adrenaline junkies are always in their element in Austria's ski areas. Even in family ski areas, you will unexpectedly find one or two steep slopes that you have to overcome before you can push off.
The number one challenge is generally considered to be the infamous Mousetrap on the Streif in Kitzbühel. It is only a very short section of the course, but with a gradient of 85 degrees it is the steepest slope on the world-famous Hahnenkamm downhill run. Depending on the preparation, the racers jump up to 60 meters, leaving part of the steep drop below them in flight. It is best not to try this, but the Mousetrap is not suitable for people with weak nerves and moderate skiing technique. Otherwise the run can quickly end in an unstoppable fall and, in the worst case, in hospital. Assuming there is sufficient snow, the Mousetrap is only closed to piste skiing from around two weeks before to one week after the Hahnenkamm weekend. Why after the race? Because the Streif would be too icy for us to ski on.
If it's up to the celebrities, then the Mausefalle is clearly number 1, but if you go by the bare numbers - see the list on the following page - another classic, the Gamsleiten 2 in Obertauern, is 100 percent ahead. G2 was the steepest of all drag lifts as the "Gamsleiten 2". Today, the chairlift is a more comfortable way to go up. Going down, it is still extremely challenging to keep your footing on the bumps. Among the glacier regions, Salzburg also held the gradient record with the snappy, narrow "Black Mamba" on the Kitzsteinhorn. But that is in the past. Because since the Falginjochbahn opened on the Kaunertal Glacier at the end of 2019, Tyrol has been home to the steepest glacier slope. The "Black Ibex" was measured very precisely and came up with a value of 41.3 degrees or 87.85 percent gradient. This means that they see themselves as the steepest slope in Austria, although the slope marked 1b is not very long. The World Cup slope on the Rettenbachferner in Sölden is hardly inferior to the other two glacier slopes. The group of "ultra blacks" can be found in the area of a breathtaking 80 percent gradient. But percentages are a tricky thing. The 100 percent of the Gamsleiten corresponds to 45 degrees. That doesn't look so bad on a set square, but when skiing it's close to the limit. Although there were times when the Lange Zug from Rüfikopf to Lech was given as 106 percent, someone even lists the entry as 142 percent! Now the entry is very widely groomed, but right in the middle it is really extremely steep. Even if it is officially only 81 percent. Until two years ago, the Manni Pranger race track on the Bergeralm (Steinach in Wipptal) was said to be Austria's steepest: 102 percent! However, it is no longer groomed in this form.
Among the steepest slopes In western Austria, seven runs with gradients of 77 to 81 percent, marked as "Black Scorpions", stand out in the Silvretta Nova in Montafon. Next door, on the Golm, the Diabolo crashes down pretty vertically. If you like steep slopes, we have scouted out three absolute highlights in the west: the Harakiri in Mayrhofen (Zillertal) has a decent gradient, and its width and flat run-out make it doable for weaker but brave skiers. The two direct Lazid runs in Serfaus seem much more brutal, and the same goes for the "officially" flatter Lange Wand in Ischgl. But the condition of the slopes always plays a decisive role anyway. And this is usually optimal on the Trass run in Zell am See or Zwölfer-Nord in Hinterglemm.
In Upper Austria In Hinterstoder, the – nomen est omen – Inferno slope awaits with a gradient of 70 percent – making it the hottest slope for miles around. The Dachstein West region, which crosses the border with Salzburg, also has plenty for adrenaline junkies: “highly gifted” skiers can go for the “Wilde Hilde” (67 percent gradient), “Rock'n Roll” and “Donnergroll”; for less experienced winter sports enthusiasts, the three challenging slopes – even though they are rather short – are only recommended to a very limited extent.
The Reiteralm in Styria, which is part of the four-mountain circuit, has a number of challenging runs with the promising names Black Rose (Hahn'l Piste), Black Power (Gasselhöhe run), Black Queen (Finale Grande) and Black Horse (Steilhang Rauner). The Black Rose already makes a clear statement at the start: Here you go downhill with an 80 percent gradient. On the Grossglockner in Carinthia, the 1,520-meter-long, difficult, direct Fallbichl variant and partly mogul slope leads into the moderately difficult Fallbichl run. A challenging pleasure with a breathtaking high mountain panorama. The Goldeck, on the other hand, claims to have the longest black run in the Alps, where you can ski 1,600 meters in altitude without stopping; with a gradient of less than 60 percent, it is more a matter of endurance. The hottest, however, is the Franz Klammer World Cup run in Bad Kleinkirchheim. It is 3.2 kilometers long, has an altitude difference of 842 meters and a gradient of up to 80 percent. And on the Katschberg, the most challenging descent is the Direttissima. Even in the Styrian Salzkammergut, you can really let it rip - provided you have the necessary skiing skills: namely on the Loser Alm Schuss - the steepest slope in the Salzkammergut.
There are also some slopes in Lower Austria on the Hochkar that are quite challenging: for example the Karabfahrt with a gradient of 63 percent, the 900 meter long Häsing steep slope or, even better, the Thomas Sykora slope, a real slalom slope. The steepest slope in Lower Austria can of course be found on the Gemeindealpe Mitterbach - the Direttissima from the Terzer Haus is quite something - it goes down with a gradient of 74 percent.
THE TOP 30: AUSTRIA'S TOUGHEST DOWNHILLS
| LOCATION | PISTE | GRADIENT |
| OBERTAUERN | Gamsleiten 2, mogul slope | up to 100 % |
| KAUNERTAL GLACIER | Black Ibex | 87,85 % |
| KITZBÜHEL | strip mousetrap | 85 % |
| HINTERGLEMM | Zwölfer-Nord | 81 % |
| LECH | Long Train | 81 % |
| MONTAFON SILVRETTA NOVA | Black Scorpions | 81 % |
| SKIWELT WILDER KAISER | Alpseite No. 112, Westendorf | 80 % |
| REITERALM | Black Rose | 80 % |
| BAD KLEINKIRCHHEIM | Franz Klammer | 80 % |
| ZELL AM SEE | Schmittenhöhe Trass descent | 79 % |
| MAYRHOFEN | harakiri | 78 % |
| GEMEINDEALPE MITTERBACH | Direttissima Terzerhaus | 74 % |
| DAMÜLS-MELLAU | Sunneg | 73 % |
| ISCHGL | Long Wall C5 | over 70 % |
| SERFAUS | Parallel Lazid-X-Drean & Direttissima | over 70 % |
| HOCHZEIGER-PITZTAL | Zirbenfall | over 70 % |
| HINTERSTODER | inferno | 70 % |
| INNSBRUCK NORDKETTE | Hafelekar: Karrinne ski route | 70 % |
| WARTH-SCHRÖCKEN | Salober | 70 % |
| SAALBACH | Schattberg Nord | 70 % |
| GASTEIN | Bürgerwald piste and S5 Schöneck | 70 % |
| DACHSTEIN WEST | Wilde Hilde | 67 % |
| SÖLDEN | Rotes Kar | 65,14 % |
| KITZSTEINHORN GLACIER | Black Mamba | 63 % |
| HOCHKAR | Karabfahrt | 63 % |
| HOCHKÖNIG | Aberg No. 16 | 62 % |
| SÖLDEN GLACIER | RS World Cup slope Sölden | 62 % |
| KATSCHBERG | Direttissima | 60 – 100 % |
| ST. ANTON AM ARLBERG | Schindlerkar | over 60 % |
| MARIA ALM | Arberg Schreinerloch descent | 60 % |