Germany’s Highest Peak Now Has a Vertigo-inducing Cable Car With Panoramic Views

For decades, hundreds of thousands of visitors have traveled to Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak and pinnacle of the Bavarian Alps, for winter sports.

And each year, those intrepid adventurers wait patiently to make a slow ascent up nearly 10,000 feet to the top of the mountain. But not this year.

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This December, the new Zugspitze Cable Car will take its inaugural trip, whisking hundreds of visitors up the mountainside at a time.

Because the Germans take their craftsmanship and their winter sports very seriously, this high-tech aerial tram breaks several world records. Along the journey, riders will traverse one of the steepest cable inclines in the world at a record-breaking height difference of 6,400 feet between stations, and the longest length of unsupported cable line at 10,000 feet. The one tower supporting the cables stands at a world record height of 32 stories.

But wait, there’s more.

Each glass-walled cabin has integrated window heaters so unobstructed views can be enjoyed in any weather conditions. Panoramic scenes of Eibsee lake lie below, and the nearby mountains Waxenstein and Alpspitze make the 10-minute ride even more of a feast for the eyes.

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At the top, visitors have 360-degree views of more than 400 Alpine peaks in four countries. On a clear day, it's possible to see Munich.

Round-trip tickets on the cable car are $52 per person. And if skiing isn’t your thing, don’t fret. There’s year-round sledding from the glacier atop Zugspitze, which according to Germany's Bobsleigh and Sled Sports Federation, is a legitimate wintertime activity — even for adults.