Ski areas Austria
Austria, with a landscape dominated by the Alps, offers numerous possibilities to enjoy winter sports. Especially the federal states Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Salzburg offer at least one ski region in nearly every alpine valley.
The largest ski areas in Austria reach over several peaks and provide up to over 100 lift systems and 250 kilometres of prepared piste. Some of the most famous regions are the Ziller Valley, the ski area Wilder Kaiser, and Arlberg, the cradle of Alpine skiing. Additionally, the Tux Glacier attracts visitors as Austria only year-round ski area and several glaciers (e.g. Sölden, Stubai Glacier) invite guests for a bit of summer skiing.
Numerous Austrian ski regions are regular scenes of world cup competitions. Amongst those is the classic men’s downhill competition down the “Streif” in Kitzbühel, and Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol, was two-time host of the winter Olympics (1964 and 1976).
For Austria, alpine skiing is a major driving force of tourism, the country’s most important economic sector.