I visited Zauchensee for 3 days in April 2023. I was lucky enough to have the last little bit of winter as it snowed for multiple days, giving us around a meter of snow.

I spent 3 days doing basically the same lines under the Gamskogel mountain/lift area. There is so much tree riding and off piste to explore in this area. A solid intermediate rider should be able to explore certain parts of the off piste areas here. Especially the tree runs as you can easily cut back onto the piste on most parts.

I had the luck of going late in the season so it was basically empty. I had a lot of untracked snow to play with, days after the dump. I was going to revisit upcoming season but unfortunately, most accomodation was already booked. I'm definitely revisiting at some point! I haven't even explored the rest of Ski Amadé!
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Zauchensee is a really fun resort. I was there for two deep powder days, both with 18-24" overnight. It is a moderately sized resort with some good terrain. It is not huge, nor does it offer much extreme terrain. However, in the deep, deep conditions we were there for, it had just what we needed. Zauchensee had steep enough terrain, but not a lot of stuff that was so steep that avalanche concerns kept us off it. It was steep enough to handle the 2-4 feet of snow that fell over the two days we were there. There were no super long, consistent pitch runs, but the Tauernkarbahn had about 300m of good pitch, and the Gamskogelbahns about 200m sustained pitches off the top and 300m sustained lower down. There was no powder fever, and no lines. I was lapping deep, untracked runs with walk on chairs. There were a few lift delays because of winds, but nothing significant. I rode the Tauernkarbahn, and the Gamskogelbahn I and II mostly, as those lifts accessed the best terrain. I can't speak to groomers, because it was all deep powder. I would go back for another deep day, as it met my requirements for steep and long enough runs.
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Visited Zauchensee in early January at the start of a long road trip through Austria. We had a fantastically fun time stretching our legs on the long, deserted piste trails, challenging ourselves in amongst the larches, and satiating ourselves with too many beers & spinat knödels.

Compared to its neighbouring resorts, Zauchensee is a quiet outpost nestled in a high alpine valley with fabulous snow and skiing direct to the door of just about every accommodation establishment in the compact village.

Sadly, we didn’t spend long enough here and didn’t ski it on a full-blown powder day, but from what we saw and experienced, Zauchensee is the ‘go to’ ski area during big winter storms. The larch forest and alpine off-piste sectors on the Gamskogel (accessed from the ancient Schwarzwand gondola) provide 750m of sublime skiable vertical on diverse terrain that sucks in the snow. We sent an associate there after our visit when a huge storm was bearing down on Austria (we were in Silvretta Montafon having our own fun!). He experienced endless deep powder runs in this sector with very few other riders out there. From our reconnaissance we certainly got a sense of the resort powder day potential. We loved the steep, wide pistes that run directly into the village from the western side of the resort. Fabulous super schooming. There is a World Cup rated piste for those that way inclined, plus a great novice zone right in the village. We noted the crowd numbers were low throughout the ski area but increased markedly as we ventured toward the Flachauwinkl sector. We expect this to increase further when a new lift finally spans the valley in Flachauwinkl in the coming years. In the mean, start your day in the Zauchensee village for the best first tracks.

The resort village reminds us strongly of Kuhtai. Compact yet lively, it is surrounded by ski terrain and lifts on both sides, providing loads of ski-inn ski-out accommodations, plus easy access for day visitors, and plenty of great bars & restaurants. If you cannot get a room in the village, plenty of well-priced alternatives exist in nearby Altenmarkt-im-Pongau and Radstadt. Free ski buses connect Altenmarkt to the resort village, or you can drive the short distance and park for free outside in the heart of the village.

This region of Austria is replete with incredible ski areas providing premium skiing on perfect groomed terrain (think Schladming & Snow Space Salzburg). With significantly higher base elevations, Zauchensee, & nearby Obertauern, bucks the trend by also providing a premium off-piste freeride experience that any self-respecting powder hound will be keen to seek out when the snow falls. Just be ready to pay for a premium priced lift pass, but at least it gets into all the surrounding Ski amadé resorts too!

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Zauchensee doesn't have vast territory but it is quality. They run World Cup events here which says it all! Three of the 12 Peaks Trophy summits can be accessed from this small but appealing village. They are officially Peaks 10, 11 and 12 but it is a nice place to start your "Gipfel" journey, even if it is back to front.

Our day here was bright and sunny. We had glorious fast groomed runs to build up the confidence at the start of our trip with very few people around. There were also plenty of cool looking off piste options that had real potential in the right conditions but I didn't venture there on this day.

Shout out to the Garnhofhütte and their friendly staff for the super lunch and drinks. This place has a wonderful outdoor area in the front which is perfect when the sun is out, but be warned, it cools down very quickly in the village when the sun disappears in the waning afternoon. Not a problem here though, just head inside and delight in the quintessential beauty and warmness of an Austrian mountain restaurant in winter. Heaven indeed.

I feel like I didn't spend enough time here. It's not a big place but I blew it off too quickly............so there will have to be a next time!
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