The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Snow Space Salzburg spans 120 kilometres of piste across three interconnected sectors - Flachau, Wagrain, and St. Johann-Alpendorf - with elevations ranging from 740 metres to 1,980 metres and a maximum vertical drop of 1,240 metres. The resort forms part of the broader 210-kilometre ski area when combined with the linked Shuttleberg Flachauwinkl-Kleinarl and Zauchensee zones via the Panorama Link gondola. Annual snowfall averages 250 centimetres, supplemented by 100% snowmaking coverage using 800 snow cannons that can blanket the entire terrain within 72 hours. The resort operates within Ski amadé, granting pass holders access to 760 kilometres of slopes across 25 Austrian ski areas.
The terrain breakdown favours cruising intermediates: 69% of runs are graded red, 28% blue for beginners, with just 3% classified as black. Three main peaks define the area - Grießenkareck at 1,991 metres, Sonntagskogel at 1,850 metres, and Hirschkogel at 1,755 metres - with the St. Johann-Wagrain-Flachau sector alone offering 125 kilometres of trails spanning 15 kilometres from end to end. The longest continuous descent runs 6 kilometres from the Grießenkareck summit down into Flachau village, covering approximately 1,200 metres of vertical. Flachau hosts the Hermann Maier FIS World Cup slope, a 637-metre run with 200 metres of vertical that stages the annual women's night slalom each January.
Over 85 mountain restaurants dot the ski area, from the rustic Birkhahnalm in Flachau to the Buchau Salettl above St. Johann. Après-ski concentrates around the Dampfkessel and Hofstadl bars near the Flachau valley stations, with the village maintaining a lively atmosphere well into the evening. Wagraini's Winter World at the middle station of the Rote 8er gondola provides a dedicated children's learning area with magic carpets, a dwarf house, and a beginner snow park. The resort operates seven entry points across the three villages, each with free parking directly at the lift bases.
The Ski amadé season pass costs €689 for adults and unlocks 270 lifts across the network, whilst single-day tickets for Snow Space Salzburg range from €52 to €62 depending on peak dates. Children under nine ski free, and youth tickets start at €39 per day. The terrain profile and lift infrastructure make this resort particularly well-suited to intermediate skiers, families, and groups of mixed abilities seeking extensive mileage without challenging steeps. Advanced skiers seeking off-piste terrain should consider venturing to the linked Zauchensee sector, which offers the region's most reliable snow conditions.
1240m
Vertical
69
Runs
120 km
Piste
4m
Annual snow
Ski amadé
Pass
The Terrain
69 runs across 120 km of piste
Snow Space Salzburg spreads 69 runs across 120 km of piste of terrain. It leans intermediate at 69%, with 19 beginner runs to find your feet and 2 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
69
runs
69 runs across 4 grades
Beginner19 runs · 28%
Intermediate48 runs · 69%
Advanced1 run · 2%
Expert1 run · 1%
Time it right
When to visit Snow Space Salzburg
The 2025/26 season at Snow Space Salzburg runs from 29 November 2025 through to Easter Monday, 6 April 2026, offering approximately 130 days of operation. The 12 Peaks ski connection linking all sectors typically opens by early December, with full operations across all 45 lifts maintained through to early April. Partial terrain opening with discounted passes is available in the final weeks before the main closing date. Lift operating hours run 8:30am to 4:00pm daily, extending to 4:15pm from 1 February.
The resort receives an annual average of 250 centimetres of natural snowfall, with the higher-elevation Zauchensee sector offering the most reliable natural cover in the region. The 100% snowmaking system uses 800 snow cannons fed by 1.2 million cubic metres of recycled meltwater and rainwater stored in alpine reservoirs. When temperatures drop below optimal thresholds, the entire ski area can be covered with base snow within 72 hours. Base depths at mid-mountain typically reach 100-140 centimetres by mid-season.
January through early March delivers the most consistent conditions, with February offering the optimal balance of reliable snowpack and lengthening daylight hours. The annual FIS World Cup women's night slalom in Flachau falls in mid-January, drawing thousands of spectators to the Hermann Maier slope. Late November and early December can be variable before the snowmaking system establishes full coverage, whilst late March often brings spring corn snow and softer afternoon conditions on south-facing aspects.
DJ Ötzi's Gipfeltour concert at St. Johann-Alpendorf features as a winter highlight, alongside regular Thursday ski touring sessions and the JoKiWo family festival at the Geisterberg. Weekly kids' days run every Tuesday with guided activities for younger skiers. The resort does not operate regular night skiing, though the floodlit World Cup slope hosts special evening events during the season. Christmas and February school holiday weeks see peak crowds, whilst mid-January and March weekdays offer quieter pistes.
Season 2025 - 2026
28 Nov 2025
Opens
20 Apr 2026
Closes
143
Days open
4 m
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Snow Space Salzburg, and where to stay
Snow Space Salzburg occupies the Pongau region in the Salzach Valley of Austria's Eastern Alps, approximately 70 kilometres south of the city of Salzburg. The three base villages - Flachau (927m), Wagrain (838m), and St. Johann-Alpendorf (740m) - spread across interconnected valleys between the Salzburg Slate Alps to the north and the Niedere Tauern range to the southeast. St. Johann im Pongau serves as the district capital with a population exceeding 10,000, whilst Flachau gained international recognition as the hometown of four-time World Cup champion Hermann Maier. The Liechtensteinklamm gorge, one of the longest and deepest ravines in the Alps, lies just south of St. Johann.
Salzburg city offers the nearest major urban centre, featuring the historic old town, Mozart's birthplace, and the annual Salzburg Festival. Bischofshofen, famous for its ski jumping venue on the Four Hills Tournament circuit, sits 10 kilometres west of St. Johann. The Gastein Valley thermal spa region lies within 30 kilometres to the south, whilst Schladming and the Dachstein glacier region are accessible within an hour's drive east via the B320. The area has been settled since the Bronze Age, with St. Johann first documented as a village in a 1074 deed.
The Tauern Autobahn A10 provides direct motorway access, with exits at Flachau-Wagrain (exit 66) and Pongau junction (exit 47 for St. Johann via the B311). Driving time from Salzburg is approximately 50 minutes; from Munich, allow around two hours via the A8 and A10. From Vienna, the route follows the A1 to the A10, taking approximately three hours. Free parking is available at all seven lift base stations, with electric vehicle charging points installed at valley stations throughout the resort.
Salzburg W.A. Mozart Airport lies 72 kilometres away, with a transfer time of approximately 45 minutes by road. Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport is 153 kilometres distant, requiring roughly 90 minutes by car or shuttle. St. Johann im Pongau railway station sits on the main ÖBB intercity line, with direct trains from Salzburg departing every 30 minutes and journey times of 56-71 minutes. Free ski shuttle buses meet all arriving trains and deliver passengers to the Alpendorf gondola base within 10 minutes. Holders of valid Snow Space lift passes receive free public transport throughout the province of Salzburg on ski days.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Snow Space Salzburg, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation is looking at a major shake-up to its title events calendar. From 2032, World Championships could run not just in odd-numbered years but in every non-Olympic winter too, effectively putting a global title event on the calendar almost every season. The FIS Council has approved the concept following a feasibility study, though an accelerated rollout as early as 2028 is also under consideration.
4 Sept 2026
Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026
Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.
4 Sept 2026
Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season
Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.
2 Sept 2026
Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6
We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.
1 Sept 2026
Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028
Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.
31 Aug 2026
Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured
An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.
28 Aug 2026
Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do
A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.
27 Aug 2026
Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September
Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.
26 Aug 2026
Snow Space Salzburg Lift System
Snow Space Salzburg operates 45 lifts across its core terrain: 10 gondolas, 4 eight-seat chairlifts, 11 six-seat chairlifts, 1 quad chair, 2 aerial trams, and 17 surface lifts including T-bars and magic carpets. The combined system delivers efficient uphill transport with minimal bottlenecks, and the entire network runs daily from 8:30am to 4:00pm, extending to 4:15pm from February onwards. Seven valley stations provide ski-in access from Flachau, Wagrain, and St. Johann-Alpendorf, spreading crowds across multiple entry points. The lift infrastructure earned substantial investment exceeding €35 million in the early 2020s.
The flagship installation is the Flying Mozart, a two-section 10-passenger Doppelmayr gondola rebuilt in 2021 that transports 4,000 guests per hour from Wagrain to the Grießenkareck summit. The 142 Omega-V cabins feature heated individual seats, panoramic glazing, integrated lighting, and free WiFi, with two special glass-floor cabins and onboard selfie cameras. The underground middle station sits 25 metres below grade to preserve the mountain landscape and provides barrier-free transfer to the G-Link aerial tramway. The G-Link itself connects the Grießenkareck and Grafenberg peaks, functioning as a critical hub for traversing between sectors.
The 3.1-kilometre Panorama Link gondola, completed in October 2020, extends from the Grießenkareck top station to the Shuttleberg summit, opening direct ski access to Flachauwinkl-Kleinarl and onward to Zauchensee. The Alpendorf Gondola provides the primary access from St. Johann, whilst the Achterjet, Starjet 1-3, Spacejet 1, and Rote 8er gondola anchor the Flachau and Wagrain sectors. Named chairlifts including the Sonntagskogel 2 - which features the world's first back-heating system - and the Hirschkogelbahn complete the summit-access network.
Recent seasons have seen continued infrastructure refinement, with the Winkl Link gondola (opened 2024/25) completing the final road crossing between Flachauwinkl and Zauchensee. The resort uses 100% green electricity for all lift operations and has committed to climate-neutral ski operations from the 2025/26 season. Ticket machines at valley stations accept pre-purchased QR codes for contactless pickup, eliminating queues at ticket offices. Free ski buses connect all three villages and meet every arriving train at St. Johann im Pongau station.
45lifts across 7 types
2
Aerial Trams
10
Gondolas
4
8-Person Chairs
11
6-Person Chairs
1
Quad Chair
8
T-Bars
9
Surface Lifts
Snow Space Salzburg lift system
Snow Space Salzburg is served by 45 lifts, listed here by type. Check which lifts are turning against the live conditions before you plan your first laps - early lifts and high-speed chairs get you to the best snow fastest.
More Snow Space Salzburg intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.