Saalbach Ski Area

Skiing in Saalbach

Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbunn is a large lift-linked ski area with 270km of slopes, mostly aimed at intermediates. Advanced skiers have about a dozen groomed black runs and 18 ungroomed avalanche-secure freeride routes, although some are very short. There are specialist beginner areas in all the villages.

SkiCircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbunn Overview

The Skicircus is shaped like a U. It stretches from Fieberbrunn in the north-west, down to Hinterglemm, around to Saalbach and back up to Leogang in the north-east, although it’s a two-way circuit so it can be skied in both directions. The open part of the U is the gap between Fieberbrunn and Leogang which are not connected by lifts and pistes, except via the slopes above Hinterglemm and Leogang.

It’s a huge area: as the crow flies, Hinterglemm is about 10kn from Fieberbrunn; Leogang is about 8 km from Saalbach; and whilst Hinterglemm and Saalbach are only a couple of kilometres apart at their closest point, their slopes extend far beyond the two villages, spanning a valley that’s about 15km long.

The Skicircus piste map depicts the ski area reasonably accurately, but it is rotated by 90 degrees, so the western edge of the ski area (the lifts and pistes linking Fieberbrunn and Hinterglemm) are at the top of the piste map, and the northern edge is on the right.

Skiing around Fieberbrunn (790m – 2020m)

Fieberbrunn’s ski area starts with about 10 north-facing blue and red runs descending into the resort from Larchfilzkogel (1645m). This is also where Fieberbrunn’s nursery slopes are. Beyond Larchfilzkogel, there is a north-facing red run (with short optional black run and ungroomed ski route variants) close to the Reckmoos Nord gondola. Whilst this is likely to be a highlight for stronger skiers, it does form an obstacle for novices and less confident intermediates who might prefer to descend in the gondola., On the other side of the ridge there is a choice of red and blue runs close to the Reckmoos Sud gondola which lead down to the TirolS2 gondola that connects Fieberbrunn with Hinterglemm. Above the Reckmoos lift is also the Hochhorndl chairlift which is the highpoint of the local area (2020m). From the summit, there are testing red pistes and ungroomed ski routes.

Skiing around Hinterglemm (1003m – 2096m)

Hinterglemm lies in a valley with skiing on both sides. To the south (the left hand side of the piste map) are mostly north-facing slopes on Zwolferkogel (1984m) and Schattberg West (2096m), which is the highest point in the Skicircus. Most of the runs are blue and red pistes, but strong skiers will want to check out the black and red runs between Zwolferkogel and Hinterglemm (#36, #36a) shown in the photo above which were used for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship races. At the foot of Schattberg West are Hinterglemm’s nursery slopes and at the top is a blue and red run link to Saalbach.

On the other side of the valley are mostly sunny south-facing slopes coming down from Reichkendlkopf (1941m), Hasenauerkopf (1790m) and Reiterkogel (1818m). These are almost entirely easy blue runs, which can get slushy  in warm weather. Reiterkogel is linked by lift and piste to Bernkogel above Saalbach, and also to Feberbrunn via the #125 red run and the TirolS1 lift.

Skiing around Saalbach (1003m -2020m)

Saalbach, like Hinterglemm, has skiing on both sides of the valley, and both sides connect with Hinterglemm’s slopes. To the south of Saalbach are mostly north-facing slopes on Schattberg Ost (2020m). This hosts Saalbach’s two most famous runs: black piste #1a/1b which plunges straight through the woods back down to Saalbach; and the longer, milder and more scenic north-east facing blue run #2/2a which curves around the mountain as it descends to Vorderglemm, an isolated hamlet 3 km to the east of Sallabach,

The northside of Saalbach is where Saalbach’s nursery slopes are. Above them are gentle, sunny, treelined, south-facing blue runs descending from Bernkogel (1740m), Kohlmaiskopf (1794m), Prudelkopf (1881m), and Wildenkarkogel (1910m) into Saalbach, Vorderglemm and Viehofen. This is a great area for less confident intermediates. It also provides the links to Hinterglemm and Fieberbrunn via Bernkogel, to Leogang via Wildenkarkogel, and to Zell am See via Viehhofen.

Skiing around Leogang (786m – 1914m)

Leogang has north-facing slopes coming down from Kleiner Asitz (1870m) to Leogang itself and the Asitzbahn 1 base station to the west of the village. There are two long blue descents and some much shorter red and black runs plus some ski routes. Beyond Kleiner Asitz some short east-facing runs (mostly blues) and ski lifts extend the ski area to Gr.Asitz (1914m), from where there are south-facing blue piste descents to Viehhofen and Voderglemm, providing the links to Saalbach and Zell am See. 

Beginner skiing in Saalbach

All the Skicircus villages have nursery slopes for beginners that are covered by inexpensive blocks of tickets. Probably the best are at Hinterglemm and Fieberbrunn.

Hinterglemm has bigger and better nursery slopes than Saalbach, and Hinterglemm’s face north which means they generally have better snow than Sallbach’s south-facing slopes. However there are frequent buses between the villages, so wherever beginners are based, they can try both of them.

Having graduated from the nursery slopes, there are literally dozens of novice-friendly easy blue runs to start exploring on. The north-facing ones (on the lefthand side of the piste map) tend to be slightly steeper than the south-facing ones, but can have better snow,

Fieberbrunn only has one specialist nursery slope but it’s a good one situated to the side of the main area. Once beginners have graduated from here, there is a good selection of wide gentle runs for beginners to gain confidence and experience on.

Ski Schools & Ski Lessons in Saalbach-Hinterglemm

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Intermediate Skiing in Saalbach

Skicircus Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-Fieberbrunn could have been designed for intermediate skiers. Approximately 90% of the slopes are blue and red pistes, giving intermediate-level skiers mile after mile of trouble-free but exhilarating terrain.

The blue and red runs are graded accurately so there are few nasty surprises. Even less confident intermediates who want to stick to blue runs have a huge area to explore.

Almost all the south-facing runs above the Saalbach-Hinterglemm valley are blue, as are most of the runs from Vorderglemm and Viehhofen to Leogang and back. On the north-facing side of the Saalbach-Hinterglemm valley, blue-run-only skiers have to pick their route more carefully but there are still excellent all-blue descents from Zwolferkogel down to Hinterglemm and from Schattberg down to Vorderglemm.

Most intermediate skiers, however, will enjoy the red runs in the Skicircus too. Highlights include the red run descents down Zwolferkogel, and the long journey between Hinterglemm and Fieberbrunn and back, which is almost entirely on red runs.  

Intermediate skiers who want an endurance test should also Ski Your Limit Challenge – a ski circuit with 65km of downhill skiing, 32 lifts and 12400m of elevation gain. It is just possible to do it in a single day, but you have to be fit, and fast.

And if by any chance, intermediate skiers grow tired of skiing all the red and blue runs in the Skicircus, they can ski over to Zell am see via the Viehhofen piste (#168) as that too is covered by their Ski Alpin card lift pass. 

Advanced & Expert Skiing in Saalbach

Advanced and expert skiers who want to be tested have a few isolated black runs, plus some ungroomed avalanche-secured freeride ski routes and proper off-piste terrain for which they will need a guide or freeride instructor. Fieberbrunn is the best base for freeriders.

There aren’t a lot of black runs in the Skicircus and those that do exist are scattered all around, so you often have to ski a lot of red pistes and blue pistes to get to them. But if you’re staying in Saalbach itself, one of the best blacks is on your doorstep.

This is the north-facing descent through the trees from Schattberg Ost into Saalbach that combines red piste #1 with black pistes #1b and #1a to form a continuous run with a vertical drop of over 1000m. The slope is groomed every night but moguls steadily build up during the day, so ski it early if you like a smooth ride.

There is a similar descent above Hinterglemm from Zwolferkogel that is used for FIS World Cup and World Championship ski races. This combines black run #36 with red run #36a. It’s north-east facing and at it’s best in the morning.

Over in Fieberbrunn, piste #121 is officially a red run with just a small optional black section in the middle. But the run is very wide, and if you select its steepest pitch, particularly at the start, it’s more like a black.

Fieberbrunn, however, is more famous for its ungroomed freeride slopes. Ski routes 122 and 124 form a continuous ungroomed but avalanche-secured freeride descent from the sector highpoint at 2020m down to blue run 124. 

There are also longer off-piste itineraries away from the official ski area for which you will need a mountain  guide or a freeride instructor (S4 Snowsports in Fieberbrunn can provide both). The near-vertical descent of Wildseeloder is used by the Freeride World Tour. This is expert-only terrain but there are less extreme routes nearby.

Boarding & Freestyle in Saalbach

The highlight for freestyle is the Nitro Park located near the Asitzmuldenbahn lift on Kleiner Asitz between Vorderglemm and Leogang, But there are smaller family snowparks dotted all around the Skicircus.

Mountain Restaurants in Saalbach

Saalbach is famous for its mountain restaurants, called ‘mountain huts’. There are about 60, or almost one per lift, spread all around the Skicircus, and some are full of character.

The Wildalpgatterl on piste 104 above Fieberbrunn (see photo above) is an excellent venue for a proper sit-down lunch with table-service in an atmospheric building, or outside on the sundeck. Just keep an eye on the time if you have to get back to Saalbach or Hinterglemm because it’s an easy place to linger too long in, and the homemade food takes time to prepare, but it’s worth it.

The Barnalm next to the Bernkogel cable car station above Saalbach is famous for its music and apres-ski scene, especially in its adjoining Umbrella bar, where the fun starts around noon and continues till after the lifts have closed.

The Alte Schmiede, at the summit of the Asitzkogel above Leogang, has been pain stakingly restored, stone by stone. Its sundeck makes it an excellent lunchtime destination in good weather. It’s invariably busy in mid-season, but worth a short wait.

The Hintermaisalm, on  piste 38 above Hinterglemm, is another hut in an historic oldbuilding with excellent local food and drink backed up by good table service.

Thurneralm, on the sunny south-facing slopes above Saalbach, is always warm and cosy, with a real fire, good value simple food and a great location for watching the sun go down, aided by late-afternoon ‘happy-hour’ reduced price drinks.

The Rosswald Hűtte on piste 58 on the south-facing slopes between Hinterglemm and Lengau is another natural sun-trap with amazing views and high quality food.

Alpengasthof Ferchlstadl, above Fieberbrunn on piste 102 has traditional Austrian food with delicious puddings. It’s not only a great location for a final sundowner drink, but by arrangement it also re-opens in the evenings, with guests ferried to and from the restaurant in a piste-basher.