275 km ski slopes, 81 lifts, 80 on-slope restaurants, 8 villages and three valleys. That’s the SkiWelt in a glimpse. We were curious why such a big ski area in Austria is almost unspoken in Scandinavia, and had to check it out.

SkiWelt impresses in figures. The number of slopes and lifts creates the biggest connected ski area in Austria. And among the biggest in the world, but still quite anonymous.

How come?

No one of the eight villages is among the icon ski villages name-dropped by your friends. This is not a regular sight for the F.I.S world cup. That might be the answer. Another thing might be the low altitude. Skiing starts already at 620 meters above sea and the highest summit ends at 1869 M.A.S.L.

Low altitude suggests that there may not be much snow around due to climate change, and dedicated skiers tend to aim for higher altitudes. Many ski resorts start on the level where Skiwelt summits.

Absolute up-to-date snowmaking system

Before we go into the skiing offered, we need to talk about the snowmaking system in the SkiWelt. It’s absolute up to date, it takes only three days of cold weather to cover the whole area.

The lift company has a forward – leaning sustainable project with solar panels on lift stations producing 50% of the electricity needed. They also have their own hydroelectric power plant running on the meltwater from the slopes.

So, even if there is a lack of nature snow, you can be assured of getting perfect slope conditions.

The easy access through the three valleys, the close distance to Munich and Innsbruck makes SkiWelt a popular day trip destination for the locals.

That also reflects on the lack of world-famous after ski. Most visitors are families and day to day slope troopers.

All modern ski lifts

Wherever you go in SkiWelt there is a top modern lift. A gondola or a detachable chairlift. It is a pleasure to ride the lifts here. There are no cues and a fast-moving uphill. This secures many long runs during the day.

If you are after the feeling of burning legs at the end of the day, you will get it here. Despite the modern lift system, we did not manage to ski all eight villages in one day. The system is simply too big for that.

SkiWelt is a skiarea that suits everyone

That’s the headline all ski areas want to get, and SkiWelt is no different.

Everyone except the party animal and shopaholic will enjoy spending time here.

We visited SkiWelt in the third week of February. The busiest time of the year. All the hotels were occupied, but the slopes were not. The managing company have put significant effort into serving non skiers as well as the skiers.

___

Not less than five full-time employees manage the on-slope free of charge kindergarten in the Söll area. So, even if the hotels are full, maybe just half och the people you see at the breakfast will be skiing the same day.

At SkiWelt you will get your challenge, and burning legs

Even though the area has a family approach, you will be surprised abut the challenge offered by its slopes. The most slopes are red to its character and no slope looks the same.

This is an eldorado for a carve loving slopetrooper. In order not to scare families and beginners, SkiWelt does not highlight their demanding black slopes, (and there are quite a few) they also rather classify a light red slope blue and a light black slope red.

With that said, the on-slope skiing is world-class at SkiWelt.

___

When the snow hits this region, SkiWelt will also offer some excellent off-piste, all accessible by lifts. Especially the Westendorf area where the terrain is more shadowed. Remember that in one run, the elevation difference is over 1200 meters. This is more than enough for most skiers.

Eighty on-slope ski huts for your convenience

There is a restaurant in every corner it seems. It will take years to eat through them all. They are all private owned and managed, securing a unique and genuine feeling in each one of them.

As the SkiWelt is situated between the Wilder Kaiser mountains and Kitzbühel. Being a part of the Kitzbüheler Alps, the scenery is great from the most of the restaurants as well. As I described in the ingress, the SkiWelt is accessible from eight different villages.

___

None of them standing out as “the one”. You are not here for the party or shopping, you are here for skiing. My advice, choose a hotel of your style with half-board. We ended up in Hotel Berghof outside Söll, just a few minutes away from the Hexenwasser gondola.

This is a perfect enter site for accessing the SkiWelt. There are numerous red slopes on top of that gondola with a vertical drop of 800 meters or more in one run.

This is also the biggest night skiing area in Austria with over 10 kilometers of light-flooded slopes. If you are not in the mood for a ski safari, Söll and the lifts surrounding the Hohe Salve summit provide ample skiing options for more than a single day.

___

If you are a slopetrooper, loving long wide perfectly groomed slopes and endless carving. SkiWelt will not disappoint you. We gave it a try, so should you.