Skiing in Austria
For many skiers and snowboarders, the size of a ski resort is one of the main factors to consider when planning a ski holiday. With its generous offering of linked ski areas, Austria is a great option for terrain-hungry winter sports enthusiasts. Over the past several years, various mergers between different ski resorts have created veritable ski area “giants” where the slopes of different ski resorts are directly joined to each other by lifts, eliminating the need for ski shuttles. In this article you’ll find an overview of the top ten biggest linked ski areas in Austria, ranked in order from smallest to largest.
The Schladming-Dachstein ski area comes in tenth, with 123km of connected pistes spread over four mountains. Together, the Hauser Kaibling, Planai, Hochwurzen and Reiteralm ski areas offer fantastic slopes, modern lifts and the annual Nightrace Schladming on the Planai.
The Zillertal Arena is the largest ski area in the Zillertal Valley, with 131km of pistes accessible on skis and via lifts. The new Gerlos Dorfbahn cable car whisks skiers and snowboarders up to 2505m above sea level where they can access the snow-sure ski resorts of Gerlos, Königsleiten, Zell am Ziller and Krimml. A high percentage of red slopes and several 10km valley runs round out the skiing offer at the Zillertal Arena.
Silvretta Montafon is the largest ski area in Montafon, with 138km of slopes. The wide pistes, steeps and freeriding are particularly popular with skiers at this sunny resort. The highlight at the Silvretta Montafon is the “Hochjoch Totale”, which takes skiers and snowboarders down a 12km slope – the longest in the Vorarlberg – and through the world’s longest ski tunnel, which measures 470m. Visitors can book a ticket to ski the descent at sunrise and enjoy breakfast with their fellow skiers and boarders afterwards.
Home to the BIG 3 mountain peaks above 3000m, Sölden-Hochsölden-Vent offers 144km of slopes and skiing at altitudes as high as 3340m. 10km-long valley runs, modern infrastructure and a top-notch snow park speak for themselves at this world-class ski resort in Austria. Sölden also has two glacier ski areas, the Tiefenbach and the Rettenbach. The FIS World Cup will return to the Tiefenbach glacier once again this year.
In sixth place is Kitzbühel & Kirchberg. Even without the Kitzbüheler Horn (which is only accessible via ski shuttle), this ski area boasts an impressive 156km of linked pistes. The slopes are suitable for beginners, intermediates and experts as well as freeriders and powder hounds. The highlight at Kitzbühel is the annual Hahnenkamm race on the Streif.
The number one family ski resort in Tyrol, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis provides a sprawling 214km of mainly blue slopes. Kids will love the race tracks and funslopes, while more advanced skiers will enjoy the steep slopes. There is an extensive offering of non-skiing activities, including the Serfauser Sauser zipline or the adrenaline-filled Skyswing.
At the Ischgl - Samnaun - Silvretta Arena skiers and snowboarders can explore well-connected, cross-border terrain in Austria and Switzerland. With 238km of pistes, Ischgl places fourth on the list of linked ski areas in Austria. Slopes here are rather demanding and therefore especially well-suited to advanced skiers. Ischgl is known for its après-ski scene and for its legendary “Top of the Mountain” concerts.
The behemoth Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn ski area boasts an impressive 270km of pistes. Known for its varied pistes, stunning mountain scenery and international events, Saalbach is particularly popular with advanced skiers.
The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental boasts 273km of linked ski slopes, not including the ski slopes in the Kelchsau which are accessible with a ski shuttle. Skiers will find ideal skiing conditions at the Hohe Salve mountain (1829m), with its wide, even slopes for intermediates, steep slopes for advanced skiers, freestyle snow parks and floodlit night skiing slopes.
Number one on the list is the Ski Arlberg ski area, “cradle of alpine skiing” and now the largest interconnected ski area in Austria thanks to the new Flexenbahn cable car. Highlights within the 305km of slopes include après-ski at St. Anton, heliskiing in Lech Zürs and ski tours in the family-friendly Warth-Schröcken ski area. Ski Arlberg also has a busy event calendar, including popular events such as 22km-long The White Ring ski race as well as The White Rush, a mass race.
Further expansions are in the works at Austria’s linked ski resorts. There are already plans to build connecting railways between Zell am See and Saalbach, Hochfügen and Spieljoch, as well as between the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental and Kitzbühel. Maiskogel and Kitzsteinhorn, as well as Sölden and the Pitztal Glacier, are also hoping to enlarge their current offerings. Next ski season, the title of “largest linked ski area in Austria” might well go to someone else!
Skiing in Austria
For many skiers and snowboarders, the size of a ski resort is one of the main factors to consider when planning a ski holiday. With its generous offering of linked ski areas, Austria is a great option for terrain-hungry winter sports enthusiasts. Over the past several years, various mergers between different ski resorts have created veritable ski area “giants” where the slopes of different ski resorts are directly joined to each other by lifts, eliminating the need for ski shuttles. In this article you’ll find an overview of the top ten biggest linked ski areas in Austria, ranked in order from smallest to largest.
The Schladming-Dachstein ski area comes in tenth, with 123km of connected pistes spread over four mountains. Together, the Hauser Kaibling, Planai, Hochwurzen and Reiteralm ski areas offer fantastic slopes, modern lifts and the annual Nightrace Schladming on the Planai.
The Zillertal Arena is the largest ski area in the Zillertal Valley, with 131km of pistes accessible on skis and via lifts. The new Gerlos Dorfbahn cable car whisks skiers and snowboarders up to 2505m above sea level where they can access the snow-sure ski resorts of Gerlos, Königsleiten, Zell am Ziller and Krimml. A high percentage of red slopes and several 10km valley runs round out the skiing offer at the Zillertal Arena.
Silvretta Montafon is the largest ski area in Montafon, with 138km of slopes. The wide pistes, steeps and freeriding are particularly popular with skiers at this sunny resort. The highlight at the Silvretta Montafon is the “Hochjoch Totale”, which takes skiers and snowboarders down a 12km slope – the longest in the Vorarlberg – and through the world’s longest ski tunnel, which measures 470m. Visitors can book a ticket to ski the descent at sunrise and enjoy breakfast with their fellow skiers and boarders afterwards.
Home to the BIG 3 mountain peaks above 3000m, Sölden-Hochsölden-Vent offers 144km of slopes and skiing at altitudes as high as 3340m. 10km-long valley runs, modern infrastructure and a top-notch snow park speak for themselves at this world-class ski resort in Austria. Sölden also has two glacier ski areas, the Tiefenbach and the Rettenbach. The FIS World Cup will return to the Tiefenbach glacier once again this year.
In sixth place is Kitzbühel & Kirchberg. Even without the Kitzbüheler Horn (which is only accessible via ski shuttle), this ski area boasts an impressive 156km of linked pistes. The slopes are suitable for beginners, intermediates and experts as well as freeriders and powder hounds. The highlight at Kitzbühel is the annual Hahnenkamm race on the Streif.
The number one family ski resort in Tyrol, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis provides a sprawling 214km of mainly blue slopes. Kids will love the race tracks and funslopes, while more advanced skiers will enjoy the steep slopes. There is an extensive offering of non-skiing activities, including the Serfauser Sauser zipline or the adrenaline-filled Skyswing.
At the Ischgl - Samnaun - Silvretta Arena skiers and snowboarders can explore well-connected, cross-border terrain in Austria and Switzerland. With 238km of pistes, Ischgl places fourth on the list of linked ski areas in Austria. Slopes here are rather demanding and therefore especially well-suited to advanced skiers. Ischgl is known for its après-ski scene and for its legendary “Top of the Mountain” concerts.
The behemoth Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn ski area boasts an impressive 270km of pistes. Known for its varied pistes, stunning mountain scenery and international events, Saalbach is particularly popular with advanced skiers.
The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental boasts 273km of linked ski slopes, not including the ski slopes in the Kelchsau which are accessible with a ski shuttle. Skiers will find ideal skiing conditions at the Hohe Salve mountain (1829m), with its wide, even slopes for intermediates, steep slopes for advanced skiers, freestyle snow parks and floodlit night skiing slopes.
Number one on the list is the Ski Arlberg ski area, “cradle of alpine skiing” and now the largest interconnected ski area in Austria thanks to the new Flexenbahn cable car. Highlights within the 305km of slopes include après-ski at St. Anton, heliskiing in Lech Zürs and ski tours in the family-friendly Warth-Schröcken ski area. Ski Arlberg also has a busy event calendar, including popular events such as 22km-long The White Ring ski race as well as The White Rush, a mass race.
Further expansions are in the works at Austria’s linked ski resorts. There are already plans to build connecting railways between Zell am See and Saalbach, Hochfügen and Spieljoch, as well as between the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental and Kitzbühel. Maiskogel and Kitzsteinhorn, as well as Sölden and the Pitztal Glacier, are also hoping to enlarge their current offerings. Next ski season, the title of “largest linked ski area in Austria” might well go to someone else!
Born and raised in the ski paradise of Vancouver, Canada, I learned to ski before I can remember, balancing precariously on my parents’ skis as they sailed down the hill. I started snowboarding in my teens and am now delighted to be exploring everything Europe’s ski scene has to offer!
