Ellmau Ski Facts
LOCAL AREA: SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser covers the villages of Brixental: Brixen im Thale, Ellmau, Going, Hopfgarten, Itter, Scheffau, Söll and Westendorf.
SEASON START & END: Early December to the end of March
SKI ALTITUDE IN METRES: 620 – 1869 m / Vertical drop 1249 m
PISTES: 275 km of slopes (115km Blue / 121km Red / 39km Black ) 42% Beginner / 44% Intermediate / 14% Expert
LIFTS: 81 (Gondolas: 17 / Chairlifts: 32 / Drag lifts: 32)
SNOW: almost 1900 snow cannons and snow lances
LIFT TICKET PRICES: LINK
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING: 148.1 km of trails
LANGUAGE: German
AIRPORT: Munich (120 km) / Salzburg (80 km) / Innsbruck (80 km) / Vienna (350 km)
TRAIN: Kufstein, Wörgl, Hopfgarten & Brixen im Thale
SKI FACTS:
-80 Mountain huts
-Views of the sublime Wilder Kaiser and over 70 three-thousand-metre peaks up to the Großglockner
-22 professional ski schools
-20 valley runs
-Austria’s largest night skiing area in Söll
-SkiWelt Tour: can be skied in one or more days and can be started and finished in any village. Depending on the direction of travel, there are 69 to 84 kilometres of pistes
Ellmau the Village
Ellmau is located in Tyrol about 1 hour east of Innsbruck and just over an hour west of Salzburg. Ellmau is a particularly picturesque country town under the view of the Wilder Kaiser mountains and is part of the bigger ski area Ski Welt region which combines the resorts Going, Scheffau, Söll, Itter, Hopfgarten, Westerndorf and Brixen im Thale with Ellmau being located near the eastern end of the chain.
We stayed at the Kaiser Blick Hotel, a decent-sized hotel located over two buildings on opposite sides of the road but connected by a subterranean tunnel. The rooms were really spacious with a modern Alpine feel to them. The facilities are excellent, with a fantastic spa area including a rooftop pool, a large restaurant including a buffet area and bar.
From the hotel, it was only a short drive or bus ride to the main Bergbahnen Wilder Kaiser base station, as with the rest of the Ski Welt area each base station has lots of free parking within walking distance of each lift. The area is well set up with ski hire, depots, and shops at each base station.
Ellmau Skiing
The Hartkaiser Gondola goes from Ellmau up to the top of the Hartkaiser peak and certainly delivers great views of the Wilder Kaiser, have your camera ready. Most of the ski lifts in the region arrive just above the treeline so you start with epic panoramas and then descend into tree-lined runs, perfect for whiteouts, just let the trees guide you, but make sure to take a map or a guide.
With 81 very modern ski lifts and over 275 km of piste over the SkiWelt area there is so much to explore. There is a plethora of different coloured pistes to suit all levels of skier so there is something for everyone. There are also 22 ski schools with baby and children’s clubs as well as toddler supervision from age 1 upwards. Also, a great offer for families is that during early and late season Ski Welt offers free ski tickets from three days upwards for children up to age 15.
One thing we particularly love about Ellmau and the SkiWelt is the amount of cosy mountain huts, there are 80 in total. We really loved the Holzalm in Brixen im Thale, with a cosy yet modern rustic vibe, the Jochstubn with its traditional Alpine charm and of course the Gipfelalm Hohe Salve restaurant, one of the highest restaurants with great views of seventy peaks over 3000 metres, next door is Austria’s highest church as well! Make sure to carry cash with you, because some huts in the area do not accept bank cards, and the cash machines on the mountain charge a high fee for taking out cash.
For intermediate skiers, check out the KitzSkiWelt Tour, a tour of 20 long valley runs totalling 88 km and covering 77,000 metres of altitude, it is sure to make the legs burn. Allegedly the longest ski circuit in the world, you will certainly earn that Alpine calorific lunch. The tour can be accessed via 14 base stations across the SkiWelt and Kitzski locations SkiWelt: Brixen im Thale, Ellmau, Going, Hopfgarten, Itter, Scheffau, Söll und Westendorf. KitzSki: Aschau, Kirchberg, Kitzbühel, Jochberg, Pass Thurn und Hollersbach/Mittersill.
BEGINNER
The whole region is dotted with nursery pistes and special areas for the young ones. Ellmau has a large nursery ski area down in the town. At the top station is the “Hartkaiser adventure paradise” set up for children with a restaurant, childcare and an adventure ski school.
INTERMEDIATE
Oh my, what a fun area to ski with red and blue pistes covering the entire area. It is the ultimate skier’s playground. Many of the pistes are wide and very well-groomed. The shape of the terrain makes SkiWelt a very interesting place to explore with little hidden valleys, bowls, forests and cosy mountain restaurants.
EXPERT
Whilst not the biggest selection of black pistes, there are a few pistes made for the expert skier, for instance, check out some of the pistes down from the Hohe Salve. The huge amount of km of piste will give the legs enough of a workout to keep the experienced skier occupied.
Ecology & Sustainability
-The SkiWelt is one of the largest and most sustainable ski areas in the world.
-Since 2002, 100% of the electricity has been sourced from Hydroelectric power, with more and more solar energy being integrated into the system on buildings and lifts as well.
-Waste heat is harnessed from the lifts and snow cannons and utilised to its full potential.
-More than half a billion euros have been spent to make the SkiWelt the largest green ski area in the world.
-The area is well connected to the rest of Europe by train, even with night trains from the UK.
-The SkiWelt has 17 natural reservoirs integrated into the local mountain landscape, where the water or ‘snow-melt’ rain and spring water are recycled for snowmaking.
-There are 71 snow groomers with GPS systems which measure snow depths so snow can be moved with precision saving energy and water requirements.
-The groomers use a synthetic fuel which burns cleaner than conventional fuel, but there are plans to move to even cleaner E-Fuels.
-New Eibergbahn: one of the most sustainable in the world (PV system, generates around 50% of its own energy requirements)New Hydroelectric power plant: in Söll over 25% of its annual energy requirements
-MTS Summit Award for sustainability (2024)
-First solar-powered lift in the world (1970)
Ellmau SkiWelt
Tyrol
Austria
