The Penken summit at 2,095 meters has served as a commercial paragliding launch site since 1987, when the first licensed tandem operators began using the Penkenbahn cable car to ferry passengers and equipment to the ridge.
The mountain's northward exposure and the thermal corridor formed by the Zillertal Valley create consistent updrafts between late May and mid-October, with afternoon winds averaging 12 to 18 kilometers per hour during peak season. Pilots note that the Penken site offers one of the Tyrol's most forgiving launch gradients, a wide grassy slope that allows for controlled inflation and a gradual departure over mixed forest and alpine meadow.
Mayrhofen became a hub for tandem paragliding in the mid-1990s, when Austrian airspace regulations formalized launch zones and required operator licensing. The Penken site now hosts six certified schools, each operating under the Österreichischer Aero-Club standards for tandem flight. The typical flight path departs southward over the Zillergrund, crosses above the Ahorn massif, and follows the valley floor toward Hippach before landing in designated meadows near the Europahaus. Flight duration ranges from 15 to 25 minutes depending on thermal strength, with altitudes reaching 2,400 meters in favorable conditions. Pilots carry dual reserve parachutes, two-way radios, and GPS trackers; passengers wear full-body harnesses and insulated jumpsuits provided by the operator.
The Zillertal Alps form a glaciated barrier between Austria and Italy, and the Penken ridge offers clear sightlines to the Olperer, the Hochfeiler, and the Schwarzenstein massifs. On stable days, visibility extends 40 kilometers east to the Kitzbühel range. The valley floor sits 630 meters above sea level, creating a vertical relief of nearly 1,500 meters—a profile that sustains the orographic lift essential for extended paragliding flights. The Penkenbahn cable car departs from Hauptstraße in central Mayrhofen and reaches the launch site in 11 minutes, operating daily from 08:30 to 17:00 during the flight season. Operators coordinate departure times with the cable car schedule to ensure efficient turnover and minimal downtime between flights.
The Penken launch site is accessible year-round by cable car, though tandem flights are restricted to the snow-free months due to landing zone safety. The site's infrastructure includes a paved viewing platform, a staging area for equipment checks, and a sheltered briefing zone where pilots review flight plans and weather conditions with passengers before departure. The combination of reliable thermals, certified operators, and cable car access has made paragliding Mayrhofen Penken a benchmark for alpine tandem flight operations in the eastern Alps.
1 hr
