SEASON START & END: Early December to Late April
SKI ALTITUDE IN METRES: 1,350 m – 2,176 m / Vertical descent 826m
PISTES: 45 km pistes – 10 Blue pistes @ 24 km / 12 Red pistes @ 17 km / 3 Black pistes @ 4 km
LIFTS: 16 lifts – Funicular: 1 / Gondola: 3 / Chair lift: 6 / Drag Lifts: 5 / Magic Carpet: 1
SNOW: 160 Snow cannons
LIFT TICKET: Please see ONLINE
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING: Zauchensee-Flachauwinkl-
LANGUAGE: German
AIRPORT: Nearest airports are: Salzburg 69 km, Munich 211 km, Vienna 319 km
TRAIN: Nearest stations to Zauchensee: Altenmarkt: 10 km / Radstadt: 14 km / Bischofshofen: 35 km / Salzburg: 79 km
SKI FACTS: Very good connections with the ski bus / Ski in – Ski out in Zauchensee
Zauchensee & Altenmarkt, the towns
The ski area of Zauchensee itself does not have a main town centre. Originally a summer farmstead, the area changed during the 1960s when the first ski lifts arrived; the area has evolved since that time into the current little collection of ski-in ski-out hotels and sports shops. The nearest town is Altenmarkt, only a short 15-minute drive along a twisting, tree-laden Alpine road via car or the free local bus.
Altenmarkt is a thriving town with many hotels, shops, restaurants and bars providing some light apres ski. As the centre for the famous Atomic ski factory since 1955, who still make skis to this day, Altenmarkt has the feel of a town that is on the map for good reason.
The valley is fairly wide, so it receives a lot of sun. If looking for a hotel to stay in Altenmarkt, we recommend the 4-star Hotel Kesselgrub; next door, you will find an outstanding restaurant by the name of s‘Kessei run by some very promising young chefs. If looking for an evening of fun and food, make the 1-hour walk, or take a taxi up to the Hochnössleralm for a night of classic local cuisine and traditional music, followed by a 4km toboggan run back down to the valley. This had us in fits of laughter.
Away from the pistes, the Erlebnis-Therme Amadé Aqua Centre is certainly worth visiting. With a huge area of pools, exhilarating water slides which include a loop-the-loop, a salt pool and a water climbing pool, the children will be entertained for hours. Make sure to visit the adults’ selection of saunas, steam rooms and cold plunge pool; the perfect place to relax in your birthday suit.
At Christmas time, both Zauchensee and Altenmarkt come into their own. Altenmarkt has a gorgeous Christmas market with various local crafts, food and drink stalls as well as a stage with live music. Make sure to look out for the tiny petting zoo with Llamas, tiny ponies and rabbits!
Zauchensee goes all out at Christmas with a giant light show bonanza around the lake; one can walk around the atmospheric lake and stop off for a hot Christmas tipple while listening to live music and warming yourself around the log fire; possibly one of the most enchanting Christmas experiences to be found in the Alps. They also put on a guided advent walk, burning various herbs to expel the bad spirits and bring peace to your world. Be warned, it is over 1 hour long and can get chilly at times; the talks along the way are in German, but we used Google Translate with good effect.
A great way to get away from the beaten track is to go snowshoeing in Zauchensee. Our guide Tomi Bruder of Mountain Sports Guide, took us on a guided snowshoe through the forest of Zauchensee, with fresh snow. The forest looked utterly beautiful, and it was a great way to spend the morning.
We recommend staying at the 4-star superior hotel Alpenhof. Possibly the best location in Zauchensee, the Alpenhof is ski-in / ski-out and has great views across Zauchensee. The rooms are spacious yet cosy, and the cuisine is fantastic with the typically huge Austrian buffet at dinner and breakfast. The spa has some recent updates with a great indoor/outdoor infinity pool, sauna and steam room too. The hotel also has a great childcare Kids Club. Certainly a hotel that we will go back to.
Zauchensee the skiing
The World Cup resort of Altenmarkt-Zauchensee is part of the larger Ski amadé ski area. The base stations sit at 1350 metres. This is the original playground of legendary downhill skiers such as Hermann Maier and Michael Walchhofer.
Zauchensee is part of the Zauchensee-Flachauwinkl-Kleinarl ski network with 65 km of piste and 25 lifts, and recently the Panoramalink opened up, giving direct access to Flachau-Wagrain-St. Johann and a combined total of 200km of skiing. However, all guests purchase the Ski amadé lift pass, which provides access to 760 km of slopes across 5 ski areas.
There are 14 mountain restaurants. Our favourites are the Burgstallhütte on the way down to Flachauwinkl, a classic Austrian Alpine hutte with cuisine to match. Do not leave without sampling their Zirbenschnapps. The Garnhofhutte in Zauchensee is certainly worth a visit, old and cosy with great service and food, try the huge turkey schnitzel. Unterbergalm is in a great location and has become our regular morning coffee and hot chocolate break. Make sure to drop by Rosskpfhutte for lunch as well. Tirolean Gröstl will certainly hit the mark, then stay for some schnapps with your wonderful hostess Lilli.
BEGINNER
The resort has a large collection of blue pistes covering the mountains, so once one starts to get the hang of their skis or snowboard, it is possible to start exploring the mountains. Blue Piste #11 Tauernkarlift provides a nice open space, great to practise your skills.
INTERMEDIATE
The pistes in the resort are particularly well-suited to intermediate skiers. The blue piste Gamskogel Ostabfahrt #9 from the Gamskogel is a long, wide and particularly fun blue run that gently follows the undulations of the mountain. Alternatively, test your skills on the Gamskogel Weldcup Ladies downhill covering pistes 6, 5 & 5a; a fun ride that twists and turns its way down to Zauchensee. Also, make sure you hop over the mountain to the red and blue pistes that lead to Flauchauwinkl, blue piste #14 Flachauwinkl 6er Highliner II and red piste #15 Schiweg 8er Highliner I down to the base station, which has a few steeper but fun sections.
ADVANCED
There are not a huge number of black pistes, but the #10 Tauernkar piste provides a lot of fun, steep carving action. This will not stop you from enjoying the various red pistes around the mountain, this is a carving paradise.
Ecology and sustainability
- The electricity for the snow production is 100% based on sustainable sources.
- The local community centre and the event hall are set up with Photovoltaic panels.
- By 2030 Altenmarkt-Zauchensee plans to be self-sufficient with all the energy that is required by the town. The goal is to become a ‘Green Destination’.
For more information, visit Altenmarkt – Zauchensee online.
