Skiing is probably the number one sport in Austria. Owing to its century-old tradition of alpine skiing Austria has an outstanding reputation as a perfect destination for skiing holidays. Indeed, more than 50 percent of all tourists visit Austria during the winter months, most of them with the explicit aim to ski in one of the many skiing resorts of Austria.

The history of alpine skiing in Austria dates back to the late nineteenth century when ski pioneers started to ski the mountains near Vienna and adapted the long Norwegian-made skis to the alpine environment. First, skiing gained only slowly in popularity but after World War I the diffusion of skiing accelerated and Hannes Schneider from the Arlberg was probably the first celebrity of skiing due to its starring in ski films showcasing the passion of skiing to a greater audience.

Skiing in Austria is somewhat unique since it is so much embedded in the local Austrian culture and society. Unlike in other countries Austrian ski resorts do not feel artificial but remain an authentic touch. They are real world villages and towns with their own unique history. Most of the locals and entire local school classes frequent the slopes together with the tourists, regional and even national media report frequently events about skiing and snow levels and their impact on the quality of the skiing are discussed like state events. So skiing in Austria feels like a total immersion into the national culture. Indeed most Austrian ski resorts report extremely high percentages of return visitors and stories of love and friendships formed during skiing holidays are abound.

There are many large skiing resorts in Austria boasting more than 200 km of downhill runs and a vast array of cable cars and modern chair lifts. Many of them do have significant winter tourism since decades and thus played a prominent role for development of skiing in Austria. Probably the most famous of these outstanding ski resorts in Austria is the Arlberg, also labeled as the “cradle of skiing” (due to its role as birthplace of modern alpine skiing techniques as well as the huge amounts of powder snow which this particular regions receives each winter). The Arlberg consists of five different villages all of them with a unique flair and ambition. St. Anton is the undisputed center of the Arlberg, international renowned due to its challenging ski runs and its role as host of many ski races (such as the world championship in 2001 and the Kandahar downhill races). Famous for its vital après ski life it attracts especially the young, party-minded crowd. St. Christoph and Stuben near the Arlberg Pass are small villages covered under meter-thick snow and offer virtually countless of off-piste runs in between and near the groomers. Lech and Zürs are geared towards the luxury-seekers among them some of Europe's noble families and, of course, the business elite.

Just to the south of the Arlberg, separated only by one mountain range (Verwall mountains), is Ischgl (Paznaun Valley), today one of Austria's largest skiing resorts attracting hundred of thousands of avid skiers (and aprés skiers as well) each year. Its huge modern lift system let you access more than 250 km of downhill runs and stretches even over the international border towards Switzerland by interlinking to the Swiss ski resort Samnaun.

Further to the East is Serfaus, a small village located on a sunny plateau over the Inn Valley. Though Serfaus and its adjacent villages Fiss and Ladis boast a huge skiing area for all tastes and experiences this resort is now especially welcoming families with young kids. Due to its family-oriented infrastructure complete with ski kindergarten and many special features for kids, Serfaus is the first choice in Austria of a growing number of families from the whole world.

The high alpine environment of the Oetztal Alps covered by some of Austrian highest mountains and largest glaciers makes Sölden and Obergurgl to favorite skiing resorts for all those who enjoy skiing in a dramatic landscape. Sölden also boasts one of Austrian largest skiable glaciers and is a center for skiing in the autumn (September to November). It also has a lively and young aprés ski scene while the nearby Obergurgl caters more to those who want to relax after a long and exhaustive day on the groomers.

Innsbruck, the capital city of the Austrian state province of Tyrol is one of the largest cities of the European Alps. It is completely surrounded by high mountains and thus quite some large and well-equipped ski resorts such as the Stubai Valley (glacier skiing) and Seefeld are nearby. A whole bunch of smaller ski resorts (Hafelekar-Nordkette, Patscherkogel, Mutters, Axamer Lizum, Kühtai among others) is easily reached from Innsbruck by car or buses.

The Ziller Valley to the East of Innsbruck boasts about an half dozen different skiing resorts, some of them linked together by cable cars and ski runs making them to one of the largest lift-assisted ski areas of the world. Hintertux at the end of the valley offers year round glacier skiing.

The pristine alpine meadows around Kitzbühel, an old mining town with medieval roots are of world fame since decades making Kitzbühel to one of Austria's best known ski resorts. Of course, the long tradition of the Streif downhill race at the Hahnenkamm above the town contributes to this fame. The Streif downhill race is known and feared as the world most dangerous downhill race in the skiing circus. During the last decades some nearby towns and villages around Kitzbühel have developed their own interconnected ski resorts Wilder Kaiser/Brixen Valley which now belong to Austria's largest areas.

The provincial state of Salzburg is not only international renowned for its music (remembering the film “The Sound of Music”?) but is also a sought-for destination for quality skiing. Large ski resorts are Zell am See-Kaprun, Saalbach-Hinterglemm (host of the skiing world championship in 1991), Ski Amadè, Obertauern and Gastein, the latter boasting a unique combination of traditional spa with modern skiing.

There are a whole bunch of additional ski resorts, all large enough to entertain even advanced skiers for weeks in some of the other provincial states as well. For example, Hermagor-Nassfeld in Carinthia (on the border to Italy) or the Schladming-Dachstein area in Styria (host of the skiing world championship in 1982). However, there is not enough space here to discuss all of these resorts in detail.

The large ski resorts are only one side of the story of skiing in Austria. There are about 300 different ski resorts in Austria which would be worth to mention. Some of them are virtually unknown outside of Austria or some insider circles who are constantly looking for resorts hitherto unspoiled by the skiing crowds. These resorts are really the gem off the beaten paths and are a whole new world of skiing to discover. Some of them cater almost exclusively to certain needs of some subcultures of skiing (like freeriding for instance). Some of them are near large cities like Vienna and thus attract skiers mainly during the weekends for daily ski trips. All of them offer a unique experience totally different from the optimized and standardized ski resorts which cater to the masses.

These hidden gems of skiing include Kals-Matrei (Eastern Tyrol) and Heiligenblut (Carinthia) near the Grossglockner (3798m), the highest mountain of Austria; Mallnitz-Mölltal on the southern side of the mountain range of the Hohe Tauern; the Lungau in Salzburg, the Salzkammergut at the border between Styria and Upper Austria and a whole bunch of ski resorts near Vienna in Lower Austria (Semmering, Rax-Schneeberg, Lackenhof, Hochkar) which receive increasingly visitors from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

Accessability

The Austrian ski resorts are fairly easy reachable by public transport. Some, like the Arlberg (St. Anton) and Gastein are even at railways of international importance. However, for most resorts at least a short bus ride is required. The nearby airports with the best access to Austrian ski resorts are:

Airports With Access to Austrian Ski Resorts:

• Zurich: large international airport offering good connections (train) to the Western parts of Austria, mainly Montafon, Arlberg, Paznaun).
• Munich: large international airport offering easy and fast access to ski resorts in Tyrol and Salzburg)
• Vienna: large international airport offering fast access to all ski resorts in Eastern Austria. Travel time to Western Austria (Arlberg) is around seven hours by train.
• Innsbruck: small airport (possibility that the plane will be redirected to Munich anyway due to strong winds)
• Salzburg: small airport, mainly charter flights
  

Accomodation In Austria

Hotels: Hotels in Austria do have the usual star ranking from one to five. Most hotels with at least three stars (and more) do have some sort of spa / wellness facilities. Virtually all of these hotels do have their own website, so you can research by your own using your favorite search engine.

Hotel Garni: Garni stands for accommodation with breakfast only (so no lunch/dinner available). These hotels usually offer good quality accommodation to an affordable prize. However you have to find restaurants for dinner by your own.

Appartements / Chalets (“Ferienwohnung”): Renting an appartement (or even a whole chalet) is probably the cheapest alternative for families who do not mind to do their own cooking in the evening. Appartements are to be found in every ski resorts at affordable prizes. However, they often require a minimum stay of seven days (especially during peak times like Christmas or Easter).

Guest Houses / Private Rooms: Private rooms are an especially cheap way to discover the skiing in Austria. Especially small and medium sized resorts do have a lot of private rooms on offer. They are to be found quite easily via the official tourism bureaus (and their websites) of the ski resorts. Today , communication in English should be pose no problems (at least at a basic level). However, check in advance to avoid any hassles.

Price Range of Lift Tickets

The price of lift passes varies greatly depending on the size and location of the ski resorts. In generally ski resorts in Western Austria are significantly more expensive than in the Eastern parts of Austria (other things being equal). For the top resorts you have to expect prizes for a day pass of about EUR 40,--. while in small resorts a day pass may cost only about EUR 20,--. The prize per day gets cheaper with the duration of the ski pass. Prizes vary also significantly depending on the season with Christmas, February and the time around Easter having the peak prizes.

Inbound Versus Backcountry Skiing

In Austria as in other European countries, ski resorts do control and safeguard (especially from avalanches) only the marked and opened pistes. The whole area outside of these official pistes are basically backcountry meaning skiing there is at your own risk. There is no avalanche control work for this area and there are no ski patrollers looking for hazards or accidents in this area. If you happen to have an accident in the backcountry area you may be get billed for the costs of the search and rescue operation. However, access to the backcountry area is allowed (albeit at your own risk) with the exception of certain forest areas or other ecological important areas (for example wildlife protection areas). Information on areas which are forbidden to access by ski is usually given at the ski resorts and marked in the official ski maps of the ski resorts.

Best Time to Ski In Austria:

Glacier resorts in (Kaunertal, Pitztal, Sölden, Stubai, Hintertux, Kaprun, Dachstein, Mölltal) try to offer autumn skiing beginning with September or early October depending on the weather and snow conditions (Hintertux and to a limited extent also Mölltal, Kaprun and Dachstein offer summer skiing as well). The “real” skiing saison starts usually at the end of November backed up by a growing amount of man-made snow (most ski resorts are able to produce man-made snow for a good share of their downhill-runs). The saisonal peaks are around Christmas/New Year, February and Easter. During these times early booking is strongly advised, especially for the large and famous ski resorts. You may also check the dates of the school holidays in some of the neighboring countries (especially Bavaria of Germany and the Netherlands) to avoid crowds.

• Total number of lifts: 3000 of which almost 1000 are cable cars and modern chair lifts (the rest being t-bars/drag lifts).
• Total area of groomed ski runs: 20.000 hectares of which about 60 percent are equipped with man-made snow installations.
• There are about 260 different cable car companies in operation in Austria serving more than 300 ski resorts.
• Number of skier days: 56 million which usually means the number one position for Austria within Europe.
• The highest lift station is at the Brunnenkogel (3440m) in the glacieted ski area of the Pitztal (Tyrol)The first Austrian cable car was opened in 1921 and a modernized version of this cable car is still in use today (cable car Rax Alp near Vienna).
• The first Austrian cable car was opened in 1921 and a modernized version of this cable car is still in use today (cable car Rax Alp in Lower Austria near Vienna).