Skiing in Zell Am See.

The Kitzsteinhorn Glacier.

The Kitzsteinhorn Glacier is an easy intermediate introduction to skiing Zell am See. Whilst there are ultra wide, gradual ski runs, the vast number of skiers and the altitude can make it an intimidating experience for the beginner.

Expert skiers will have to search for ravines (renne) or gullies (wassarkar). These can be found to the sides of the groomed pistes for bumps and steeps filled with powder.

Skiing Zell am See and Kaprun.

Zell am See and Kaprun together form the Europa Sport Region. There are 54 lifts and 130km (80 miles) of pistes. This includes the Schmittenhole Mountain at Zell am See and, a short bus ride away, Maiskogel and Kitzsteinhorn Glacier at Kaprun.

There are great pistes for intermediates as well as some challenges for the advanced skier. Check out those used for the regional downhill races and the World Cup Run!

The Kitzsteinhorn glacier has wide-open bowl skiing the year round. Whilst the majority of Zell am See’s Schmittenhöhe slopes sweep down through the trees.

Intermediate Skiing.

Zell am See is outstanding for intermediates. Its network of pistes and connecting lifts offers new challenges and different aspects to the slopes. Every ski day is different as you work your way across the area.

Beginners Skiing.

For the beginner there are two nursery at the bottom of the Schmittenhole. Both are covered by snow cannons and a full lift pass is not required to use them.

There are also plenty of beginners run on both mountains.

Advanced Skiing.

For the advanced skier there are steeper more direct descents from the top of the Schmittenhole. The glacier at Kaprun, also offers challenging intermediate runs. Here there is also some great off piste skiing to be found.

Skiing Black Runs in Zell am See.

Blacks 13 and 14 both have long verticals drops, are very quiet and usually have very good snow. They’re probably comparable to difficult reds in France.

Black 15 is the other black piste which goes down to the bottom of the Schmittenhohebahn. This is the only piste down from the top on the Sonnenalm side of the mountain, and accordingly, gets quite a lot of people traffic, so it can be quite icy. It starts off as a gentle cat track before it becomes quite steep and icy.

Run 21 is in the Sonnenalm area. Probably your best bet for practicing your carving or building up your speed as this piste is very wide and not particularly steep. The whole of the Sonnenalm is like this, so is really nice if you class yourself as an intermediate.

Piste 6 is extremely fun if you like powder skiing, as there is a lot of easily accessible tree skiing to the side of it under the nearby Kettingbahn chairlift.

Black 11 is the piste that leads into Zell am See itself; so if you want to avoid taking the bus or using a flat blue cat track you’ll end up here at some point. The piste can often be quite crowded and icy at the end of the day, so take care.

Black Mamba: The 63%-steep black piste at Kitzsteinhorn.

‘Black Mamba’, is the groomed no.14 Black Piste, on the kitzsteinhorn: with a slope reported to be upto 63% steep! The piste is 1,000m long, covers 290m in altitude and is reputedly venomous like a mamba! The run starts at the valley station of Kristallbahn at 2,265m and ends at Langwiedboden.

For information about the Europa Sports ski area visit this page.