Snow-assuredness

checkNorth-west orographic barrier on the main Alpine ridge: With what are predominantly north-west weather conditions, moist clouds accumulate on the main Alpine ridge, providing strong snowfall in the Kitzbühel Alps.

checkConsistent amounts of new snow: The average yearly snow fall in Kitzbühel has remained constant since the start of official recordings in 1958. Every year there is more than 2.5 metres of snow in the valley and a whole 8 metres on the mountain. Freak values such as those from winter 2006/07 have occurred previously too. In 1989, 1972 and 1963 there was less than 140 cm of new snow in the season.

checkWintry Hahnenkamm: Since 1993 it has definitely been getting colder in the mountains in the Kitzbühel Alps and snow is falling more often and lying longer too. More than 20 cm of natural snow lay on the Hahnenkamm for almost six months.

checkSki piste orientation: The majority of the pistes are situated in an ideal, snow-assured north, north-east or north-west position, where the sun only reaches a wide angle, which means the snow lies longer.

checkAlpine meadows as the subsurface: Alpine meadows are the perfect subsurface for ski pistes. While ski areas which have a stony or rocky subsurface need a great deal of snow to make skiing possible, in the Kitzbühel Alps 20 cm of compact snow cover is sufficient for perfect pistes. Tree belts on both sides of the pistes prevent any snow drift.

checkThe number of snow generators: A whole 3440 so-called snow generators provide snow-assuredness on 762 kilometres of pistes, that is 70% of all the kilometres of pistes available, including ski variants.

checkSnow generator capacity: In terms of capacity, the snow generators in the Kitzbühel Alps are state-of-the-art. This means that the entire St. Johann in Tirol ski area can be snow-covered at the same time, in just 60 hours. In 72 hours the Skiwelt can cover 110 kilometres of pistes, that is the equivalent of the route from SkiWelt to Munich.

checkRaw material for snow making: 40 reservoirs with a total of 2.5 million cubic metres of water provide enough water for permanent snow-making over a long season.

checkTemperature for snow generation: In the Kitzbühel mountains on average there are 157 freezing days each year, on which snow can be made, mostly at night. On 77 days (= 2.5 months) the thermometer does not rise above zero, which means snow can be made round the clock.

checkExperienced snow-making masters: people have been skiing in the Kitzbühel Alps for some 100 years, and for almost 20 years snow-making facilities have been available. The master snow-makers and piste managers know the terrain, the climate and the weather in the Kitzbühel Alps better than anyone else and offer reliable piste quality, right to the very last day of skiing.