Grossglockner Heiligenblut Ski Resort Austria

Grossglockner Heiligenblut ski resort's 1,600m of vertical and a highest lifted point of just over 2,900m makes it stand out from the crowd in Carinthia. Its 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. Intriguing....

Pros & Cons for Grossglockner Heiligenblut Ski Resort

Pros

• Huge skiable vertical.
• Reliable snowpack well into Spring.
• Excellent alpine freeride terrain.
• Incredible mountain vistas.
• Reasonable lift pass price if pre-purchased online.
• Several great on-mountain ski-in ski-out lodging options.

Cons

• Quite a long distance from major transport hubs.
• Some old, slow ski lifts.

Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)

• A smallish remotish village in a spectacularish surrounds and with all the quirks that come with that.
• Public transport travel to the resort takes a long time but is certainly doable.

Skiing & Snowboarding, Lift & Terrain

Around 55km of pistes and a further 10 km of ski routes provide great riding for intermediates & advanced powder hunters. The longest run is over 1,300m vertical & 7km long from Schareck summit (2,604m) all the way back into the village. The off-piste terrain from the top of Schareck looks the absolute goods too. Beginner skiers & snowboarders pistes are limited to the lower mountain. It always bemuses us when ski resorts mark a run red (intermediate) up high and midway downgrade it to blue (easy-beginner). Unless there is a lift accessing it at the point of change, it simply should stay red - rant over!

Check out the Grossglockner Heiligenblut Ski Trail Map below.

Grossglockner Heiligenblut Ski Trail Map

Whilst some its eleven ski lifts may be getting a little 'long in the tooth', they do ride up & through some impressive terrain. The Tunnelbahn Fleissalm is far and away the weirdest thing we have seen on a ski hill. Built in 1987 it runs for nearly 1.5km through the mountain. Eleven 5-person cabins are connected together (pulse gondola style) and move off as one on a single line, passing the oncoming cabins (funicular style) halfway along the journey. The newest lift on the hill is the Panorama gondola from 2006. The Hochfleiss T-bar goes up a leg-testing 500m+ vertical to the highest lifted point of 2,900m, limiting the number of people that can pillage this zone of the ski resort.

Where is Grossglockner Heiligenblut Austria?

The Grossglockner Heiligenblut ski resort is the northwest of Carinthia state, near the highest mountain in Austria, the 3,798m Großglockner. In winter, the village at the ski resort base, Heiligenblut am Großglockner is situated in a relatively isolated location due to the seasonal closure of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road from the north.

In winter the closest major town is Ost Tirol’s Lienz, around 39km (40min drive) to the south. Lienz also serves as one of two possible railway hubs, the other is Mallnitz.

The closest airports is at Carinthia’s capital, Klagenfurt KLU), however the limited number of seasonal flights from minor UK & German airports probably makes it a non-starter for most international travellers. Airports like Munich (MUC), Innsbruck (INN) & Salzburg (SZG) offer better options.

Trains from Munich & Salzburg will get you to Mallnitz without too much fuss, and from Innsbruck, trains to Lienz via Italy are a voyage of discovery. From Mallnitz train station, take the 5114 bus to Obervellach Seilbahnplatz (10min), where you change to the 5108 which will take you all the way to Heiligenblut in 1hr 10min. From Lienz train station, the route 942 bus connects to the Winklern im Mölltal bus terminal in 35min (every 2hr), where a change is necessary on to the route 5108 bus that originates from Spittal an der Drau and comes via Obervellach. From Winklern to Heiligenblut takes about 30min.

Großglockner Heiligenblut Accommodation

The village of Heiligenblut am Großglockner has positively ooodles of fantastic accommodation available, in part due to its position along the heavily touristed summer road that passes up and through the mountains between here and Zell am See (the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, or Großglockner Hochalpenstraße). This abundance of lodging is a boon for skiers.

Aside from staying at a hotel or guest house in the admittedly pretty village of Heiligenblut, there are several upper mountain locations with accommodation too, the best of which is situated at over 2,300m, the weirdly named Wallackhaus RegioJet Hotel - whatever happened to just calling it a Berggasthof?

Another interesting location away from the admittedly pretty village, is the positively ‘old school’ but fantastically located Panoramarestaurant Kaiser Franz-Josefs-Höhe.

Search & book a place to stay via the Heiligenblut am Grossglockner Ski Accommodation Listings

Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guiding

Reviews & More Info

The Powderhounds will review Grossglockner Heiligenblut next season. More information about this European ski resort will come after our visit. Stay tuned for our sparkling repartee, new photos & insights.

See how Grossglockner Heiligenblut 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.

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