Stuhleck

Stuhleck
The more extensive alternative to Semmering

The Stuhleck ski area is located just behind the Semmering coming from Vienna and can be reached quickly and easily via the Semmering road tunnel. The Stuhleck is therefore very popular - especially at weekends and during holiday periods, because you can also get there quickly from Graz via the S6. In addition, there are usually numerous visitors from Slovakia and Hungary. The Stuhleck is one of the most popular ski areas in the region - and not by chance, because coming from the east it is the first large area with a corresponding Alpine feel.
At 1,782 meters, it is also the highest mountain on the eastern edge of the Alps and, with 26 kilometers of slopes, the largest area in eastern Austria. In addition, the season at Stuhleck lasts much longer than in other nearby areas and you can still ski there when the lifts elsewhere have long since closed. Stuhleck has been gradually expanded and modernized in recent years - modern technology is also used there, for example GPS for measuring snow depths for more efficient and recently increased snowmaking - most recently the snow system was expanded in the Ganzeben and Almabfahrt area - or in WiFi hotspots.

As early as 1891 The Stuhleck was the first peak to be climbed on skis - which makes the region around the Semmering a "cradle of skiing". On February 2nd, 1893 - around 130 years ago - the first ski race in Europe took place on the Stuhleck, which is also covered in the Mürzzuschlag Winter Sports Museum, which is well worth a visit. The Stuhleck is also popular with ski tourers, as evidenced by the many climbers on the edge of the piste, most of whom have the Alois Günther House at the summit as their destination. The view from up there is indeed uplifting and stretches from Upper Styria across the Wechsel region and the Vienna Basin to Lake Neusiedl and Hungary. Since the Weissenelf drag lift was replaced by a modern 6-seater chairlift several years ago, you can get from one run to the next on the Stuhleck quite quickly. Provided you are not at the valley or middle station of the Stuhleck cable car at peak times. There you can also buy ski passes, which can now also be ordered online. But once you're on the slopes, nothing stands in the way of having fun. From the mountain station there are several runs down to the valley - the most notable are the celebrity run and the challenging Steinbachalm run. This is also where you'll find the steepest section of the Stuhlek: one section of the Alm run has a temperature of 22.7 degrees.
There is also a night piste, which also includes the snowboard fun park, and a WISBI race track. There is also a training piste. The ski movie service allows you to record yourself completing a 250-meter-long giant slalom course. The "Beginner Park" at the Promibahn, which was built a few years ago in addition to the existing "Blue Tomato Snow Park", has been so popular that another snow park has recently been opened. A "buzzer cam" is used there: pressing a buzzer in the snow park starts a video recording that records the rider as he or she rides over the obstacles. The video clips can then be downloaded from the homepage www.stuhleck.com and sent. There is also a photo point.

In terms of technology At Stuhleck, we try to always keep our finger on the pulse: 5.5 million euros were recently invested in expanding the snowmaking system and building a new slope along the popular Stuhleck descent. The Stuhleck's activity program is rounded off by a tubing run and a five-kilometer-long natural toboggan run. And the Stuhleck also has a lot to offer in terms of cuisine, with ten restaurants - from the modern panorama restaurant to the Friedrichhütte mountain restaurant and the rustic Schwaigerhütte. The W11 panorama restaurant at the Weißenelfbahn mountain station was recently expanded to include a new snow lounge, which offers a cozy place with a fireplace and a view of the ski area even in bad weather or when it's snowing. For two years now, additional "beach cabanas" have been inviting people to linger on the terrace. There is more space for skis in the new ski depot at the valley station.

The climate-friendly journey is also a topic that has recently received increased attention: There are cooperations with ÖBB, Blaguss, City Sports and Slovak Lines; the Stuhleck can be reached quickly and easily by bus from Mürzzuschlag train station. And for those who are travelling by electric car, there are two public e-charging stations near the lift at parking lot 1 and parking lot 4.