Skiing in Hochkönig

15th January 2025 | Jane Peel, Hochkönig, Austria

First up, where is Hochkönig?

It’s in the Eastern Alps.

It’s less than 30 minutes’ drive from two much better known Austrian resorts, Saalbach-Hinterglemm and Zell-am-See/Kaprun.

And it’s around 1 hour and 15 minutes by road from Salzburg airport.

So it’s very accessible from the UK with budget flight options, including the route I take from Luton on WizzAir.

PlanetSKI arrives at Salzburg Airport. Image © PlanetSKI

Yet most people who come here are from Austria itself and Germany – it’s not much more than 2 hours’ drive from Munich.

Just 2 to 3% of skiers and snowboarders are from the UK.

Hochkönig (meaning High King) is the name of the mountain that soars over the three main lift-linked villages of:

• Maria Alm
• Dienten
• Mühlbach

There’s also the smaller village of Hinterthal – officially part of Maria Alm – where I am staying.

With the skiing in Hochkönig from around 800m altitude up to a maximum of 1,900m, I am not expecting too much from the snow conditions.

But arriving in Hinterthal, which sits at 1,000m, on a late afternoon in January, it looks rather promising.

Hinterthal. Image © PlanetSKI

Locals tell me they’ve had the best early season for 3 or 4 years, with lots of snowfall.

It last snowed – about 20cm or so – a couple of days earlier.

And this part of the Alps hasn’t had the yo-yo temperatures that have afflicted much of the Alps in the first half of January.

It’s stayed cold. Really cold.

I’m told that’s not particularly unusual.

In January, the average temperature here is lower – and the snowline 500 metres lower – than in the western Austrian Alps.

The next morning, it’s overcast with light snow flurries.

With the mercury at Minus 10 Celsius I head to the slopes with new optimism.

It’s not misplaced.

The pistes are in excellent condition with few people on them.

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

There are no lift queues and the fast, modern chairs have covers, should you need protection from the elements.

The snow cannons that cover the majority of the 120km of ski runs here are hard at work, taking advantage of the cold temperatures they need to operate to provide a top up to the snowpack.

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

While it’s bleak at the top, the relatively low altitude means the majority of runs are in the trees, giving decent visibility and protection from the wind.

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Fortunately, the next day is a bluebird day.

I get to see the fabulous panoramic views at last.

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

My guide is Tim Wormskamp, an instructor at the Maria Alm ski school.

Tim Wormskamp. Image © PlanetSKI

He’s not your typical Austrian ski instructor.

For one thing, he’s not Austrian.

He’s from the flattest country in Europe.

Lucky for him that the school system in the Netherlands arranges placements for pupils who want to teach sport.

In 2012, aged 16, he arrived here to begin his ski instructor training and never left.

This season there are 8 youngsters from his old school in Arnhem going through the same process.

Over two days, we cover the majority of the runs above Maria Alm, Dienten and Mühlbach.

Originally three small, individual ski areas, they were gradually linked by lift until they were finally fully connected in 2010.

Most runs are blues and reds.

There are some blacks, ungroomed nature rides and off-piste options too.

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

It’s possible to experience all 6 peaks in a day on the Königstour, going from one end of the piste map to the other in either direction.

It covers 35km of slopes and 7,500 vertical metres.

Hochkönig ski area.

You might think that Hochkönig is too small for a 6-day holiday and, if you’re the sort of skier who likes to put in the miles without any repetition, that is probably true.

But it’s part of the vast Ski Amadé and, if you’re prepared to travel and fancy experiencing other resorts in the region, your lift pass is valid across the whole area.

Ski Amadé (named after Salzburg’s most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) has 25 resorts and some 760km of slopes, of which more at the end of this article.

Hochkönig is also not big on nightlife, though there are some lively spots on the slopes for a bit of après.

If you like your food, however, it’s got some fabulous and stylish ‘huts’ with great grub, both on and off the mountain.

Gourmet-style and traditional Austrian mountain fare.

Food in Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Food in Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Food in Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

It promotes itself as a ‘culinary’ destination and is pushing its ski-foodie credentials in an advertising campaign in association with Austria Tourism on the London Underground.

And then, there’s the schnapps.

Rather like the Kaiserschmarrn dessert pictured above, schnapps is pretty much compulsory in the Austrian Alps.

Schnapps. Image © PlanetSKI

And where better to sample it than at Grünegg Alm, a traditional family run restaurant and distillery at 1,190m above Dienten.

Grünegg Alm, Hochkönig. Image © PlanetSKI

Grünegg Alm schnapps distillery. Image © PlanetSKI

I have to earn my shots.

The only way to get there is to walk 1.5km up the mountain along a toboggan run.

Tough after a full day’s skiing but worth it, especially with a full moon.

Night walk up to Grünegg Alm. Image © PlanetSKI

The Grünegg distillery has been run by the Rainer family for more than 500 years.

Johannes Rainer is the latest generation to get involved in the family firm.

He was only 15 when he started distilling.

Too young to drink alcohol.

Legally, anyway.

Johannes Rainer, schnapps distiller in Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Each year they use between 100 and 200 tonnes of fruit, as well as local herbs and berries they collect from the mountainside.

Fifty litres of berries are needed for 1 litre of schnapps.

In all, the distillery produces 25 different schnapps, 20 liqueurs and a handful of gins.

Gin selection. Image © PlanetSKI

I risk tasting only a couple as I’d like to be able to get out of bed to go skiing in the morning.

I can confirm that the pine needle schnapps is, er…., different.

So, what do I make of my few days in Hochkönig?

PlanetSKI in Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

It’s been great fun with some excellent skiing and very good piste conditions.

I’m not a late night party animal so it suits me.

But if I was spending longer in the region, I’d be tempted to make the most out of my lift pass and travel to other resorts.

If you have a car, or don’t mind hoping on a bus or a bus and train, you could do a couple of days in Bad Gastein, Schladming or Flachau, for example, all of them among the resorts in Ski Amadé and each with their own character.

I visited two last season:

• PlanetSKI at Schladming Night Slalom
• Skiing & Healing in Gastein

LIFT PASSES

Ski Amadé uses dynamic pricing for its lift passes, so the cost will depend on whether you buy it in advance online – and when.  The more demand, the higher the price and vice versa.

A 6-day adult lift pass for Ski Amadé for the 2024-25 season will generally cost from €335.50 to €394.50.

Dynamic pricing is increasingly being used by resorts in the Alps, as we have reported:

• Dynamic Lift Pass Pricing on the Rise in Europe
• Swiss Resorts Criticised for Dynamic Pricing on Lift Passes

MORE INFORMATION

For more on skiing in Hochkönig and Ski Amadé, visit the websites:

• Hochkönig
• Ski Amadé 

Hochkönig, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

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