Despite a dearth of off-piste powder, what a fine, fine jaunt I had with my Powderhounds.com compadre at the Skicircus. And such fine value when skiing for free on an Epic Pass. It’s not often you will hear me say it but well-done Vail Resorts!!

The lift system & general infrastructure here is eye-watering. More 8-seater chairs & 8 or 10-seat gondolas than in most ski nations, let alone at a single interconnected ski resort. Its true too. For example, the Skicircus’ 29 x gondolas & 6 x 8-seater chairs beats Canada’s 21 x gondolas and 2 x 8-seaters by a fair margin! And one would think that all this infrastructure is necessary to move swathes of skiers & snowboarders. That’s true too. But as a result there are no lift lines. And during our visit in early January, not only were there no lift queues, there were also hardly any other skiers.

We started in Fieberbrunn which is in shade and blistering cold on a clear winter’s morning. Thankfully, as expected new gondolas get you up the hill comfort. The last time I skied this sector the Streuböden was a crappy infuriating pulse-gondola. Recently it was upgraded to a 10-seat gondola which is way more pleasant. Slightly disappointed it didn’t have heated seats, but that only goes to prove that there is still room for improvement here! 😊

A full lap of the ski area is a massive undertaking, so we cut out Leogang but otherwise did multiple top to bottom runs everywhere else. 700 to 800m vertical on each run with a few shorter ones in between is incredibly good fun, particularly on dry, cold, gun powder.

The toughest decision when skiing the Skicircus is choosing where to eat. There are almost too many high-quality mountain huts, but it’s a nice problem to have. We ate at the Bärnalm. ‘Twas excellent traditional fare.

I feel in love with the Skicircus during a massive powder day on my first visit over decade ago. And despite its massive increase in popularity and declining natural snowfall, it is still the gold standard for ski resorts in Austria & the Alps, which means it is also the gold standard for the world. Not a bad thing to have on your CV! Come and check it out, and while you are at it, use your lift pass at Zell am See and Kaprun-Kitzsteinhorn too.

See our thoughts on the resort’s pros & cons via the Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm, Leogang Fieberbrunn overview page.

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SKICIRCUS Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn!
Firstly, what a ridiculous name for a ski resort. You think they could have agreed on a shorter name. They could have called it 5 Valleys (Täler) just to go one up on Les 4 Vallées in Switzerland and two up on Les 3 Vallées. Or can we just call it Saalbach etc or Saalbach et al? Secondly, who came up with the resort motto of “Home of Lässig”? There’s nothing casual or low-key about the resort, with its fancy lifts, spiffy lodgings and trendy clientele! OK, got that out of the system…

There was no fresh snow, but the weather was stunning and ideal for cruising around on groomers. Being a powder hound, I often find groomers boring, however I wasn’t bored because there were a mighty lot of them. I’m usually not a supporter of the adage that bigger is better, so I was trying not to be impressed with the place but will admit that its size was remarkable. The only downside was that one day wasn’t enough to do the place justice. There was also the obvious downside that there was no powder and I had to ski groomers.

I was in the hands of my “guide” Stephan, which came with some pros such as his happy demeanour, along with the con that following someone around can lead to navigation laziness. We started in Fieberbrunn and beyond that, I couldn’t tell you exactly where we went. We covered a lot of piste territory and we definitely didn’t ski the J Zone! Whilst some may find it an inconvenience to walk when doing a ski circuit, I quite enjoyed the short stroll through parts of the Saalbach and Hinterglemm villages.

SNOW
After skiing the high elevation Kitzsteinhorn with its mostly north facing slopes the two days prior, the lower elevation of Skicircus Saalbach was noticeable, along with the variety of aspects. It was barren in some places around the villages, which detracted from the otherwise beautiful aesthetics. Most of Austria was having a very poor start to the season, yet what made Saalbach stand out was the abundance of snow guns, and they didn’t skimp on their usage. It seemed like every run was open with a wide and top-to-bottom coverage of snow.

Surprisingly the quality of the snow was reasonable on the lower slopes towards the end of the day, and riding the groomers on powder skis wasn’t as skatey as anticipated.

CROWDS
It sounds like Saalbach etc gets crazy busy on a powder day and during the main holidays, but this was early January, mid week, and it was quiet. When you frequently have a gondola cabin to yourselves, you know that it’s not that busy.

LIFTS
The lift system was fantastic, but I’m easily impressed because I’m not a connoisseur of Europe skiing and its many great engineering feats. It was almost refreshing to see the old yellow F3 Doischberg gondola cabins that made me feel a little nostalgic for skiing in Japan.

If I was to make one small criticism, it was that on one of the older 4-packs (the E3 Hochhörndl) the foot rests were far too wide and I managed to get tangled up with Stephan when disembarking and they had to stop the lift - embarrassing! Of course, the problem wasn’t my lack of coordination! Luckily the resort had plenty of empty 6-pack and 8-pack chair lifts where we could sit well apart from each other after that. :-)

PISTE
The abundance of intermediate groomers was impressive, which ranged from blue runs that you wouldn’t send a beginner down, to pitchy lines that were dark red. Piste were generally long and autobahn wide with no speed limits. There were many fall-line groomers which I adore, plus some with berms and little rollers to keep it interesting.

Unlike North America where usually a lift services many runs, at Saalbach there was just one or two piste per lift (hence the ridiculous number of lifts). This obviously leaves plenty of scope for off-piste.

OFF-PISTE
The off-piste looked endless and there were lots of low-hanging fruit options where you could just ski out wide from a lift and end up down on a piste, along with longer routes that would require some navigation savvy. Sadly I only looked from afar as the snow quality detracted from the reality of the attractiveness of the off-piste.

FAMILY
If you have kids learning to ski, there is beginner terrain, yet knowing which blue runs are actually blue versus dark blue might be a challenge. I guess that’s what instructors are for.

VALUE
It has a rep for being costly by Austrian standards, and thankfully for a day visit it wasn’t apparent to us. Our local ski resort is on the Epic Pass so the lift ticket costs were covered. We stayed in Kaprun in decent value accommodation and drove up to the free parking at Fieberbrunn. Lunch near the Bernkogel lifts at the nice Bärnalm mountain restaurant seemed reasonable, and if not for the skiing, I’m coming back to Austria for the desserts!

NIGHTLIFE
Saalbach etc must have a big party vibe considering it has strip bars, but we didn’t partake in après ski festivities nor stripping. We had to skedaddle to start the journey towards the 4 Vallées where a big storm was brewing. So Saalbach etc, I bid you ciao, ciao, ciao for now.
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Biases: 69 years old and former excellent skier now too old to make that claim. Got to ski Saalbach & Hinterglemm in early February, 2026. Powderhounds looking for off-piste would have not been happy with the conditions, no fresh snow which was a shame since the off-piste looked like it would be a ton of fun. Fortunately the pistes were absolutely a joy. A large amount of red intermediate runs throughout the region that drop some serious vertical once you get the feel of the mountains. Most of the individual ski areas are not huge like a Vail or a Mammoth but they more than make up for it in vertical and quality. Hinterglemm was a highlight and a nice town in which to stay. Both areas have a substantial amount of snowmaking. Food excellent. Great mountains - wish they had more snow. Hope to come back.
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The Saalbach area is massive (zoned A to I.........and L - 10 zones!) and whilst it was too much for us to do in a day, we soaked in as much as we could. This place is an experience beyond simply skiing. It's where the well-to-do go. It's more expensive so watching the 'pretty' people is an event in itself. It's where you find quirky things like new cars encased in glass in the middle of a major run. Where the lift seats are sports car quality and the winter hiking trail forbids any skiing at all. Everything is a visual feast.

We parked at the quieter location of Vorderglemm at the bottom of the Schönleitenbahn gondola (I zone) on a gloriously sunny day and while the snow quality wasn't the best, we got our fill of fun and adventure.

We cruised through fabulous piste runs up the Wildenkarkogel (1910m) and across to the L zone of the Kniestichkogel (1570m) into Leogang township. Heading back up we were treated with superb vistas everywhere we looked so we took morning tea at the Alte Schmiede restaurant at the top of the Asitzbahn II gondola, which I recommend if only to check out the unique toilet.

As we made our way across to the H zone we went up the Kohlmaiskopf (1794m) and into Saalbach proper which is quite the pretty town, worthy of many a photo of the ski-decked-pedestrians that dominates the footpaths and roads. Out of Saalbach we ventured into the G zone and up to Bernkogel (1740m). The G and H zones appear to be the busier areas being the easiest to access for the pretty people out of Saalbach and Hinterglemm.

With that in mind we headed across the valley where the Schattbergs rise above 2000m in the A zone with very few humans about. We finished our day with the very fun and incredibly long number 2 and 2a run back down to Vorderglemm from the top of Schattberg Ost. Over 1000m vertical!!! Yeehah! Combined with a late lunch in The Hochwart Tenne just above our car-park, it was a perfect way to finish a feast of a day. (I highly recommend Hochwart Tenne for great food and drink and very friendly staff.)

Cruisy piste runs serviced by the best in gondola and chair technology were abundant but there is a plethora of off-piste options throughout the whole Skicircus area where fresh lines are guaranteed and desirable in the right conditions. Saalbach is part of Alpin Card which is a ticket alliance between here, Zell am See and Kitzsteinhorn/Maiskogel in Kaprun. Very handy if you are considering visiting all three premium regions as we did.

So many options here in any condition, so visit with confidence and hopefully have as much fun as we did.
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There was no fresh snow for us at Saalbach but the lines available on a powder day are immense. I have heard it can get busy there on a powder day but from what I saw of the available terrain, fresh lines should last well into the day.
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It has been a few years since we visited what we previously rated as one of the best all-round ski resorts in the world. And whilst it didn’t disappoint, time has taken some shine off the Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn. Its size, lively villages, amazing lifts & facilities, plus fabulous terrain with super long runs are still second to none in the world. But on this visit in mid-January, we found snow quality & quantity lacking and simply too many people (which for the time of year was concerning). Prices too, particularly in some in the restaurants & hotels are heading into the ‘expensive’ range for Austria too.

T'was strange to see the sunny south-aspect off-piste terrain above Vorderglemm almost completely bereft of snow in the entire vertical. A very warm spell over the new year period obviously di some damage. It was stranger too that we still found powder on the lower elevations of the colder north-aspect terrain – a testament to why we still love this resort. And of course, over the following 4 days after our visit, huge volumes of fresh snow were dumped on the resort, but we were elsewhere …… doing powder laps with no crowds at Kitzsteinhorn (same lift pass at Skicircus) & Pass Thurn Kitzski! Something to note about the Skicircus is that much of the off-piste terrain on the south-aspects above Hinterglemm, Saalbach & Vorderglemm is alpine & sub-alpine meadows that require relatively little snow to cover it all up and create a freeride powder paradise.

One great recent development is the new lift connection with Zell am See at the base of piste 60 in the hamlet of Viehhofen. Anyone coming back from Zell am See will need to take a bus to get back up to the Skicircus lifts & villages though, as Viehhofen has no current lift (something that is changing soon).

Perhaps a victim of its own success, a tell-tale sign this resort is getting too busy is that the humble quad chair has become an endangered species, with 6 & 8-seater chairs, plus 8 & 10-person gondolas now the main uphill conveyance. The morning traffic up the Schӧnleitenbahn (gondola) in the morning is quite staggering (with both day-trippers and the early morning lappers from the up-valley villages enjoying the long 2b valley run from Schattberg Ost peak), and the piste condition suffers greatly as a result.

Whilst the busiest areas of the resort are in and around the villages of Saalbach & Hinterglemm, there are several sectors that remain relatively quiet. The excellent north-aspect runs into Leogang below the Asitzbahn mid-station were superb during our visit. We skied shallow powder off-piste despite the last snowfall being over 5 days previous. The Fieberbrunn sector is typically quiet too and has the resorts best freeride terrain by a long way. We found powder on several aspects off the Reiterkogel summit, but each descent required us to ski areas that were officially closed. Intermediate piste 36a was closed, but we found it was one of the best of the day for snow quality. Ironically it is also one of the few pistes in the SkiCircus not covered by snow-making.

A highlight of the resort are the many superb mountain restaurants & bars. Everywhere you go there will be a somewhere interesting to have a drink or food. We were sorely tempted to prop at several of them and drink the afternoon away in the sun, but with a car parked at Vorderglemm, we preferred to ski back rather than take a bus. The long 2b piste back to Vorderglemm is a favourite of ours (despite being rated ‘easy’) and worth doing non-stop and ‘at speed’ if you have the leg strength. Après ski is usually vibrant in the Skicircus but covid restrictions limited the fun this season. All of the multitude of bars in the lower parts near Saalbach or Hinterglemm will be pumping again next year!

The Skicircus is still one of the best interconnected ski resorts in the Austria & the world. Modern, diverse, high-quality, and huge, it is worth visiting all winter, particularly on a powder day. However, having skied hundreds of resorts in Europe, we no longer think is holds a place in the top-tier of resorts for Powder Hounds. Getting too crowded and too expensive. With eyes wide-open, that’s ok, you will still love it! Be flexible on your travels, do a reconnaissance on a clear day, then return in powder during the storm when all the crowds are still tucked up in their hotels waiting for the next sunny day.

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It had last snowed 5 days prior to us skiing Saalbach. In order to not be disappointed I kept my expectations low. Wow. My expectations were blown out of the water. Cracking little town, plenty of fresh off-piste powder still available, great apres scene. Enough terrain and lifts here for a lifetime of (mis)adventure. Fieberbrunn is the 'go to' sector for off-piste, but anywhere is awesome on a powder day. Put it on your list of places to ski before you die.

For a full list of the resort's Pros & Cons, see our Skicircus Saalbach overview page.

See our video here