Tux, Austira is a 365 days a year vacation paradise located in the Austrian Alps. Little known outside of Europe, it is one of the newest and most diverse nature and sport resort areas in Europe. With year round glacier skiing at over 10,000 feet, and hundreds of miles of marked hiking trails, Tux appeals to almost any nature and sport lover.

Tux is a municipality consisting of five villages, Tux-Vorderlanersbach, Tux-Lanersbach, Juns, Madseit, and Hintertux, which stretches 5 miles through the Zillertal (Ziller Valley) and dead ends in the Hintertux Glacier. The villages of Tux start out at a height of 4,260 feet and peak at the top of the Hintertux Glacier at 10,660 feet.

Tux is best known for its skiing, and the belongs to the Ski and Glacier World 3000 which includes the Hintertux Glacier, Eggalm, Rastkogel, Finkenberg, and Mayrhofen. This conglomerate of ski areas has over 140 miles of trails, served by 62 lifts capable of moving around 107,000 people per hour! This is all available under a unified lift ticket which costs around $30 a day.

In Tux itself, the center of skiing is the village of Hintertux, situated at 4,920 feet above sea level directly at the bottom of the Hintertux Glacier. It is the home of the gondolas which take you to the top, and thus the base station for skiing and all other glacier activities. Hintertux, like the other Tux villages, is built in the traditional Tiroler style and has numerous hotels, some located just feet from the gondolas, ski-shops, and a few bars and a disco.

The Hintertux Glacier itself is 10,660 feet above sea level at the peak and has over 53 miles of trails and 21 lifts. In winter, you can ski down to 4,920 meters, giving you over a half hour of ski time if you ski at a moderate pace. In summer however, only the top third of the mountain is open to skiing, allowing you to ski down to 6,900 feet. In addition to the miles of groomed trails, Hintertux also allows and encourages off piste skiing. In winter, as in summer, there is a good amount of powder, often waist deep, and a literally endless supply of off piste opportunities. For those less experienced with the glacier, there are guides available who can accompany and guide you when skiing off piste to help you avoid crevices and dangerous areas.

The lifts bringing you to the peak of the Hintertux Glacier are a series of three high speed 6-16 person gondolas. They make the journey from 4,920 feet to 10,660 feet in about 25 minutes and are capable of moving 35,000 people per hour, thus almost completely eliminating wait times even during the most crowded times of the year. Once on the glacier itself, there are numerous chair lifts and t-lifts which are responsible for moving you from one section to another, or taking you back to the top.

In addition to skiing, Tux offers numerous other activities so that even a non skier won