Zell am See-Kaprun
Three Separate Mountains, One Pass · A Glacier to ~3,000 m · Skiing Down to a Lake
A Pinzgau region that puts a snow-sure glacier, a family mountain and a lakeside ski hill on one ticket — the catch being that the three don't join up on skis, and you take a bus between the two ends.
- 138 km Piste marketed
- 50 Lifts
- 758 m Base
- 3,024 m Summit
- 2,266 m Vertical
- 90 Pistes mapped
🎟 One pass: Zell am See-Kaprun ski pass covers every lift across the area.
Terrain & aspect
- Novice
- Easy
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- Freeride
Slopes mostly face NE.
Aspect derived from run bearings · OpenSkiStats / © OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
The area
Zell am See-Kaprun sits in the Pinzgau, in Austria's Salzburg province, and it's really three ski mountains sold together rather than one linked domain. Above the lakeside town of Zell am See is the Schmittenhöhe, a broad tree-and-meadow hill topping out around 2,000 m. Up the Kaprun valley to the south are the other two: the Maiskogel, a low family mountain rising from Kaprun village, and above it the Kitzsteinhorn, a glacier that skis to nearly 3,000 m. The marketed figure is around 138 km of piste on one pass, across roughly 53 lifts. Since 2019 the 3K K-onnection gondola links Kaprun straight up over the Maiskogel to the glacier, so those two now join on lifts — but the Schmittenhöhe stays a separate hill you reach by ski-bus. The selling point is the combination: a town by a lake to come home to, and a glacier that holds snow when much of the Alps can't.
Snow you can count on at the shoulders of the season, with a real lakeside town at the bottom of it. The Kitzsteinhorn glacier is one of the more dependable early- and late-season options in the Eastern Alps, open from autumn into spring, and Zell am See itself is a proper working town on the water rather than a purpose-built resort strip. If you want high, reliable snow one day and gentler skiing above a lake the next, the pass gives you both — as long as you're happy to move between them by bus rather than ski.
Two quite different feels on one ticket. The Kitzsteinhorn is high, open and above the treeline — wide glacier pistes, cold snow and big weather, the kind of place that can be brilliant in sun and brutal in cloud. The Schmittenhöhe is the opposite: lower, softer, a lot of it running through trees and open meadows with the lake below you, sheltered and scenic when the tops are socked in. The Maiskogel between them is gentle family terrain. It skis as an intermediate and family area first, with the glacier adding altitude and a bit of seriousness on top.
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. 3 base villages, one lift pass.
Zell am See
750 mTown life and lakeside setting with direct Schmittenhöhe access
A working town on the edge of Lake Zell at around 750 m, with its own mainline station and direct access to the Schmittenhöhe. This is the base with the most life and character — a real lakeside town rather than a resort strip — though you take a ski-bus to reach the Kaprun glacier.
Explore the village →Kaprun
785 mGlacier access and a quieter village base
A calmer village up the valley south of the lake at around 785 m, sitting at the foot of the Maiskogel gondola and closest to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier via the 3K K-onnection. Quieter and more traditional than Zell am See, and the natural base if the glacier is your priority.
Explore the village →Schüttdorf
760 mValue and quick lift access with a busier night scene
The apartment-heavy southern edge of Zell am See at around 760 m, next to the Areit gondola up the Schmittenhöhe. It trades the old-town charm for quick lift access, better value and a livelier, younger evening scene — the budget-conscious base with skiing on the doorstep.
Explore the village →- Zell am See The lakeside town base — most life and character, direct to the Schmittenhöhe, bus to the glacier.
- Kaprun Calmer village at the foot of the Maiskogel gondola, closest to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier.
- Schüttdorf Budget, apartment-heavy edge of Zell am See by the Areit gondola, with a livelier evening scene.
Base in Zell am See for the lake, the town life and direct access to the Schmittenhöhe, accepting a ski-bus to reach the glacier. Stay in Kaprun to be at the foot of the Maiskogel gondola and closest to the Kitzsteinhorn, in a calmer village, with a bus the other way to the Schmitten. Schüttdorf, on the southern edge of Zell am See by the Areit gondola, is the budget and apartment option with quick lift access and a busier evening scene, if less charm. Wherever you stay you'll use the bus to reach at least one of the mountains.
Skiing, by level
Good, and spread across the mountains. The Maiskogel above Kaprun is a gentle, family-focused hill built for learning, and there are easy runs and nursery areas on the Schmittenhöhe and up on the glacier plateau. Beginners get snow-sure gentle terrain on the Kitzsteinhorn when lower slopes are struggling.
The core of the area. The Schmittenhöhe has a good spread of blues and reds through the trees and open pitches, and the glacier's wide runs suit cruising at altitude. A confident intermediate has plenty to work through on each mountain, though you tick them off one at a time rather than touring between them on skis.
Enough to keep you interested without being the headline. There are steeper reds and a handful of blacks on the Schmittenhöhe, and the glacier has some pitch to it, but the marked terrain leans cruising over challenge across all three hills.
The glacier is where it gets serious. The Kitzsteinhorn has lift-served off-piste and high-mountain freeride terrain that experienced skiers seek out, and the altitude keeps the snow cold — but it's crevassed glacier ground, so it's guide-and-avalanche-kit country, not somewhere to wander alone.
A day on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier
Ride the 3K K-onnection from Kaprun up over the Maiskogel and onto the glacier, and spend the day near 3,000 m on cold, wide, above-the-treeline snow. It's the area's high point in every sense — snow-sure when lower slopes aren't, with long-season skiing from autumn into spring — but it lives and dies by the weather, so pick a clear day for the views from the top.
Ski the Schmitten above the lake
The Schmittenhöhe is the scenic, sheltered counterpoint to the glacier: blues and reds threading through trees and open meadows with Lake Zell laid out below. It's the mountain to ski when cloud closes the tops or you just want gentler cruising with a view, and it drops you back towards the town at the end of the day.
A lake-and-mountain rest day
Because the base is a real town on the water, a down day here has somewhere to go. The frozen or half-frozen lakeshore, the town's cafés and the promenade give you a proper break from the slopes — an easier way to pace a week than a purpose-built resort where there's nothing but skiing.
Snow & how the mountain faces
Better than the low bases suggest, because of the glacier. The Kitzsteinhorn holds snow from autumn well into spring and is the reason people rate the area for early and late trips — it's genuinely snow-sure up high. The Schmittenhöhe is a different story: its top is only around 2,000 m and the runs finish near the lake at about 760 m, so its lower pistes lean on snowmaking and feel a warm spell quickly. The Maiskogel is low too. In a lean or mild winter, the glacier carries the trip and the lakeside hill can thin out.
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
Salzburg (SZG) is the natural gateway, ~approx 1.5 hours by road. Munich (MUC) and Innsbruck (INN) are the wider alternatives, each a longer haul of roughly 2 hours or more depending on conditions.
Zell am See has its own mainline station right in town on the Salzburg-Tirol railway, which makes it one of the more genuinely train-friendly ski bases in Austria — you can arrive by rail and be at your accommodation without a mountain transfer.
The key thing to know is that the ski-bus, not your skis, connects the two ends of the area: Zell am See and its Schmittenhöhe lifts on one side, Kaprun with the Maiskogel and glacier on the other. Buses run on the pass; a car is handy but not essential, and within each mountain the gondolas do the work.
Best time to go
The glacier stretches the season at both ends — autumn and spring skiing on the Kitzsteinhorn are a real draw, and it's one of the better bets for an early-December or late-spring trip. January and February give the coldest, most reliable snow across all three mountains, including the lower Schmitten and Maiskogel runs. March brings sun and long days with the glacier still skiing well, while the lakeside pistes soften in the afternoon. Christmas, New Year and the February holiday weeks are the busiest.
- Season opensGlacier from autumn; the valley mountains mid-December, snow-dependent
- Season closesValley slopes into April; the Kitzsteinhorn glacier skis on into spring
- Glacier seasonautumn through to late spring
- Full three-mountain skiingmid-December to April
- Peak weeksChristmas / New Year and February holidays
Good to know
Can you ski between all three mountains?
Is the snow reliable given how low the town is?
Is this a good area for a mixed group or family?
Nearby resorts & areas
Other resorts within reach if you're combining trips or comparing.
Getting to Zell am See-Kaprun
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.