Note the revision period
Spring is coming again, the birds are happily chirping, the sun is showing up considerably more often and the days are getting longer. Everything indicates that winter is just about over. For mountain lovers, it is also starting to itch again. We feel like going into the mountains, breathing the wonderful mountain air and enjoying the fresh Alpine meadows.
Then again, for those who do not want to conquer every mountain by hiking, there are the cable cars that can take us to the top of the mountain. The assumption then is that all cable cars neatly make their rounds again, but is that true?
Spring stop
Unfortunately, you cannot simply make the assumption that all cable cars will be open immediately in spring. After the winter season, most cableways do not run for a period of a month or a month and a half. This is the period when the Alpine regions can catch their breath after a long and strenuous season in the service of thousands of skiers. In order to provide the best possible service to guests again in the summer, hotels are refurbished during this period, fences in the Alpine meadows are put back in place and cableways are also checked. And once the cable cars have been checked and extensively tested, it remains to be seen whether the restaurants and hotels at the top of the mountains will be open. It makes little sense, commercially, to run the gondolas if the restaurants and accommodation facilities are still closed. As a result, there are few to no visitors; tourism is flat for now.
Tips and tricks
Before you decide to head for the mountains in spring, which has just begun, it is wise to check whether anything is open at all at your destination. There will always be a guesthouse where you can stay, but is there more to do than that?
To be on the safe side, check the websites of the local tourist office and cable cars in the location and check whether hotels and restaurants are open during this period. There is nothing more annoying than arriving somewhere, looking forward to a delicious kaiserschmarrn overlooking the mountains and valleys, and then finding out that you cannot go up the mountain at all. Or rather, that you can't eat anywhere because the summer season hasn't opened yet.
Opening hours summer season Tyrol
Looking at the general opening hours of cableways in Tyrol, Austria, the summer season often starts around the end of May, beginning of June. Of course, there are exceptions, where, in addition to the summer and winter season, cableways also run in what is known as an intermediate season. During this period, the cable cars don't run as in winter and summer but at adjusted times.
Winter season: usually until the end of March
Summer season: approximately from the end of May to the end of October
Conclusion
Be careful if you decide to go to the Alps during April/May. Many restaurants and hotels especially in the smaller towns, are closed during this period so that they can prepare for the upcoming summer season. Many cable cars are also closed during this period.
In the larger areas and towns, however, restaurants are usually open as usual during this period. The larger and more famous cable cars are also open all year round. Here too, please check whether they are really open in the period you want to use them, because all cableways, including the very big ones, have to close at some point due to overhaul work.
For those who enjoy the mountains in spring: the weather can be very treacherous, sunshine one day and snow the next. Despite that, enjoy it and you are right.
