Kitzsteinhorn: A skiing region

Kitzsteinhorn: popular with day skiers from Germany

The Kitzsteinhorn glacier, in the Austrian Alps, is a popular resort for skiers from around the world.

Rising to 3,203m (10,560 feet), the mountain peak provides all year round skiing and one of the widest selections of high altitude pistes in Austria.

Many people go to the Alpine resort, which is 100km (60 miles) south of Salzburg, for the day from neighbouring Germany - it is a three-hour drive from Munich.

The slopes are not considered difficult for the more experienced skiers, but many go there for an early start to the season and to enjoy the spectacular views.

The funicular rises to over 3,000m

Access to the area is restricted by the fact that only one main road takes visitors into the town of Kaprun.

Once there, visitors can take a cable train - which runs on tracks and is pulled by a cable - up the slopes from the Kaprun valley station to the Kitzsteinhorn peak.

The railway has been in service since 1974 and is thought to be the first mountain underground funicular train in the world.

The system was modernised six years ago and can transport about 1,500 people per hour up to the Alpincenter on the glacier.

From the top, there are spectacular views of the Grossglockner, Austria's highest peak.