50 million euros were invested. No other cable car in the world traverses a longer unsupported span: more than 3200 meters from the support tower to the summit station. It has the world's tallest aerial tramway steel support, 127 meters in height. The cabins travel 4.5 kilometers, covering a difference in elevation of almost 2000 meters in one section. Those are technological world records.

Adorned with a white outline of the Wetterstein Massif, the new cabins offer more comfort and a better view. They have room for 120 passengers. The new cable car can transport up to 600 people an hour to the summit. When the glass-walled cabins whisk passengers at high speed over the single support tower, an adrenaline rush is guaranteed on the ten-minute trip.

Engineers and technicians worked on the new cable car for three years. Now the cranes have been dismantled. The three-story summit station glistens from afar. It's fully glazed, including the station platforms, technical buildings and panorama restaurant. Even getting into or out of the cabin is a thrill: the new building hangs 30 meters above a precipice.

The Austrian side already had a cable car to the Zugspitzkamm ridge, 2805 meters above sea level, in 1926. In 1963, the Bavarians went one better: in the following years, the Eibsee cable car took more than 21 million passengers up to 2960 meters. The last cabin traveled to the valley in spring 2017. Adding up all the kilometers, the old cabins circled the world more than 76 times.

The old cable car was named after Eibsee lake. This emerald-green mountain lake lies near the valley station, 1000 meters above sea level. Its name derives from the "Eiben", or yew trees, that once lined its shores in even greater numbers than now. Hiking trails lead around the lake, with its eight islands in crystal-clear water. You can also explore the area on a mountain bike.

The golden cross at the summit was damaged by a crane in May 2017 during construction work. The crane's chain tore off several of the cross's golden rays. Some of them fell deep down but could be salvaged. On December 6, 2017, in a spectacular operation, the Zugspitze's 4.88-meter-tall landmark was put back in its place.

This view attracts more than half a million visitors a year. In fine weather you can see more than 400 peaks. Mountain enthusiasts know their names, but you can simply look them up on the Zugspitze app on PeakFinder AR. Still, many tourists are perfectly contented just enjoying the sun and magnificent view over Germany, Austria, and the Swiss Alps as far as the Dolomites in Italy.

The Zugspitze region is a veritable winter paradise and an ideal arena for winter sports, and it still has a lot of natural snow. The season for skiing and tobogganing on the glacier often lasts well into May. However, in recent years snow has rarely fallen as early as this winter. The Alps are already suffering from the early effects of climate change.

The Zugspitze cog railway first turned Germany's highest peak into a tourist paradise. It has been taking passengers from Garmisch-Partenkirchen up to the glacier since 1930. The final meters to the Zugspitze plateau are now bridged by a short aerial cable car. The trip on the historical cogwheel train takes about 75 minutes. In the summer, many hikers use this way to get to the summit.

Most tourists visit the Zugspitze in the summer, and the cable car operators rely on them. The slogan "a mountain experience for everyone," aims to attract more passengers with disabilities to the summit. The barrier-free cable car is expected to carry up to 600,000 passengers a year and run for at least 50 to 60 years. Whether there will still be snow-covered Alpine peaks remains to be seen.

If you're looking for an Austrian winter sport resort steeped in tradition, head for Kitzbuhel, where you will most likely find yourself among the glitterati. Kitzbuhel tends to gets very busy in January, when scores of guests arrive for the legendary Hahnenkamm race, in which daredevil skiers speed down the eponymous mountain. It is considered one of the world's most dangerous downhill runs.

Ischgl only has 1,500 residents but it attracts many more visitors during the winter months and boasts scores of hotels. From here, you can easily reach one of the largest ski resorts in the Alps, the Silvretta Arena. Traditionally, the beginning and end of the ski season is celebrated with major festivities and star-studded concerts.

Holidaymakers have been coming to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in southern Germany, for many decades. With a variety of ski slopes, ranging from easy to medium, totaling a length of 20 kilometers, this part of Bavaria is fantastic for winter sports enthusiasts. What's more, at this altitude, copious sunshine is almost guaranteed.

At 2,713 meters, the Watzmann is among Germany's highest mountains. The entire massif, located south of the Bavarian village of Berchtesgaden, draws climbers, hikers and winter sports enthusiasts. The region in Germany's southeast borders Austria.

Hintertux Glacier, situated at an altitude of 3,250 meters, is Austra's only year-round ski area. A new high-speed chairlift was inaugurated in 2015, which can shuttle 2,800 skiers to the region every hour. All seats are heated and protected by a weatherproof dome.

If this building looks familiar to you although you've never been in Solden, it's probably because you watched the James Bond movie 'Spectre'. Parts of the film were shot at the Ice Q restaurant, at an elevation of 3,050 meters. It offers great cuisine, stylish architecture and stunning views — reason enough to make your way up to Gaislachkogl peak, even if you're not a skier.

The Dolomites are among the best-known mountain ranges in the Alps. This is where you will find the jagged Tre Cime de Lavaredo peaks, the Sella group massif and many other fascinating formations. The region boasts over 1,000 kilometers of ski slopes, but can also be explored with snowshoes.

Sestriere, in Italy's Piedmont region, is another excellent destination for anyone keen on Alpine skiing. This is not only because of its stunning natural beauty, but also due to its fantastic infrastructure. This is partly thanks to Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli, who had hotels and cable cars built here many decades ago. Today, the region boasts some 400 kilometers of ski trails.

Courchevel ski resort was created from scratch in the 1950s. It is part of a vast, contiguous ski area, boasting some 600 kilometers of slopes linked to each other by a network of ski lifts, gondolas and cable cars. Courchevel itself also offers several Michelin-starred restaurants.

The Aletsch Arena ski resort lies within a truly stunning UNESCO-protected landscape, the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch. This is where you will find the impressive Eggishorn mountain and the truly monumental 4,478-meter-tall Matterhorn summit — fabulous views guaranteed.

Winter sports have been en vogue in St. Moritz since the mid-19th century, not least because of enthusiastic British travelers who helped popularize skiing in the region. Fast-forward several decades and St. Moritz is now one the most popular winter holiday resorts in the world, especially among the rich and famous.