Where to Ski And Snowboard - Skiing starts in Kitzbühel next week

Skiing starts in Kitzbühel next week

11th October 2016, by Abi Butcher

Kitzbühel is the first non-glacial ski resort to open in the Alps. Pic: Michael Werlberger

The ski resort of Kitzbühel in Austria will next week become the first non-glacial ski resort to open its lifts for the winter season.

On Saturday 22 October, skiing will begin on Resterkogel and on 5 November the famous Hahnenkamm will open — with more details to come next week. Kitzbühel has the longest ski season of non-glacial resorts in Europe, with 180 days each winter. It has 119 runs covered by artificial snow, increased this year with 55 new machines and 9km of snow-making pipes on Kitzbühler Horn up to the mid-station.

If you do fancy some real skiing over half term, there are plenty of options in the Alps in addition to Kitzbühel. The Grand Motte glacier in Tignes is already open for business, as is Saas-Fee and the Zermatt glacier in Switzerland and Austria’s Hintertux glacier has had 32km of skiing open since 8 October. Cervinia’s lifts will open 22-23 October offering access to the Zermatt glacier, then again 29 October for the winter season. In France, Les Deux-Alpes will open 22 October to 1 November for skiing on its glacier, before reopening for the winter season on 3 November.

Also in Les Deux-Alpes the new Belvedere des Ecrins skywalk has opened — 3,400m up the glacier at the Soreiller summit. The 7m skywalk (free to access) has 360° views and overlooks the Vallée de la Selle and faces the magnificent Ecrins mountain range.

* Read Editor Watts’s blog on skiing in Kitzbühel earlier this year.

* Check out Kitzbühel’s new dedicated UK skiers’ website – an admirably clear way to book direct (or win prizes).