Investor wanted

500,000 euros missing for winter operations at Weißsee

The end before the coming winter is currently still fixed.

(Bild: EXPA/ JFK)

The end of the Rudolfshütte and the cable car to the Weißsee is approaching. The rescue could come from an investor, perhaps even before the winter. But the new investor has to invest right away...

The gondolas up to the Weißsee will only be in operation until Sunday. Then the cable car will stop. But not for maintenance work as usual, but probably for good. Owner Wilfried Holleis announced at the beginning of the week that he wants to part with both the cable car in Uttendorf's Stubach Valley and the well-known Rudolfshütte mountain hotel. The Zell hotelier is drawing a definitive line under his 20-year involvement with the cable car and mountain hotel. According to the hotelier, the costs over the years amounted to 25 million euros.

The view from the mountain station on the Medelzkopf towards the Rudolfshütte.

(Bild: Honorar)

New financier sought, employees in demand
However, there is a little hope for the continued existence of the Weißsee. An appointment with Governor Wilfried Haslauer and Stefan Schnöll is scheduled for Wednesday. Even though the state politicians have been aware of the cable car's financial problems since the summer, the meeting with the politicians is unlikely to avert the end of the Weißsee. Haslauer has promised two million euros for the currently closed Gaißau-Hintersee ski area if the concept is viable and continued. The situation could be similar at Weißsee.

A takeover of the cable car and hotel by the municipality is simply not an option. We have a stake in the cable car company, but we cannot and do not want to run it.

Hannes Lerchbaumer, Bürgermeister Uttendorf

On top of that, there should be assistance in the search for a new owner and financier. The new owner would have to take action immediately. Operation in the coming winter would entail at least 500,000 euros in investment.

 "A takeover is out of the question for us," says Uttendorf village leader Hannes Lerchbaumer (SPÖ). The municipality could even have acquired the operations for one euro. "We are not cable car operators and hoteliers, we have other skills."

There are several options for the current Rudolfshütte and cable car employees. Gastronomy employees can transfer to the Holleis operations. Offers from the Kitzbühel mountain railroads are already on the table for the cable car operators.