Skiing in Austria

Whilst skiing to suit all experience levels can be found all over Austria, the welcoming and unintimidating tree lined slopes that characterise skiing in Austria is often most attractive to beginners and intermediates, as well as family groups.

Skiing in Austria can be heaven for off-piste lovers when snow conditions are good, and in some regions this is very often the case, with varied terrain from fantastic tree runs to exhilarating steep gulleys. Freestyle fans will also find that Austria boasts some great snowparks.

Ski Resorts in Austria

Most Austrian ski resorts are traditional villages, set in valley floors, with tree lined mountains rising around them. Whilst this low altitude can sometimes mean poorer snow conditions than the higher resorts of the French Alps, the Austrians have in recent years addressed this with an impressive improvement in snowmaking faciilites on lower slopes. There are exceptions to this, with some Austrian ski resorts boasting some of the best glacier skiing in Europe.

The architectural charm of Austrian ski resorts is also a big plus point. Generally they are completely free from the unattractive and obtrusive purpose built apartment and hotel blocks found in many of the larger French ski resorts, giving Austrian resorts a distinctly traditional feel unrivalled by most other alpine regions. That is not to say the resorts are not developed, as every modern convenience imaginable in a ski resort is usually available, just that any development has been mostly done in the traditional wooden chalet style.