Ankogel Ski Resort Austria
Ankogel is a small ski resort in Austria with a big skiable vertical in a spectacular setting amongst the peaks of the Hohe Tauern National Park. Situated near the time-warp village of Mallnitz in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia, Ankogel is the starting point for several classic Austrian freeride ski adventures, plus is close to Moelltaler Gletscher & the brilliant Gastein ski areas.
In comparison with the skiing & infrastructure at nearby Bad Gastein, Ankogel is like a blast, and with attributes that we adore. It has no gimmicks, low crowds, and is unhurried, quiet, and understated. There is just enough ski terrain to please everyone, even if it is only for a few days. Even better from our perspective is that aside from busy school holiday periods, you will not have to worry too much about fighting to get fresh tracks on a powder day.
Pros & Cons for Ankogel Ski Resort
Pros
- Massive skiable vertical.
- Uncrowded.
- Some exceptional, full vertical valley runs.
- Amazing freeride backcountry ski routes.
- User friendly & sheltered learn-to-ski area at the resort base.
- A couple of classic Austrian mountain huts.
- The valley around Mallnitz & Flattach has loads of great places to stay & relax in splendid Austrian mountain surrounds.
- Easy public transport access by train (including a sensational car-train) & bus plus ample free car parking close to the lifts.
Cons
- Dated lift system (even though its only from the '90s).
- Expensive lift pass (at the cash desk) relative to the ski lifts & limited scope of on-piste trails.
- Small ski area which is too limited for an extended stay unless skiing nearby Moelltal Glacier & the Gasteinertal.
- Limited ski-in ski-out accommodation.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Small ski area with huge potential if the snow & weather are right.
- Sunny south-aspect terrain.
- Very limited ski-in ski-out accommodation.
- Despite the best efforts of some operators, après ski & nightlife is underwhelming.
- The village at Mallnitz is still dwelling in the 1990s. That’s either good, bad or indifferent - you choose!
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
On paper, we thought the Ankogel skiing & snowboarding terrain would be perfect for Powderhounds, but in reality it feels seriously limited by its lift system and its sunny south-aspect that can bake the snow a tad quicker than is ideal!. On-piste there are some fabulous, long trails that extend from top to bottom, with the valley descents an excellent 7km of sliding on the 1,350m skiable vertical. Skiing them early in the day is pure pleasure. The base area is particularly good for novices (particularly with a reduced lift pass price). Overall though, despite its skiable vertical, the ski area is quite small, and limited in scope if staying on the piste. The inbounds ski experience at Ankogel will improve if a future project to install a modern chairlift on the upper mountain goes ahead.
Check out the ski trail map for Ankogel below.
The real strength of Ankogel is in its off-piste & backcountry potential. The freeride options include some 700m vertical powder runs between the pistes from below the top lift station plus also below the ridgeline from Hannoverhaus & far skiers right into the Luggetörl freeride route. Epic north-aspect descents into the Gasteinertal (Gastein valley) to the town of Böckstein & then returning by train.
Ankogel's lift system feels dated. The two multi-cabin cable cars (Ankogelbahn I & II) are around 30 years old but seem from a much older period. The lower two-cabin cable car (Ankogelbahn I) has a 58-skier total capacity that can get busy early in the day but is usually empty otherwise. The upper three-cabin cable car has a combined capacity of 81-skiers. A shortish T-bar in the middle of the alpine sector makes up the remainder of the lift system on the mountain. The T-bar serves two worthy purposes. Firstly it allows you to avoid uploading on the cable car after every run. Secondly it provides a different angle of approach to some off-piste & sidecountry terrain to skiers’ right of the pistes. The Ankogel Express chairlift project, if it ever gets off the ground, will open additional terrain in the main bowl that is currently only utilised by powder seekers prepared to skin or boot-pack back to the pistes. We will return if/when this chairlift is ever constructed. We are not holding our breath!
Lift Passes
A local lift pass at Ankogel is cheap if pre-purchased online but becomes quite expensive if bought at a ticket office. Any lift passes purchased at Moelltal Glacier will be valid in Ankogel, but not necessarily the other way around! Be sure about what your plans are before committing to any lift tickets.
Where is Ankogel Austria?
Ankogel ski resort is 4km north of Mallnitz in Carinthia state, southern Austria. Closest major city is beautiful Salzburg, approximately 90km to the north. An otherwise circuitous drive from the north to Mallnitz is brilliantly circumvented by the car transport train that travels through the bowels of the mountain from the Gastein valley at Böckstein station. The 15min train ride saves 3 to 4hr driving time in winter.
Gateway international airports are either Salzburg (SZG) (for European & UK skiers) or Munich (MUC) (for everyone else.
Unless one has a rental car, we recommend utilising the train to get to Ankogel via Mallnitz station. From Salzburg, direct trains take as little as 1¾hr to complete the journey. A full train trip from Munich airport to Mallnitz is a respectable 4 to 4½hr.
Search & book train tickets to Mallnitz.
Ankogel Accommodation
Ankogel has no resort village at its base and as such the only accommodation is limited to the ski-in ski-out Hannoverhaus & Hochalmblick. Located in the upper mountain of the ski area in a spectacular setting overlooking the surrounding peaks and valley, Hannoverhaus doubles as a bar/restaurant during the day. Similarly, Hochalmblick sits just below the middle station and also doubles as a bar/restaurant during the day. Beyond that, the town of Mallnitz, 4km to the south, provides the majority of the local accommodation options & is connected to the ski lift base area by regular free buses.
At first glance the quiet outpost of Mallnitz appears to be firmly entrenched in the 1990s. This is best evidenced by the Kodak & Agfa film signage above one shop paying homage to days gone by. And whilst you shouldn't expect a St Anton après ski party any time soon in Mallnitz (perhaps that's a good thing!), there are numerous decent hotels & guesthouses in which to comfortably rest one's head and bars & restaurants for food & beverage. For the best combination of accommodation, hospitality & après ski, try the fabulous Pension Edlinger. The pick of the other hotels & pensions near the centre of town include the exceptional Hotel Bergkristall, Hotel Eggerhof ( with its excellent restaurant), the traditional Hotel Abler, & affordable Hotel Kärntnerhof. All are located within a short stroll of a ski-bus stop. Away from the town centre, there are a plethora of guesthouse rooms & apartments dotted throughout, including the fabulous Haus Waldruhe.
Search & book all Ankogel ski accommodation.
Further down the valley, anyone with an automobile can utilise the plethora of hotels, guesthouses & farm stays around Flattach. Makes a useful central location is intending to ski Moelltal Glacier in addition to Ankogel.
Day trips to Ankogel are possible utilising the brilliant train services between the Gasteinertal & Mallnitz. Our view is that Bad Gastein or Böckstein has better quality lodging options & more of a ‘ski town vibe’, so is worthy of consideration.
Search & book all Gastein ski accommodation.
Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guiding
Ski rentals are available with our partners in the centre of Mallnitz & at the base of the Ankogel gondola. To search & book the latest gear, see our Ankogel Ski & Snowboard Equipment Rentals page .
Some off-piste ski lessons & mountain guiding can make all the difference to a stay at Ankogel - particularly the iconic back-country runs into Sportgastein. For more information & booking, see our Ankogel Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Nearby Ski Resorts
Ankogel is very close to the Gastein ski area and is lift pass interlinked with the Mölltal Glacier resort (open for 9 months of the year).
Review
The Powderhounds first visited Ankogel during season 2019/20. Sadly, the weather did not play ball. While there was a blue sky & sunshine at the base, on the mountain a seething cauldron of storm-force wind, zero visibility & blowing snow made skiing difficult at best, dangerous at worst. To Ankogel's credit at least they ran the lifts as much as possible. We returned in January 2024 to more favourable weather and got a better look at the possibilities. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read all the reviews.
See how Ankogel compares to the rest of the Austrian ski resorts on the Austria ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
Follow Powderhounds Europe on Instagram to see where we are currently skiing. Follow our main Powderhounds page on Facebook to stay in touch with up-to-date info, tours, and discussions.