wit ...

to the Rettenbach glacier and Tiefenbachferner glacier in the

Ötztal Alps The Ötztal Alps (, ) are a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps, in the Tyrol (state), State of Tyrol in western Austria and the South Tyrol, Province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography The Ötztal Alps are arrayed at the head of ...

. It was built in 1972 as a spur from the existing Hochsölden road. The road climbs the Rettenbach valley from Sölden in the

Ötztal The Ötztal () is an alpine valley located in Tyrol, Austria. The Ötztaler Ache river flows through the valley in a northern direction. The Ötztal separates the Stubai Alps in the east from the Ötztal Alps in the west. The valley is long. The ...

valley in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. Near the top of the valley, the foot of the Rettenbach glacier, the road turns south and continues climbing through a ski tunnel—the second highest road tunnel in Europe—where the highest point of the road is at the southern end of the tunnel. From there it descends to the ski station at the foot of the Tiefenbachferner glacier.

References

Valleys of Tyrol (federal state) Roads in Austria {{Tyrol-geo-stub

See also

References