Worldwide Ski Resorts • Austria • Schladming
Overview
Standing at the base of the Planai Mountain in the Austrian Alps, the charming old town of Schladming with its friendly inhabitants is surprisingly underrated and little visited by British tourists. It is an attractive place with many traditional Austrian style buildings and distinct centre that holds most of the shops, hotels, bars and restaurants. There is a good selection of accommodation consisting of reasonably priced comfortable guest houses together with some more sophisticated 4 star establishments. Cheaper, self catering apartments are also available. The town also benefits from a wide selection of pleasant restaurants. The gondola runs from the centre which makes accessing the slopes extremely convenient.
Profile
Schladming stands at 745m and its local skiing takes place over 4 separate mountains, Planai, Hauser Kaibling, Hochwurzen and Reiteralm. They are all linked and together provide a total of 115 km of pisted runs that are served by 52 lifts. The resort enjoys an excellent snow record, particularly in the early part of the season when a combination of cold weather and north facing slopes help to keep the mountains fairly well covered. In any case, Schladming has first class snow making facilities and actually boast that it has snowmaking on every one of its runs.
It is very much a resort designed for intermediates. Experts will not find much to test them on the slopes, although there is some good off piste country to be found. Intermediates — particularly the more advanced and confident, will enjoy the extensive blue and red runs that exist over the entire resort. Snowboarders are also well served here, with two terrain parks and a minimum of drag lifts. Beginners have a choice of nursery slopes, although there is a shortage of suitable progression runs. There is a total of 300 km of cross country ski trails for the fans of this sport. The ski schools are reportedly fair and facilities for children are generally good.
Mountain Information
Most of the pistes at the resort lie below 2000m with only those at Hauser Kaibling going up as far as 2015 m. The slopes generally face a northerly direction and are extensively wooded with some open areas at the very top. Experts will find the only really testing runs and the best off piste areas on Hauser Kaibling and Planai. Advanced intermediates will also find this to be the most suitable area, while the less confident will enjoy the long blue runs over on the Reiteralm while all will enjoy the peaceful cruises down through the trees. When you need a rest, the mountain has many charming rustic restaurants that serve excellent food to choose from.
Apres Ski
Despite its rather staid and traditional appearance, Schladming gets quite lively. There is an extensive range of bars and clubs, many of which remain open until the small hours and provide live music. The Sondbar disco has three bars and comes well recommended. The variety of ‘themed’ bars including Maria’s Mexican and Charly’s Treff with its Arnie Schwarzenegger picture gallery are well worth visiting.
Austrian Resort Guide
Resort Information • Schladming
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Resort Height | 745m |
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Top Station | 1850m |
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Bottom Station | 745m |
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Vertical Descent | 1105m |
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Drag Lifts | 16 |
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Chair Lifts | 7 |
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High Capacity | 2 |
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Opening Dates | Mid Dec - Early April |
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Rating Expert | 5 |
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Rating Intermediate | 8 |
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Rating Beginner | 6 |
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Apres Ski Rating | 7 |
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Snow Reliability | 6 |
