Skiing Mecca Saalbach: Where World Champions Carve

Got a few vacation days left in December? Take them! Because when Saalbach receives the gift of a ski winter every year, they know how to accept these prestigious packages: With Rave on Snow, the trendy festival for electronic music, and the BERGFESTival, known for a smoothly curated line-up of rock, indie, and hip-hop, two celebratory fixtures have established themselves in the Glemm Valley to kickstart the winter season.

The stages and locations stretch from the pulsating village up to the rustic alpine huts – where snow fun and pure joy find a groove that no one can resist.

And if Santa Claus rings the bell at home before you head out: after the Advent calendar comes this mega event calendar – you’re right on time if you just make it before the Easter Bunny! Just arrived in Saalbach – but surely you already understand the slogan?! Yeah, you are right in the middle of the "Home of Lässig".

Actually, you wanted to go straight up to carve on the slopes of heroes, who engaged in a daring hunt for medals during the World Ski Championships. But it’s totally okay that you enjoyed your first evening to the fullest and need a little run-up this morning – we’ll go to the sports shop and check everything to ensure your gear is on top.

It’s practical that you find shop after shop right in the town center, ready to provide your best equipment. Sharp edges and a base waxed for easy gliding are just as important for you as they are for the stars of the Ski World Cup, so you can handle even the most demanding slopes well.

But now for real: Pat your calves into action, get into the gondola, and buckle on your skis. You’re already in the Saalbach swag – yet it’s ideal for your first ski day that, alongside all the notorious slopes, a large part of the pistes are blue or red, meaning truly manageable.

How would Vera push off from the start gate? Just start at the upper area of the Bernkogel! Here, a breathtaking panorama surrounds you, but you have fairly flat, relaxed slopes along the comfortable 6-seater chairlift. Or, if you want to see your skiing skills in the "mirror" first: On the SkiMovie track at the Unterschwarzach lift in Hinterglemm, you can immortalize your run in a video clip.

Body and soul have found their groove, your top-notch gear gives you even more courage – with both feet firmly on skis, you are already following in the tracks of ski aces with one of them. Just to ski it in your mind again: Up to 72% gradient, jumps up to 55 meters, and no real flat section over a total length of over 3 kilometers – the legendary Schneekristall (Snow Crystal) run on the Zwölferkogel packs a punch in every respect.

But Vera by your side says: If you’ve followed me this far, you can do it – maybe not the whopping 55 meters at the Schneekristall jump, but everything else. You are right in the middle of a ski week in Saalbach, have gently warmed up, and are skiing with equipment fresh from service on a perfectly groomed slope...

So let the wild ride begin, because even after the swift descent from Schattberg North and all the other "black" slopes, your thighs would definitely make themselves known regardless.

Vera likes it "white on black"; the next morning she asks you: So, how was it yesterday? Still full of energy at the Après Ski after that impressive, intense ski day? Or did you gently flatter your leg muscles with a warm bath?

Feel free to take it a bit slower in between to recharge your reserves for the second half of the week! Do a late morning brunch instead of breakfast, stroll through the lively center of Saalbach, and browse through the lovely boutiques. Dressed in casual-cool style, you’ve long since met the dress code, and then you ask yourself: When was the last time I slowed down with a delicious cup of hot chocolate – and should there actually be rum in it?

You absolutely should go into the Saalbach "Heimathaus", a Local History Museum, where you can see, among other things, the interesting Ski Museum. Here you can marvel at exhibits from ski and racing history, from the cradle on wooden planks to details like lift passes through the ages, all the way to the exhibition about the World Ski Championships and World Cups in Saalbach.

Hut fun, the Hüttengaudi, as locals say, maybe a hearty Germknödel (yeast dumpling), and then the Golden Gate Bridge too, all in one day – quite a program today, isn't it?! Sounds spectacular, and it is, but with Vera, you can do it without a visa – because we mean the Golden Gate Bridge of the Alps, a 200-meter-long suspension bridge as a landmark in the head of the valley in Hinterglemm, modeled in shape and color after its big sister in San Francisco.

On the 2 kilometers from the Lengau head-of-valley parking lot in Hinterglemm to the Golden Gate Bridge, you quickly get a feel for the gentle side of the Saalbach winter during a wonderful winter hike. It’s even more comfortable by horse-drawn sleigh or via the "Hut Taxi," which brings you to the Lindlingalm.

Here, you’ll be amazed when the inner-Alpine interpretation of the world-famous bridge towers above you in stylish wine-red and full authentic grace. This is the highlight of the famous Baumzipfelweg (Tree-Top Trail), where you cross the head of the valley at a height of up to 42 meters. Experience pure winter romance, surrounded by snow-covered treetops, as you wind your way along the treetop path through stairs, towers, and platforms 30 meters above the forest floor.

"Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh," muses even the classic "Jingle Bells." We are zooming down the Reiterkogel for our runner-fun today and have deliberately chosen Thursday for it. This is one of three days (along with Tue & Sat) when the sledding fun becomes a floodlight spectacle: Night tobogganing is on the program, we have time until 9:30 PM, so let's use the day first and strap on the skis.

But today the very easy ones, so we are optimally energized for the evening. We discover the healthiest sport in the world: cross-country skiing. You got a taste for it yesterday when you discovered at the head of the valley that a classic track, totaling 10 kilometers, also leads to the Lindlingalm – ideal for leisure skiers.

However, we’ll save that for next time and start on the even easier 5 kilometers of the Saalach Track, which leads us unerringly along the river of the same name through Saalbach. Vera’s tip for the experienced: On the Reiterkogel, where we head for tobogganing fun this evening, there is also a great offer for cross-country skiers. The 2-kilometer high-altitude trail for skating style runs at up to 1,400 meters above sea level and offers a challenging workout with a view – so let the skis glide and be accompanied by a breathtaking panorama!

With Vera, you have discovered the versatility of the legendary winter sports resort of Saalbach. Your circulation was quickly in full swing, and with sunglasses on the terrace of one of the many ski huts, you enjoyed that sublime feeling that skiers know better than anyone else: It is winter, cool temperatures when you look at the thermometer – but what you truly feel is cozy warmth: Active vacation, exactly!

Because Saalbach is considered a notorious "snow hole" (a place with abundant snow) in the Salzburger Land, fresh supply is never far away. You made good use of Mother Hulda’s guest appearance on Tuesday, this idyll that no children's book could tell better. The next day, sun-kissed once again, you trudged dreamily through the glittering fresh snow, discovered so much that you would love to stay a week longer...

This time, you have this one day left – and you still have so much planned: You wanted to experience the entire Skicircus, over to Leogang, and also to Fieberbrunn, on two boards into the neighboring province of Tyrol. Vera says: Trust in yourself! You’ve already roared down the Schneekristall run – have an early breakfast, and you’ll get everywhere, even on this one day. Indeed, you discover the very special character of all the places in the Skicircus and are mightily proud while you look at your completed vertical meters and slope kilometers in the data diagram afterward. Vera’s tip for the curious: Keep your lift ticket; checking your stats works simply by entering the ski pass number!

270 kilometers of slopes in the Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn alone – with one card that allows you to shred down a total of 408 snow-white kilometers: The SKI ALPIN CARD is also valid in the neighboring ski areas of Zell am See-Schmittenhöhe and on the glacier of the Kitzsteinhorn in Kaprun.

Last but not least, the best for we.rent guests: In all these magical centers of winter sports, you will find our comfortable studios, apartments, and chalets / holiday homes.