I hooned down Zell am See’s prosaically-monikored Run One, a superb blue piste that starts at the wide summit of the 2,000-metre-high Schmittenhöhe before snaking into the forests with delight. But I had to stop; not because my legs were aching, but to take in the remarkable view.
1,000 metres below, the glittering blue waters of Lake Zell commanded my attention. Looking to my right was the equally spectacular vista of the 3,203-metre Kitzsteinhorn (also known as the Top of Salzburg; the city is 90 minutes away), all glaciers, crags and snow-plastered pistes.
Zell am See isn’t the only ski resort in the world that sits above a big, blue lake, of course, nor is it the only ski area surrounded by 3,000-metre peaks (70, to be exact). But there are very few that combine both lake and glacier-draped mountains so memorably.
An all-encompassing ski area
My introduction to the area had come the previous day when I skied in the linked resort of Kaprun, using the region’s Ski Alpin card, which also gives access to the neighbouring Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-Fieberbrunn ski area, and the wider Skicircus ski area beyond that.
This adds up to an enormous total of over 400km of pistes and over 120 ski lifts, providing enough fun for any skier, of any ability, and encompassing everything from charming beginner slopes to long intermediate pistes for cruising down and challenging freeride terrain.
On my first morning I explored Kaprun’s high-altitude pistes beneath the Kitzsteinhorn with Hondo, a 77-year-old Japanese ski instructor who, for reasons too convoluted to go into here, chooses to work beyond retirement age on mountains thousands of miles from home. Apparently he’s Kaprun’s oldest instructor.
Hondo introduced me gradually to the Kitzsteinhorn’s pistes, working up from blue to red and then black pistes, on terrain where the snow tends to remain in good condition over a season that can stretch from October to May. After all, you’re skiing on a glacier.
The highlight for me was the challenging black Piste 14, the Black Mamba – narrow and with a gradient of 63 per cent (the steepest in the resort), it served as a fine way of working up an appetite for lunch. There’s no better place for it than at the highest restaurant in Salzburgerland, the 3,029-metre Gipfel, close to the summit of Kitzsteinhorn. Since we were in Austria, the excellent schnitzels were the obvious choice.
From here there’s easy access to the Gipfelwelt 3000 viewing platform – another opportunity to soak in the truly spectacular views across line after line of high, blue-ridged mountains, many of which lie within the adjacent Hohe Tauern National Park.
No-gimmick eco-conscious skiing
Given the proximity of this protected landscape and the increasingly fragile nature of the Alps’ glaciated terrain and ski resorts, it comes as no surprise that the promotion of eco-friendly tourism and sustainability is high on the agenda for Zell am See – Kaprun Tourismus and local businesses. In 2022, the area was awarded a place on UN Tourism’s Best Tourism Villages list, which highlights destinations driving positive change in rural areas.
The region’s high-altitude reservoirs – popular tourist attractions in summer – are the focal point of year-round hydro-power energy generation, which saves over half a million tonnes of CO2 production every year. The two local ski lift companies, Schmittenhöhebahn AG and Gletscherbahnen Kaprun, operate their lifts on electricity generated from 100 per cent renewable resources, and the latter also runs its piste bashers entirely on HVO fuel, which reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent.
Back down in the valley, visitors are encouraged to transfer to the resort by train (Salzburg Airport is less than two hours from Zell am See) and once there, the Ski Alpin ski pass allows free use of e-ski buses between the region’s linked resorts.
Moritz Skolaut, the resort’s sustainability manager, says that despite it “not being an easy sell”, the long-term aim is “to promote sustainable travel and holidays and reduce the environmental impact of the resort, as well as local businesses and visitors. Our net goal is to have zero emissions”.
The region is well placed to cope with the effects of climate change on the future of ski holidays given its altitude and glacier access. Even if you don’t ski, there are plenty of reasons to visit in winter. You can, for instance, take the cable cars to the Top of Salzburg as a foot passenger and enjoy not only the tremendous panorama, but Austria’s highest cinema and a 360-metre-long display on the high alpine environment.
You can go cold water (very cold!) swimming in Lake Zell, or you can pamper yourself in the Tauern Spa.
Views worthy of a break
Back on the Kitzsteinhorn, after a couple of laps of the glacier, we decided to make the long, long descent back to Kaprun on skis. We negotiated plenty of other skiers and huge tracts of sun-kissed, bumpy, slushy snow on the lower slopes, involving more than one harmless wipeout – the landings were very soft, if a bit wet.
All good practice for the following day above Zell am See on the Schmittenhöhe where, by mid-morning, the pistes had softened up to perfect spring snow in the March sunshine. I’d rented a pair of wide Van Deer skis, handmade in Austria and designed by local ski hero Marcel Hirscher, which were ideal for negotiating the soft snow on the enticing mix of blue, red and black pistes that snake down towards the lake.
The skiing was so much fun that I was reluctant to stop for lunch, and by the afternoon, with legs becoming increasingly tired and the snow becoming increasingly slushy, the very valid excuse of “stopping to enjoy the view” also served as the ideal means of giving aching quads a much-needed break. Although when you’re skiing in Zell am See, you don’t really need an excuse to stop and enjoy the view…
Essentials
The lakeside four-star Grand Hotel offers seven nights from £1,283 per person, half board, including flights and transfers, based on two sharing, with SNO, departing March 21, 2026.
Alf was a guest of SalzburgerLand and Zell am See Kaprun.