Snow Space Salzburg

Snow Space Salzburg is a sprawling vast ski region, comprised of 3 main villages: Flachau, Wagrain and St. Johann, plus you can connect to Flauchauwinkl and Kleinarl (say that three times). The “Snow Space” terrain is mostly intermediate and mellow, well-groomed, with limited free-ride opportunities.

The connection of “Snow Space” 12 Peaks (we counted 7 and skied the entire resort – so it’s ski area math) are two signature lynch-pin lifts, the G-Link – a mega modern tram that transports 130 skiers across the valley in style every 10-minutes, and the long Panorama Link gondola. Thanks to these 2 massive transport lifts you have access to 210 kilometers of pistes and 70 ski lifts. You can also access additional terrain by taking a frequent, short, free shuttle bus from Flachauwinkl over to Zauchensee (all on the same ticket). That’s called Ski Paradies. Yes, it gets confusing, and vast. The trail maps don’t capture it.

It took us 3-days to properly explore the vast Snow Space terrain, on our Super Ski Card.

We started from the village of Wagrain, riding the impressive Flying Mozart – a 10 person, two stage gondola, up to the major skiing. It connects to the two big transfer lifts – the G-Link to St Johann, and the Panorama Link to Flachauwinkl-Kleinarl. Plus from this summit you can drop down into the Flachau ski terrain.

Wagrain has one to three long ski trails, served by each chair or gondola, these trails get a lot of action. At the summit of Wagrain is Gipfelstadl, a beautiful chalet for lunch with a panoramic sun deck overlooking the Flying Mozart, and a cozy old wood interior. The Apres Ski scene is lively here until they send you down the mountain about 5pm (later in Spring).

Off the backside from Wagrain’s Flying Mozart summit (at 1991-meters), you can ski down into Flachau, arguably the best and most interesting skiing of the Snow Space resort. Here you find two modern gondolas and six high-speed chairs (called Starjets & Spacejets). Flachau’s dozen trails are fun, and long with 3,200-vertical feet – the best pitch of these trails is near the end and the bottom. Don’t miss the World Cup FIS ski run to the base, named after the famous Hermann Maier. The legendary Austrian ski racers home, dubbed The Kaiser in ski racing, and the Blitz of Kitz, for his success in Kitzbuhel at the Hahnenkamm Downhill after a spectacular fall in the training run the day prior.

For big après ski, back in Wagrain halfway down under the spectacular Mozart ski lift there is a rocking Apres Ski Scene almost daily at Auhofalm. This mid mountain chalet hosts big parties, serving magnums and trays of Flying Hirsch shots, often with DJs, light shows, and Dancing Angels to entertain skiers at the outside bars. Just note that Auhofalm chalet is above the gondola mid station – so even if you download after drinking, you still need to ski a few hundred meters down to the gondola mid-station, or ski all the way down the one trail that gets treacherous and icy at day’s end when the sun is setting after 4pm.

Over in the Flachauwinkl-Kleinarl area, reached by the long Panorama Link gondola, you find the hugely popular Absolut Park and a few fun trails. This section of Shuttleberg hosts big air events! You will see the impressive terrain parks with big jump lines, a half pipe and rails, plus a Burton Stash – which has natural elements dodging through forested gullies – snowboarders, freeriders and kids love it. From the top of 1980-meter Mooskopf are a few fun animated family ski zones. Even the chairlifts are themed with cartoony mascots and funny forest animals. From the base of Flachauwinkl, you can hop on a free shuttle bus for the short ride to Zauchensee ski area.

St Johann Alpdendorf is the western-most section of Snow Space Salzburg. Reached from Wagrain’s amazing G-Link 130-passenger tram, you cross the valley on the panoramic long lift, rivaling Whistler’s Peak to Peak, and France’s La Plagne and Les Arcs connector. A series of short, high-capacity lifts bring you to the heart of St Johann and Alpendorf.

St Johann skiing is mostly mellow terrain, family-friendly, with some fun ski parks with igloos and mascot characters. Lots of ski schools teach lessons on this terrain, so it gets busy with conga lines of beginners and learn-to-ski groups. There’s one steep trail, the one exception black diamond Hexen trail which is marked by a Witch at the stop, it descends quickly at 70% grade, but its short and groomed, and typically warmed by its eastern exposure. There are two nice trails dropping to a backside T-Bar, some of the most interesting terrain in St Johann, but it doesn’t get sun till late, and its an old “drag lift” back up.

St Johann and Alpendorf offer several classic chalets and restaurants around the slopes. We loved the Aster Mountain Club – this most incredibly modern alpine restaurant lodge is a chic stop for lunch, a drink or après ski, on your way back to Wagrain. Our tip: go to the Aster for a lovely lunch, take the sparkly gold elevator to the upstairs for table service or sit at the glamorous bar with magnificent views. The menu has everything from goulash soup to caviar, beers to big magnums of Champagne. Pretty certain they have a jamming Apres Party here daily.

Snow Space Salzburg‘s motto is “Best of Mountains” but we’re not sure how they conducted their survey. We were able to ski the all the terrain within 3 days. For a fun challenge, you can ski the 12 Peaks and receive the 12 Peaks Trophy, riding 30 lifts, and skiing 21 runs in a day, all tracked on your RFID ski ticket. We chose instead to enjoy each ski region instead of rushing through riding the requisite lifts. The Europeans love these ski circuit challenges, like the Sella Ronda in the Dolomites, and The Challenge at Saalbach.

“Snow Space Salzburg” is a scenic sprawling ski region for intermediates, with the ambiance of Austrian alpine culture. Its proximity to Salzburg, just over an hour, makes it popular for day trippers and bus-loads of skiers too. You can also opt to spend a few nights in Wagrain or St Johann, as part of a ski safari through the Salzburg mountains, including nearby Ski Circus Saalbach, Ski Gastein, Zell am See, Hochkonig, Obertauern, Schladming and Tauplitz. If you have the Super Ski Card, you will be all set in the entire region and more!

Snow Space Salzburg – Flachau-Wagrain-St. Johann Ski Stats:
Elevation: 740 m – 1980 m, 6,496′
Vertical: 1240 m, 4,068′
Lifts: 45 (70 with interconnect)
Trails: 120 km of prepared pistes plus 5km of ski routes (210 Interconnected)