{"id":37663,"date":"2026-08-29T14:56:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T12:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/maiskogel-3k-konnection-glacier-way\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T14:56:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T12:56:58","slug":"maiskogel-3k-konnection-glacier-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/maiskogel-3k-konnection-glacier-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Maiskogel and the 3K K-onnection: Kaprun&#8217;s Way to the Glacier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In short:<\/strong> The Maiskogel is Kaprun&#8217;s local mountain \u2014 1,570 meters, alpine pastures, a playground, a beginner-friendly bike trail. On its own, a quiet family mountain. It becomes interesting because of what begins at its summit station: the <strong>3K K-onnection<\/strong>, a tricable gondola that links the Maiskogel across the Kaprun valley with the glacier area of the <a href=\"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/kitzsteinhorn-glacier-kaprun\/\">Kitzsteinhorn<\/a>. Only this creates the continuous cable car chain from the village center up to 3,029 meters. This page explains how the two lifts work together, what really awaits at the top of the Maiskogel, and why the two lifts run for different lengths of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The MK Maiskogelbahn: from the village center to 1,570 meters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MK Maiskogelbahn is a monocable gondola lift with 10-person cabins and two sections. It starts right in the middle of <a href=\"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/discover-kaprun\/\">Kaprun<\/a> at 768 meters, stops at the Stanger mid-station at 1,137 meters, and ends at the Maiskogel summit station at 1,570 meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The truly remarkable point is the valley station. It stands right in the village center, not at the end of a mountain road and not in a car park outside town. Anyone staying in Kaprun can walk there. That sounds trivial, but it is the precondition for everything that follows: without this starting point in the village, the chain up to the glacier would just be another ascent preceded by a search for parking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many guests, the outing ends at the summit station \u2014 and that is a legitimate choice, not half an excursion. The Maiskogel is a soft grassy mountain with alpine pastures and wide views, not high alpine terrain. Anyone traveling with children, or simply wanting an afternoon on the mountain, is often better off here than at 3,000 meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 3K K-onnection: a tricable gondola across the valley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 3K K-onnection begins at the Maiskogel summit station. It covers 4,311 meters of track in 9.1 minutes from the Maiskogel (1,570 m) across to Langwied (1,975 m) on the Kitzsteinhorn. 32 cabins for 32 people each, up to 2,700 people per hour, a maximum speed of 8 meters per second. It has been in operation since 30 November 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The &#8220;3K&#8221; stands for the design: a tricable gondola lift by Doppelmayr, meaning two support cables plus one haul cable instead of a single cable doing both jobs at once. For passengers, the visible difference is mainly the size of the cabins and the length of the free spans over the valley. Two of the gondolas are &#8220;Explorer&#8221; cabins offering a 360-degree panoramic view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scenically, the ride is the most interesting stretch of the whole chain. Below, alpine meadows and forest; above, scree, rock and firn: the lift crosses four climate zones within a few kilometers, and you see the transition through the window instead of having it explained to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From the village center to 3,029 meters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taken together, this forms a chain from Kaprun at 768 meters to TOP OF SALZBURG at 3,029 meters: 2,261 meters of elevation gain, roughly twelve kilometers, up to six cable cars \u2014 the greatest continuous elevation difference that can be covered by cable car anywhere in the Eastern Alps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice, that means you board in the village center and arrive at the glacier without needing a car, a bus, or a toll road in between. What awaits at the top \u2014 a panorama platform, a tunnel, the national park world \u2014 is described in detail in our article on <a href=\"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/gipfelwelt-3000-kitzsteinhorn\/\">Gipfelwelt 3000<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A realistic note on timing: six sections mean six boardings and six exits. Allow considerably more than the pure ride time for the way up, including waiting times, and plan around the last ascent, not the closing time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What awaits on the Maiskogel itself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mountain carries a whole day even without the glacier. The offering is spread between the summit station and the foot of the mountain in the village:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Viewing platform at 1,570 meters<\/strong> right at the summit station building, with views of the Pinzgau grass mountains, the Salzach valley and the Zeller See.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maiskogel hut circuit:<\/strong> the most obvious hike from the summit station, passing several staffed alpine huts along the way.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Playground in front of the summit station<\/strong> with a marble run, climbing wall, slide and swings \u2014 the reason families often stay here longer than planned.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maiskogel Trail:<\/strong> a mountain bike trail from the summit station, explicitly designated by the operator as terrain for trail beginners and families.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maisi Flitzer and the family and leisure park<\/strong> down in the village, by the Kaprun Center at the valley station. The Maisi Flitzer is a year-round alpine coaster: 730 meters of ascent track, 1,300 meters of descent, up to 40 km\/h, self-regulated speed, a ride of around twelve minutes. Children aged three to seven ride accompanied; from age eight and 1.25 meters in height, they can ride alone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Operating times: the two lifts don&#8217;t run for the same length of time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is where most outings go wrong. The MK Maiskogelbahn and the 3K K-onnection have different seasonal windows. In summer 2026, the 3K K-onnection runs from 27 June to 13 September. The MK Maiskogelbahn runs considerably longer into the autumn \u2014 until 4 October, and then again from 24 October to 1 November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In concrete terms, this means: anyone arriving at the Maiskogelbahn in late September or in October reaches the Maiskogel, but not the glacier. This is not a malfunction or an exception, but the normal operating schedule. The route to the Kitzsteinhorn then runs via the valley station of the glacier lifts and the Gletscherjet, not via the Maiskogel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In summer, daily hours are roughly 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the MK Maiskogelbahn and about 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. for the 3K K-onnection, each with a considerably earlier last ascent. These times depend on weather and operating conditions and are subject to change; only the current-day information from Gletscherbahnen Kaprun is binding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tips for your visit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Start early if the glacier is your goal.<\/strong> The last recommended ascent from the valley to TOP OF SALZBURG is in the early afternoon \u2014 anyone boarding only at midday has no time left at the top and risks rushing the way back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dress warmly, even if it&#8217;s hot down below.<\/strong> The chain climbs 2,261 meters of elevation. The temperature difference between the valley station and the summit is considerable in high summer, and there is wind on top of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Check the mountain visibility beforehand.<\/strong> In solid cloud cover, the ascent is a ride through grey. In a valley fog inversion, however, it is often exactly the opposite \u2014 and then the outing is especially worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Don&#8217;t treat the Maiskogel as a mere stopover.<\/strong> If the weather at the glacier isn&#8217;t delivering, the Maiskogel is the better plan B than heading back down to the valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When the ascent is worth it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the Maiskogel alone, half a day and an average summer day are enough. For the whole chain up to 3,029 meters, take the clearest day of your week, not the most convenient one \u2014 the value of this outing stands or falls with visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the weather on the mountain doesn&#8217;t cooperate, the alternatives lie close together in the Kaprun valley: the <a href=\"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/sigmund-thun-gorge-kaprun\/\">Sigmund-Thun Gorge<\/a> down by the Kapruner Ache, and, in stable weather, the <a href=\"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/kaprun-high-mountain-reservoirs\/\">high mountain reservoirs<\/a> further back in the valley.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In short: The Maiskogel is Kaprun&#8217;s local mountain \u2014 1,570 meters, alpine pastures, a playground, a beginner-friendly bike trail. On its own, a quiet family mountain. It becomes interesting because [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_zsk_hscroll":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249,251],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-erlebnisse-en","category-sommer-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}