During a warm, shitty early February week of weather in the Alps, based on a very precise snow forecast, I took a punt and headed to Kaprun to ski Kitzsteinhorn for a day. As always seems to be the case when I visit (through good luck AND good management), it snowed just enough to provide a fantastic day out.

After a fantastic evening in Kaprun staying at the new ‘People’s Hotel’, and despite being located next to the Maiskogel gondola base, I jumped on an early bus up the valley to the ‘original’ Kitzsteinhorn valley station. On a fresh snow day, this is the speediest way up the hill because for all its convenience and comfort, the 3K K-onnection gondolas to Kitzsteinhorn from Kaprun do take longer to get to the action in the morning. The Gletscherjet I still works well, providing a swift, direct journey up 1,050m vertical to Langwied. From there I followed my nose as lifts gradually opened.

Early morning turns were sublime with blowing snow, low visibly and no one else enjoying the off-piste powder. The off-piste routes into the lower end of the resort were a little scratchy underneath the powder, but that just increased the challenge presented by them. The snow was deepest and best in the high alpine sector under the ‘closed rope’ from the bottom of the funicular (ski route X1 ish). Stellar powder turns indeed considering the preceding week of warm weather.

On-piste was a different matter. Although they were perfectly powder on groomed, and I must confess to ‘whoop whoop whooping’ out loud as I flew down on a couple of early piste runs, the human wave arrived after 9:30am and changed the experience! Not unusual for this location, it seemed the entire population of the Netherlands had descended onto Kaprun for the week, so there was a distinctly Dutch vibe to the village. Not a bad thing. Weirdly though, they were skiing in huge groups all following each other down the same pistes at the same time. However where one piste was an absolute mess of zigzagging humanity, other were completely bereft and blissful. If you pick the pattern and avoid the groups, on-piste Kitzsteinhorn was great as well.

The negatives of Kitzsteinhorn are the same as usual. An ugly mid-mountain that is a maze of criss-crossed lift infrastructure of every kind known to man ruins the atmosphere of being high in the Alps. And many of those mid-mountain lifts are quite short in vertical, but such is the complexity of the post glacial terrain.

Mid-mountain at Kitzsteinhorn, and away from the masses on the pistes, I had a fantastic lunch at the Krefelder Hütte. Highly recommended for its truly authentic Austrian Alps atmosphere & food. Situated at around 2,300m. You can stay here too. Great first tracks option straight out the back and down a steep off-piste pitch, cross the #11 piste into X3, or head down #11 for a short distance then traverse out right for more fun freeride powder all the way to the Langwied base.

To get back to Kaprun I took the 3K gondolas to Maiskogel. I was interested to see how it was holding up in the warm valley temperatures that the previous few weeks had thrown up. The top half was bullet proof and super, scarily fast. Not great for most of those sliding on it. Below the gondola mid station, deliciously soft snow was a hoot on my fat skis all the way down to the village. It was clear that without snow making, the final 350m of vertical would not have had snow on it.

There are plenty of après ski options at the Maiskogel base, and I indulged in several of them. The new Schneiderei was the nicest, the older Maisi Alm the best. For dinner, on the recommendation of a local, I managed to get a stool near the bar in the popular Hilberger’s Beisl restaurant & wine bar. Fantastic service and a perfect meal pleased me greatly. After, the Paletti Bar & Pizza joint was an easy choice for nightcap. Had I wanted to, I’m sure I could have kicked on for much of the night …. but I’m not as young or enthusiastic for long nights as I used to be!

One thing the new ish 3K K-onnection and Maiskogel gondola have achieved, together with the lift pass link to the Skicircus (as well as Zell am See), is the revitalisation of Kaprun village. New hotels & holiday apartments, plus loads of bars & restaurants, have given Kaprun new life. My visit back in 2017 revealed a downtrodden vibe in Kaprun, but since then, the village has only got better & more lively, to a point now where on its busiest days and nights, there might well be too many people. The price of success perhaps.

I travelled to the region directly from Vienna by train to Zell am See. The bus to Kaprun picks up just opposite the train station entrance and dropped me right in front of my hotel. Given how busy the town was with predominantly Dutch holidayers, I was lucky to get a room at the newly built PEOPLE’S Hotel. Given the relatively paltry sum I paid, the location is one of the best in Kaprun. A few steps from a bus stop, a few more to the gondola base, a short stroll to the centre of town, I couldn’t believe my luck (or good management as I prefer to view it.)

The Kaprun-Kitzsteinhorn-Zell am See-Skicircus Saalbach region has a lot to offer skiers & snowboarders. World-class on & off-piste terrain, incredible lift system, snow surety on the glacier, excellent accommodation and vibrant après ski & nightlife. Come here when the Dutch are off at work, and you will find a lot of joy in Kaprun. And for me, it delivered the goods in every way I’d hoped (and planned for!).

See our thoughts about the resort’s pros & cons on our Kaprun-Kitzsteinhorn overview page.

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What a majestic day we had here. Maiskogel for the kids, families and beginners and the glorious Kitzsteinhorn for the serious on and off piste skiers, on a glacier at 3000m. Perfect.

From Kaprun at 768m, up the Maiskogelbahn, across to Langwied at 1976m on the new and impressive 3K K-ONNECTION, to the quaint ageing bauble of the Gletscherjet 2 then finally on number 3 and 4 gondolas, we emerged on the glacier to glorious sunshine, fresh powder and not many people.

The piste runs (4a, 4b and 4c) around the top t-bars were a great warm up but the best powder warm up for anyone who hasn't experienced real powder was below the wall off the 4c run. Fresh lines on a polite pitch was a great way to get it on. I felt great. This is what I came to Austria to experience. But the best was yet to come. Shimmying under the closed rope, which was a true double black entrance, at the base of the Gletscher Shuttle mini funicular we dived into the deep fresh powder under an imposing rock face and along the X1 freeride. Sublime. You couldn't wipe the smile from my face.

That was the standard for the day. I came to Austria for a powder experience and not only did I get it but I skied it well. It was pure joy. Throw into the mix the impressive infrastructure, clear views without the cold and toilets everywhere (very important to me), this day was my best ski day ever.

What about the cherrys on top?!
1. The Alpincenter at 2450m is a large flat area with funky huts offering food, drink and toilets and varied outdoor seating. It also had the Audi ice huts which were fabulous. There was a car parked in one!
2. The Gipfelwelt is at 3029m. It has a 350m tunnel carved through the Kitzsteinhorn that emerges at a panorama platform that is called "Top of Salzburg". From here, if you are lucky, you can see the highest mountain in Austria, Grossglockner at 3798m. We were lucky. A local told us you get about 10 clear days a year at this height. What a treat! But beware, the tunnel walk in ski gear can be a sweaty one and is not flat. We took a breather in the Gipfel restaurant for a drink which was busy as it's a stunning place for a meal.
3. Beautiful late lunch in the gorgeous and friendly Saulochalm restaurant at the top of Maiskogel.
4. At the bottom of Maiskogel is the Maisi Flitzer Alpine coaster. Didn't get to try it but it looks fun.

On our way home we dropped into Lechnerberg which is a place with a couple of beginner lifts on the outskirts of Kaprun. The whole of the Kaprun / Kitzsteinhorn area caters for all abilities and puts F.U.N. into the skiing experience.

There are plenty of bad weather stories for places at these heights, but we hit the jackpot on all fronts (pun intended). This was an unforgettable place to ski. I'm still smiling just thinking back on it. Do not miss an opportunity to ski the powder of the mighty, majestic Kitzsteinhorn.
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Our third visit to Kitzsteinhorn in January 2022 has firmly put the ski area on an upward trajectory in our estimations. The new 3K link gondolas from Kaprun all the way across to the mountain base of the Kitzsteinhorn ski lifts are a major factor in the uptick! But also a cheeky (and largely unexpected) bluebird powder day plus a fun restaurant & apres ski session in Kaprun & Zell am See show the true strengths of the mountain.

A strong storm the previous day meant operations on the glacier were closed. The resulting 10 to 25cm of cold, dry fresh snow remained unsullied until the next morning. Very few people were up early to reap the harvest, and most of those that were, appeared not the slightest bit interested in the powder. More for us I said!

Untracked powder was everywhere on Kitzsteinhorn this day. The wind direction had clearly been perfect for the mountain. The broad zone around ski route X1 was absolutely fabulous, with snow over thigh deep in parts (according to all the signage though it was all closed!). Routes X2 and X4 were also sublime, but then again so was just about anywhere else. The groomed piste trails were absolute perfection and almost as much fun as the powder (I said almost!). The incredible quality of the snow at this elevation on a shaded northerly aspect is why we ski Europe in January.

We had a very late lunch at the Saulochalm near the top of Maiskogel and cannot rate it more highly. Superb service, meals & atmosphere.

If interested in lively apres ski action & wondering where the best place to stay in the area is, the centre of Zell am See is the answer. Loads of bars, restaurants and fellow snow-sliders looking to have a great night, after a great day!

Kaprun Kitzsteinhorn has the full gamut of interesting snow stuff. Every kind of upward ski lift & conveyance imaginable, a glacier, long wide piste trails, fun and at times challenging off-piste, quality terrain parks, a long season, non-ski activities & viewpoints, great eating and drinking options, lively apres ski in Kaprun or even better in Zell am See, great accommodation, not too many people & of course, reliable snow.

What Kitzsteinhorn lacks is size (it is smaller than it looks), more steep groomers & expert off-piste, and tree skiing. Thankfully its lift pass is valid at Skicircus Saalbach & Zell am See so these deficiencies are made up nearby.

At the end of the day, one of our group described it as 'the best day of skiing he has ever had'. Not a bad endorsement.
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"More man made snow", I grumbled as the gondola rose above the lower pistes near Kaprun. I had my head in my hands when the new cable car carriage turned left. "Lovely view", my travelling companions said as the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and its peak came into view. I agreed but could not see where we would ski within the many mounds of rocks. After putting on the skis we had a warm-up run down a groomed piste on fresh snow. It was pleasant. A chair and surface lift ride later we found some powder. "Well that was fun but I doubt there is any more", I said. "Shut up", my companions said. "Don't be such a misery guts". On the next lift ride up the last bit of cloud had disappeared to expose a huge bowl of untracked snow. 'It must be wind scoured rubbish' I thought. "Lets give it a crack", the companions said. I agreed to join them. BLOODY HELL it was boot to knee-deep, beautiful, light powder. Bloody hell I was wrong about the whole place.......
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Unless you hit the snow levels bang-on then the Kitzsteinhorn will be your friend. Maiskogel not really worth bothering with unless you've beginners with you, in which case it's perfect. If there's a lot of snow then Zell am See is well worth it for the stuff down the front of the hill towards the town. Over the back towards Pinzgauer Hutte is easier but holds the powder well - it's skied out pretty quickly though.
Nah, head to the Kitzsteinhorn, the top of which sits at a respectable 3200m and the top lift just edges over 3000m so at this height you're assured of great snow, great bier and great times. There are 4 or 5 'off-piste' runs which although they really are top end runs - they have the added benefit of coming back to the bottom of a lift! The Eis Bar is pumping at lunchtime and early evening (the whole building carved from ice & snow). A really great place to eat out is Gugenbichl (Lookout Hill), it's a wee bit of a walk from town (20mins) but gets the appetite going nicely. Good traditional fare awaits, the attached organic farm run by one brother and the Gasthaus the other. Kaprun has everything from cheap & cheerful accomodation for those on a budget to top-end Funf-sternen Hotels that serve Sekt (Austrian/German method-Champenoise) at breakfast - the choice is yours (or you bank balance's)!
Don't delay, get there soon.

Prost, zum Voll!
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What a wonderful combination having Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel from the same base at Kaprun.

Really surprised by the length and quality of skiing, huts, and facilities on Maiskogel (the miniature donkeys are sooo cute).

Kitzsteinhorn's terrain is a bit smaller than one expects, but the snow quality, lack of humans, fresh lines several days after the last snowfall, interesting off piste terrain and non ski attractions like the tunnel walk out to the viewpoints (Gipfelwelt 3000 ) are fabulous.

Combined with Zell am See it is a great ski destination.

Apres in Kaprun is not as good as I remember it (or don't !) from a previous visit, but nearby Zell am See has a beautiful town centre and thriving bar district that can more than make up for it. In fact, one could easily argue that Zell am See is the better place to stay when skiing Kaprun.

Only downside for those without a car is that Kitzsteinhorn requires a bus trip - no one likes bus trips!!
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Great skiing and views on Kitzsteinhorn. Worth a visit.
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Really enjoyed our time here with friends making great figure 8s off piste,exploring the bowl and taking in the fantastic views.You can never get tired of hearing "Country Road" by John Denver coming from the Apres bar!. The People are friendly and helpful and the lift system was great with the long ski down testing out the knees!
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Beautiful location, great snow and the sun was shining!
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