Faces north
Kranjska Gora
22 km (OSM) 807–1,568 m
44% beginner 46% inter. 10% expert
- Vertical
- 761 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 4
- Lifts
- 15
← Ski Ski area · Austria
Ski Amadé
Austria's Biggest Lift Pass · Five Separate Regions · One Ticket, Twenty-Five Resorts
Austria's largest ski pass by marketed size — around 760 km of piste and 260 lifts across five separate mountain regions, sold on one ticket rather than joined into a single network.
- 760 km Piste marketed
- 248 Lifts
- 667 m Base
- 2,642 m Summit
- 1,975 m Vertical
- 460 Pistes mapped
Terrain & aspect
49% beginner 44% inter. 6% expert
- Novice
- Easy
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- Freeride
- Flat / ungraded
Slopes mostly face N — 73% on snow-holding, poleward-facing slopes.
Aspect derived from run bearings · OpenSkiStats / © OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
The area
Ski amadé is a marketing alliance, not one connected mountain. Around 760 km of piste and roughly 260 lifts (marketed figures) sit under a single lift pass, but they are split across five distinct regions in Salzburg and Styria that you mostly reach by road, not on snow: the Salzburger Sportwelt around Flachau, Wagrain and Altenmarkt; Schladming-Dachstein with its lift-linked 4-Berge circuit over the Planai, Hochwurzen, Hauser Kaibling and Reiteralm; the Gastein valley holding Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein; the Hochkönig region above Maria Alm; and Grossarltal. Within each region the pistes genuinely connect — the Schladming four mountains form one circuit, Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein share the Schlossalm-Angertal-Stubnerkogel link — but the regions themselves are separate mountains you drive between. Bases sit low by Alpine standards, roughly 750–1000 m, so this is a snowmaking-backed, tree-lined kind of skiing rather than high glacier terrain.
Range and variety on one ticket. A single pass buys you a fortnight that never repeats — race-pedigree pistes and night skiing at Schladming, gentle family circuits in the Sportwelt, and the strange, vertical spa town of Bad Gastein under the same lift ticket. You trade the ski-between-villages connectivity of the big French domains for genuine regional variety and a very Austrian mix of skiing, tradition and thermal spas.
Classic Austrian mid-mountain skiing: mostly on and below the treeline, with wide groomed cruisers, wooded lower slopes and a sociable hut culture rather than high, open glacier bowls. The regions each have their own feel — Schladming's four mountains are broad, north-facing and race-serious; the Sportwelt around Flachau and Wagrain is gentler and family-shaped; Gastein is steeper and more dramatic, hemmed by the Hohe Tauern. Bases are low, so trees and atmosphere are part of the deal, and a grey day still gives you something to ski into.
Best known for
Explore the villages
The pass is the same everywhere — the village you base in shapes the holiday more than the valley you ski. 7 base villages, one lift pass.
Schladming
745 mLively town skiing, night skiing and the 4-Berge circuit
A real Styrian ski town rather than a purpose-built resort, Schladming sits below the lift-linked 4-Berge circuit and is famous for the floodlit Planai Nightrace — the liveliest, most connected base on the whole Ski amadé pass. It suits skiers who want a town with atmosphere, night skiing and World Cup pistes on the doorstep.
Explore the village →Flachau
925 mCentral, convenient family skiing and value
The busy, central hub of the Salzburger Sportwelt, Flachau is built around gentle groomed terrain, strong ski schools and a mainstream après scene. It's an easy, convenient base for families and groups who want reliable snowmaking and straightforward skiing without the high-altitude prices.
Explore the village →Wagrain
900 mQuiet, central family skiing in the Sportwelt
Wagrain offers the same gentle Sportwelt skiing as Flachau but with a quieter, more village feel, sitting mid-way along the connected circuit toward Alpendorf. It suits families who want easy groomed terrain and calmer evenings.
Explore the village →Bad Gastein
1,000 mBelle-époque scenery, spa evenings and steeper slopes
One of the Alps' most striking towns — belle-époque villas stacked up sheer wooded rock around a thundering waterfall, with radon-rich thermal baths and steeper slopes off the Stubnerkogel and Schlossalm. Bad Gastein is for skiers who want scenery, spa culture and character as much as the pistes.
Explore the village →Bad Hofgastein
860 mRelaxed spa-town skiing and family slopes
The gentler, more relaxed spa base of the Gastein valley, lift-linked up-valley to Bad Gastein via the Schlossalm, with easier family slopes and its own thermal baths. It suits a calmer spa-and-ski week without Bad Gastein's dramatic steepness.
Explore the village →Altenmarkt
855 mValue, quiet and easy Sportwelt access
A quieter, better-value village near the motorway on the edge of the Salzburger Sportwelt, handy for Zauchensee and the wider region. Altenmarkt is a practical gateway base for skiers who want lower costs and don't mind a short drive to the lifts.
Explore the village →Maria Alm
800 mTraditional, quiet skiing under the Hochkönig
A traditional, scenic village on the Hochkönig side of Ski amadé, with its own lift-linked circuit under the Hochkönig massif and a calm, characterful feel away from the busier Sportwelt. It's for skiers who want quiet Alpine tradition on one pass.
Explore the village →- Schladming A proper ski town with the lift-linked 4-Berge circuit and floodlit night skiing on the Planai; best if you want the liveliest base, the most connected local skiing and World Cup pedigree.
- Flachau Central, busy and family-shaped in the Salzburger Sportwelt, with gentle groomed terrain and a mainstream après scene; best for families wanting easy skiing and convenience.
- Wagrain Family skiing like Flachau's but calmer, sitting mid-way on the Sportwelt circuit toward Alpendorf; best for families who want the same gentle terrain with a quieter village.
- Bad Gastein A dramatic belle-époque spa town of villas stacked above a waterfall, with steeper slopes and radon thermal baths; best for scenery, spa evenings and character over ski-in convenience.
- Bad Hofgastein The gentler, more relaxed spa base down-valley, lift-linked to Bad Gastein via the Schlossalm; best for a calmer spa-and-ski week and easier family slopes.
- Altenmarkt A quieter, better-value gateway village near the motorway, handy for the Sportwelt and Zauchensee; best if you want lower-cost lodging and don't mind a short drive to the lifts.
- Maria Alm A traditional, scenic village on the Hochkönig side with its own lift-linked circuit; best for quiet, characterful Alpine calm away from the busier Sportwelt.
Pick the region for the holiday you want, because the pass is the same across all five. For a lively town with the biggest single ski circuit and night skiing, base in Schladming. For easy family skiing and central access to the Sportwelt, Flachau or, more quietly, Wagrain. For value and a calm gateway near the motorway, Altenmarkt. For spa-and-ski and dramatic scenery, the Gastein valley — Bad Gastein for belle-époque character and steeper slopes, Bad Hofgastein for a gentler, more relaxed spa-town base. For traditional Alpine quiet on the Hochkönig side, Maria Alm. Just remember you commit to one region's skiing on the doorstep and drive to reach the others.
Skiing, by level
Beginners
One of the area's real strengths, especially in the Salzburger Sportwelt — Flachau and Wagrain have broad, gentle, snowmaking-backed nursery and blue terrain and a strong ski-school culture. Bad Hofgastein and Maria Alm also suit nervous first-weekers. It is a genuinely good place to learn on reliable groomed snow.
Intermediates
The core of the whole pass. Confident blue and red skiers get huge groomed mileage — the Schladming 4-Berge circuit alone strings four mountains together, and the Sportwelt links Flachau to Wagrain and on toward Alpendorf. Cruising between huts, region by region, is exactly what Ski amadé does best.
Advanced
Enough to keep you busy without being a steep-skiing headline. The Planai's World Cup pistes and the front faces above Bad Gastein give proper pitch, and there are long top-to-bottom reds and blacks in each region. It rewards a piste skier who likes speed and grooming more than one chasing couloirs.
Experts & off-piste
The weakest level here — be honest about it. This is not a lift-served extreme or big-off-piste area on the scale of the high Alps; the altitude and aspect don't support it, and the snowpack is snowmaking-managed rather than deep. Committed experts will find the odd steep line and some touring in the Hohe Tauern near Gastein, but they are better served elsewhere.
Night skiing under the Planai floodlights
Schladming is home to the Nightrace, the floodlit World Cup slalom on the Planai that draws tens of thousands, and the mountain runs floodlit night skiing through the season. Skiing the Planai under the lights — on the same slope the World Cup racers use — is the area's standout after-dark experience, and it's a short walk from the town base.
The 4-Berge-Skischaukel in a day
Schladming's four lift-linked mountains — Planai, Hochwurzen, Hauser Kaibling and Reiteralm — form one continuous circuit of roughly 120 km of connected pistes that you can ride from mountain to mountain without a ski bus. It's the one place in Ski amadé where you genuinely ski between mountains all day, so pace the last connecting lifts to get back to your base.
Ski-and-spa day in Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein pairs steep pistes off the Stubnerkogel and Schlossalm with something no French mega-resort offers: a vertical belle-époque town of grand villas built around a thundering waterfall, and radon-rich thermal baths cut into the rock. Ski the morning, then soak in the Felsentherme with the peaks all around — a very different kind of ski day.
Snow & how the mountain faces
The honest weak point, and the reason for all the snow cannon. With bases around 750–1000 m and summits that rarely climb far above 2000 m, Ski amadé sits lower and warmer than the high French and Swiss areas, and it leans hard on one of Europe's biggest snowmaking systems to open early and hold cover through warm spells. In a cold winter the groomed pistes are excellent; in a mild or late one, the lower runs and the valley links feel it first, and off-piste is never the point here. Gastein and the higher Schladming and Hochkönig sectors hold snow best; the lowest village runs are the first to soften.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
On the map
The area and its base villages on the live map — pan and zoom to explore. The official piste maps are one tap away beneath it.
Legend
Run difficulty
- Novice
- Easy
- Intermediate
- Advanced / Expert
- Freeride / Extreme
- Unknown
Run types
- Downhill — groomed
- Downhill — ungroomed
- Downhill — gladed
- Nordic (groomed)
- Ski tour
- ☾Lit (night)
- △Not patrolled
- →One-way
- ❄Snowmaking
Lifts
- Operating
- Operating (private)
- Non-operating
- Lift station
Slope-gradient grading
Downhill / ski tour
- Flat<3°
- Easy3–14°
- Intermediate14–22°
- Advanced / Expert22–45°
- Freeride / Extreme>45°
Nordic
- Easy<6°
- Intermediate6–9°
- Advanced>9°
Aspect (sun exposure)
- N — least sun
- E — morning
- S — most sun
- W — afternoon
Legend after OpenSkiMap
How to get there
By air
Salzburg (SZG) is the nearest airport and the natural gateway, roughly ~approx 1–1.5 hours by road to the Sportwelt around Flachau and to Schladming, and a little more to the Gastein valley. Munich (MUC) is a larger year-round alternative further out; Salzburg itself is more seasonal in flight choice.
By rail
The main Salzburg–Villach railway runs right through the Gastein valley, with stations at Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein, so Gastein is unusually easy to reach car-free. Schladming and Bischofshofen (for the Sportwelt) are on rail lines too, with a ~approx short transfer up to the villages.
Transfer up
Once you arrive, a car is genuinely useful here, because the five regions are separate mountains linked by road rather than lifts. Within a region you can ski and use local buses, but to sample more than one region on the pass you drive between them.
Best time to go
Mid-December to early April for full lift coverage, with the coldest, most reliable snow in January and February. The Schladming Nightrace in late January is a spectacle but packs the town out. February half-terms bring the Austrian, German and Dutch crowds and the highest prices. Late season into March and early April gives softer afternoon snow and quieter slopes, but at these altitudes the lower runs can thin out early in a warm spring — the higher Gastein and Schladming sectors hold longest.
- Season opensEarly December (snow-dependent; snowmaking allows an early start on the main pistes)
- Season closesEarly-to-mid April across most of the regions; the higher Gastein sectors can run a little longer
- Schladming Nightracelate January (floodlit World Cup slalom on the Planai)
- Peak weeksChristmas / New Year and February half-terms
- Spring skiingMarch into early April on the higher, snow-holding sectors
Good to know
Can I ski between all the regions on snow?
No — this is the thing to understand about Ski amadé. The five regions are separate mountains sold on one pass, and you drive or bus between them. The pistes only connect within a region: Schladming's four mountains form one circuit, and Bad Gastein links to Bad Hofgastein, but you can't ski from Schladming to Gastein.
How reliable is the snow?
Reasonable but not high-Alpine sure. The bases are low and the summits moderate, so Ski amadé depends heavily on a large snowmaking system to open early and hold cover through warm spells. In a cold winter the groomed pistes are excellent; a mild or late season shows on the lower runs first.
Which region is best for families?
The Salzburger Sportwelt around Flachau and Wagrain is the classic family choice — gentle, well-groomed terrain and strong ski schools. Bad Hofgastein and Maria Alm are good quieter alternatives.
Do I need a car?
It helps a lot if you want to make the most of the pass, because reaching more than one region means driving. If you'll happily ski a single region all week, you can manage on local transport — Gastein in particular is easy to reach and get around by train and bus.
Nearby ski areas
Other resorts within reach if you're combining trips or comparing.
~approx 54 km away 
Faces east
Faces east Skicircus Saalbach-Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn
253.1 km (OSM) 795–2,090 m
56% beginner 25% inter. 3% expert
- Vertical
- 1295 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 190
- Lifts
- 78
~approx 81 km away 
Faces north
Faces north KitzSki
174.3 km (OSM) 762–1,993 m
54% beginner 33% inter. 13% expert
- Vertical
- 1230 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 88
- Lifts
- 63
~approx 89 km away 
Faces north-west
Faces north-west SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental
232.7 km (OSM) 609–1,865 m
47% beginner 45% inter. 4% expert
- Vertical
- 1256 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 201
- Lifts
- 80
~approx 90 km away
~approx 99 km away
Faces north
Sella Nevea - Kanin, Sella Nevea - Canin, Kanin - Sella Nevea
10.1 km (OSM) 1,107–2,137 m
28% beginner 56% inter. 16% expert
- Vertical
- 1030 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 18
- Lifts
- 4
~approx 103 km away 
Faces north-west
Faces north-west Zillertal Arena
118.8 km (OSM) 572–2,501 m
36% beginner 56% inter. 8% expert
- Vertical
- 1929 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 93
- Lifts
- 54
~approx 106 km away
Faces north-west
Drei Zinnen - Tre Cime, Drei Zinnen, Tre Cime
105.4 km (OSM) 1,135–2,221 m
47% beginner 27% inter. 9% expert
- Vertical
- 1086 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 89
- Lifts
- 37
~approx 112 km away
Faces north-east
Sudelfeld - Bayrischzell
26.2 km (OSM) 865–1,507 m
46% beginner 39% inter. 15% expert
- Vertical
- 642 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 37
- Lifts
- 13
Getting to Ski Amadé
Book an airport transfer up to the resort, or pick up a car at Salzburg (SZG) — search and compare without leaving the page.
Ski data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via OpenSkiMap & Skimap.org. Basemap © OpenFreeMap / OpenMapTiles. · Weather data © Open-Meteo.com (CC-BY 4.0), ERA5 reanalysis. Village grouping & editorial: mynext.holiday. Transfers via Kiwitaxi; car hire via Travelpayouts.