East Tyrol Ski Resorts Austria

East Tyrol (a.k.a. Ost Tirol or Osttirol) is an Austrian ski region that is relatively unknown to the international skier. Technically part of the Austrian state of Tyrol, history has meant the region is now completely disconnected from the rest of the Austrian Tirol, and borders Italy to the west instead. The 'missing' piece of the Austrian Tirol, South Tyrol, is now part of Italy. To the east, the region borders Carinthia, and to the north, Salzburgerland, with one important road connection in winter via the Felbertauern Tunnel through to Mittersill.

The most important city in Ost Tirol is Lienz. Easy to get to by train from Italy, or via Innsbruck, Salzburg & Villach in Austria, the city should be a mecca for international ski travellers, but a lack of mega-sized resorts limits the possibilities for many.

East Tyrol Skiing & Snowboarding

There are about 15 ski areas in Osttirol that have lifts. Of these there are just a handful that are visiting. A feature of the larger East Tyrol ski areas is the high-quality lifts & pistes, and also the lift pass price, which for the size of these ski areas is quite steep. Hard to say what the region is like for powder seekers, but the fact we haven't skied there at all probably says a bit. But who knows, maybe we are wrong and need to concentrate on finding time to visit.... Hah, we are never wrong but will visit anyway just to be sure.

• Großglockner Resort Kals-Matrei is the largest in the region and despite a hefty 1,500m of skiable vertical, the total of ski pistes is only about 40km.
• St. Jakob im Defereggental has around 24km of pistes, a lusty 1,300m of skiable vertical and relatively remote location. St Jakob has all the ingredients of a 'secret stash'.
• Sillian is the one East Tyrol resort that we have come very close to skiing. While we were at nearby 3 Peaks Dolomites, Sillian was on our list of things to do via the local ski trains that run between Brunico & Sillian. Circumstances meant otherwise, but with 1,300m of skiable vertical, train access, and a nearby castle, it sounds fun. There also long-term plans for a cross-border set of ski lifts to connect the two resorts.
• Zettersfeld is the larger of what was once two resorts in the mountains overlooking the city of Lienz. Its opposite, Hochstein, seems to have succumbed to the frailties of the market and is no longer in operation during winter for skiing. Zettersfield is still going strong though. Its sunny 21km of ski trails & 600m+ of skiable vertical all above 1,650m sounds promising. Even better is one can access it via a gondola in the valley on the edge of convivial Lienz.
• Obertilliach is possibly one of those cheeky little ski resorts that we so adore. 800m of sunny skiable vertical, an isolated valley, a traditional 'cow barn' mountain village at 1,400m altitude, cheap ski lift pass, several long ski routes, sledding trails .... sounds like the juice for us. Only question is snow!

We will add more to the page once we have skied a few of the resorts.

Reviews & More Info

The Powderhounds have previously passed through East Tyrol by car & train but have never skied the region. We are keen to explore some of the ski areas when the snow & weather patterns make it worthwhile. Click on the various ski resort links via this overview or our website menu to see more info & reviews for any of the Osttirol ski resorts.

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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