Kitzsteinhorn

An off-piste paradise

The Kitzsteinhorn ranks among Austria’s most popular freeride spots. From the highest access point at 2,900 meters, various freeride routes descent a total of 2,450 vertical meters. The high-alpine location provides the ski resort with snow security and many days of prime powder conditions. A comprehensive information system, consisting of a “Freeride Info Base” at the Alpincenter and an “Info Point” at each route access point, provides information for safe backcountry riding.

Five freeride routes run close to the lifts and impress with diverse terrain:

X1 ICE AGE
The 2-km-long route runs below the Gipfelbahn, through the entire cirque. A steep slope is followed by a flatter section before another steep run that merges into Piste 2.

X2 WEST SIDE STORY
After starting along the 2.8-kilometer-long, most western-situated route on the Kitzsteinhorn, keep your momentum for the high crossing to reach the backcountry, where a vast, snow-covered terrain awaits.

X3 LEFT WING
After the first steep run on this 1.8-km-long route, special attention has to be taken when crossing the piste before diving into powder paradise again.

X4 JUMP RUN
This 1.3-km-long route features numerous cliffs, natural kickers and pipes, which makes it the locals’ most popular route and guarantees terrific fun.

X5 PIPE LINE
At 1 kilometer this route might be short, but it’s definitely quite something – the bumpy terrain calls for balance and thigh muscles.

Kitzsteinhorn Snowparks

Kitzsteinhorn’s extensive snowpark offer is also hard to beat. From the playful setup of the fall Glacier Park, which opens in October, to a full-size spring setup, you can ride park to your heart’s delight for 7 months out of the year. There’s even one of Europe’s only Superpipes, a popular fall training site for the world’s elite pipe riders.

Glacier Park
The Glacier Park is located highest and offers the first features in the fall. The set-up is expanded until December, eventually consisting of easy to intermediate lines with mainly rails and tanks.

Easy Park
The Easy Park opens in December and remains open until the end of freestyle season. Here, the lines are also easy to intermediate, with rails, boxes, jumps and kickers.

Central Park
Experienced and pro riders can enjoy the Central Park from January, where kickers up to 14 meters and 10-meter-long rails as well as tubes and tanks await.

South Central Park
From February, the Jib Line in the South Central Park allows a continuous run over the Easy Park and Central Park, meaning riding up to 20 features in one run.

Superpipe
Built by Olympic shaper Alli Zehetner and his team, the perfectly-shaped superpipe in the Sonnenkarbahn area attracts world’s best halfpipe riders to its up to 6.5-meter-high walls. At the annual “Pipe Training Weeks” in November, legendary names of the international freestyle scene train for their upcoming competition season. During the event, pipe champions book exclusive training slots before the pipe opens to the public in December.