Carinthia Ski Resorts Austria

On the southern side of the Alps, Carinthia (a.k.a. Kärnten in the local language) state in south-east Austria may not come immediately to mind when considering skiing, but it includes several gems worth discovering. In the south, on the border with Italy, Nassfeld has incredible terrain and lift infrastructure. In the north, bordering on Salzburgerland is the incredible Grossglockner Heiligenblut with its massive skiable vertical. And near the city of Villach (which is close to the Slovenian border), sensational Gerlitzen is propped above Lake Ossiach.

The state's capital of Klagenfurt is probably just a little too far from the action to be included in many ski safari itineraries, but it has a fantastic 16th century old town centre and is lively during the Christmas markets in December.

Carinthia Skiing & Snowboarding

Carinthia has around 40 ski areas with lifts. About 10 or so are large enough to worth a visit by powder seekers, and there are probably a few others not mentioned in the list below that could be very interesting on their day. I'm thinking of small ski areas like Klippitztörl, Petzen, and Heidialm. Check out all the best ski resorts in Carinthia-Kärnten below.

• Nassfeld down in the south is the biggest in Carinthia. Its 110km of trails and expansive off-piste terrain with a hefty 1,400m skiable vertical are in a high snowfall region, and when storms roll from the southwest, it’s time to hit the road or the train to Hermagor!
• Bad Kleinkirchheim has over 100km of pistes and 1,000m of vertical in a widely spread but still interconnected ski resort - second largest in Carinthia.
• Katschberg straddles the border of Salzburgerland & Carinthia just south of Sankt Michael im Lungau. 82 km of pistes & routes mostly for intermediates and an impressive 1,150m of skiable vertical with a longest run of 6km.
• Gerlitzen is another intriguing local’s mountain situated on a lone peak overlooking Lake Ossiach (Ossiacher See) just north-east of Villach. Its 53km of pistes & additional 12km of ski routes (including one 9km long!) all spiral out from its 1,911m summit, reminiscent of the likes of Kronplatz in the Dolomites. The 900m(ish) skiable vertical is more than enough to melt legs on the longest piste trails of up to 6km.
• Grossglockner Heiligenblut has 1,600m of vertical and a highest lifted point of just over 2,900m making it stand out from the crowd in Carinthia. The relatively isolated location, massive freeride terrain and proximity to the highest peak in Austria also provide gravitas. Add in a ski lift that spends a large part of its journey underground and you have to wonder why we haven’t visited yet.
• Turracher Höhe straddles the border of Styria & Carinthia at Turracher Hohe Pass and is often rated as the best in the region. We will find out if it deserves such kudos! Nearby at the Heidialm ski area (which has an interesting freeride zone) a stay at the Heidi Hotel would be worthwhile!
• Goldeck whilst only a relatively small ski area with around 34km of trails, looms huge over the town of Spittal an der Drau. On a good day one can ski 1,600m of vertical on a black piste all the way to the gondola station in the valley on the edge of town. We saw it from a train once many years as we were passing through on the way to Gastein from the Dolomites and thought , ‘now that looks very interesting’….
• Ankogel Mallnitz is a secret stash on a powder day with a sleepy town on the train line that’s links the south to Gastein.
• Mölltal Glacier ski resort is unique in Austria. It is the highest, most snow sure & longest operating ski resort on the south side of the Austrian Alps. Mölltal Gletscher can be combined with nearby Ankogel ski area, and both are connected by free ski bus.

Review & More Info

The Powderhounds have only skied a handful of resorts in Carinthia and hope to do a few more this coming season. We will add more info after we visit a few more ski areas ...... so much to do! Check out the reviews of the ones we have already visited via the resort links above.

See how the Austrian ski resorts compare on the Austria ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.

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