Katschberg

Katschberg
Winter fun in the Carinthian-Salzburg border region

The Katschberg, located on the border between Carinthia and Salzburg, has undergone remarkable development in recent years: lifts have been renovated, slopes extended, snowmaking systems brought up to date and the hotel infrastructure upgraded both qualitatively and quantitatively. Katschberg is now one of Austria's most interesting destinations and is easily accessible from the south and north via the A10 Tauern motorway. To ensure that guests can get a parking space even on peak days, there is a sophisticated guidance system that provides information on where and how many of the 3,000 parking spaces are free. In the area, winter sports enthusiasts can expect 70 kilometers of slopes, 16 modern lifts and, according to the resort's own information, "the most comfortable ski huts in the Alps" - 17 in total, including bars and inns. With the expansion of the Gamskogelexpress, the capacity of the cable cars was increased to 28,500 people per hour - from there westwards towards the Freiberglift and Sonnleitnlift there are a number of varied, not too difficult slopes. These are perfect for carving, however - and you can also use the drag lift again. The latter is especially true for children, who nowadays often no longer know how to use a drag lift.

The "Direttissima" is one of the most challenging runs on the Katschberg, which lives up to its name and has a gradient of 60 to 100 percent. The Aineck cable car takes you to the starting point. The "Direttissima" is one of the longest "black" runs in Austria at 2,500 meters. The slopes from the 2,200 meter high Aineck to the Salzburg side are among the most popular on the Katschberg, even more so since a six-kilometer slope was added a few years ago. The trip back to the summit used to be quite arduous because you had to change trains three times and took 40 minutes. For seven winters now, a new 10.8 million Euro Doppelmayr summit cable car and a gondola monocable gondola with eight-person cabins have replaced the last two drag lifts, halving the total ascent time. In addition, the new 8-seater Silverjet 1 gondola from St. Margarethen replaces the Silverjet 2 on the Katschberg from below and provides a more comfortable ride up to the Aineck. And the Silverjet 1 finally replaces the nostalgic 2-seater Aineck chairlift.

All in all The Katschberg is a real family area that also offers interesting package deals. If you haven't had enough of it during the day, you can indulge in the fun of skiing on the Königswiesen piste on Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., even under floodlights. And away from the pistes, a number of rustic huts tempt you with regional delicacies, with the Gamskogelhütte - a unique one - located exactly on the border between Carinthia and Salzburg. The Gamskogelhütte toboggan run, horse-drawn sleigh rides to the Pritzhütte and curling at the Schoberblickhütte also provide variety in the winter atmosphere.