Kitzbühel-Kirchberg-Mittersill Ski Resort Austria
Kitzbuhel is the epitome of the perfect Austrian ski resort. Ski lifts extending from the centre of a real town, huge terrain in classic Austrian countryside plus an après scene that rivals the best in the world, makes Kitzbuhel an unforgettable skiing and snowboarding experience.
Just like many of the Austrian mega resorts, Kitzbϋhel ski resort (a.k.a. KitzSki - which includes all the interconnected lifts & pistes valid on the lift pass) is lift, piste and ticket interlinked with Kirchberg to the west and extends south through Jochberg into the Salzburg state at Hollersbach-im-Pinzgau & Mittersill. With so many access points, there is simply no excuse not to ski one of the world's best ski resorts.
The Powderhounds' forays here included lovely powder on busy bluebird days, plus several stormy, deep powder days. We had an awesome time on each visit, but only skied a small portion of th entire Kitzski, such is the resort’s immense scale.
Pros & Cons for Kitzbühel-Kirchberg-Mittersill Ski Resort
Pros
- Huge & diverse lift interlinked ski area perfect for a week-long ski holiday.
- Ultra-modern & efficient lift system.
- Excellent range of piste trails for all levels, including loads of interesting valley runs & marked ski routes.
- Fantastic variety of off-piste freeride terrain.
- Freeride terrain & ski areas toward Pass Thurn are surprisingly uncrowded.
- Superb quality & quantity of mountain huts with bars, restaurants & accommodation.
- Some of the world’s best après ski, particularly in the mountain huttes as one descends toward the valleys.
- Wide range of accommodation in numerous villages including ski-in ski-out lodgings.
- Good value lift pass price for all the terrain & wonderful facilities provided.
- Easy public transport access by train & bus plus ample free car parking for day trippers right near lifts (but away from Kitzbuhel!).
- Free buses interlinked the villages.
Cons
- Busy on-piste & at lift queues in the Kitzbuhel sector of the resort.
- In a poor winter it can be ‘altitude challenged’ on the lower half of the mountain - all terrain is below 2,000m elevation.
- Lift lines are absolutely unforgiving & require a level of attitude to match & move forward (whilst still maintaining your polite visage!).
- Short(ish) skiable verticals in the sector around Resterhöhe.
- Accommodation in Kitzbühel village itself can be hard to get & expensive.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Too much choice.
- Low altitude villages may not have snow at either end of the season (but the slopes will!).
- Kitzbuhel doesn’t lack terrain in general, but it has a relatively limited high alpine area above the tree line compared to other ski resorts. If looking for high alpine terrain, head elsewhere.
- Plenty of well-priced accommodations available in the pass Thurn/Hollersbach sector of the Kitzski resort, but you are not in Kitzbühel anymore!
- Rightfully popular but not uncomfortably so, if you don’t like skiing mega resorts perhaps look elsewhere.
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
Kitzbühel always has the boasting rights for being the first non-glacier ski resort to open in Austria every ski season. That may mean it is only one run, but open is open & bragging is bragging...... & not much else. FYI, Obergurgl Hochgurgl is usually its competition for the early opening bragging rights.
The nonsense of bragging rights aside, Kitzbuehel can rightly boast about its huge & superb quality piste trail network & super modern ski lifts. It doesn't hold a Hahnenkamm World Cup Downhill ski event for nothing. From experience, it is a genuinely frightening prospect to ski at full tilt too! In a good year when snow is deep down to low levels, Kitzbϋhel always has some classic Austrian off-piste powder skiing all over the resort, including tree skiing. A little bit of exploration, particularly towards Pass Thurn will reveal loads of untouched freeride terrain regardless of the crowds on the piste.
The Kitzbuhel ski resort is in fact alot more than just Kitzbühel! Collectively referred to as KitzSki, the resort areas of Kitzbühel-Kirchberg-Reith-Aurach-Jochberg-Mittersill-Hollersbach are interlinked to provide a rollicking on-snow Austrian ski adventure. Whilst the entire 235km of marked trails are mostly lift inter-connected, 3 areas (1 large, 2 small) are not. The Kitzbueheler Horn above Kitzbuhel to the north, Bichalm freeride area above Aurach & the minor Gaisberg above Kirchberg are the outliers.
Check out the ski trail map for KitzSki - Kitzbühel Kirchberg Mittersill below.
The insiders tip for powder hounds that want to avoid the crowds is to start your day early at Pass Thurn. Whilst the skiable vertical here is not huge, the lifts are deserted until well into the morning and there is funtastic freeride terrain to plunder before they get there!
Lift Pass
A single lift pass covers the entire KitzSki area. Good to know is that all practice lifts in the valley can be used free of charge. For international guests, the Ikon Pass is now conditionally valid in KitzSki.
For more info on KitzSki ski lifts, terrain, trail maps passes, see our Kitzbuhel Skiing & Snowboarding page.
Where is Kitzbϋhel Austria?
Kitzbuhel ski resort is predominantly in the Tyrol (Tirol) state of Austria midway between the cities of Innsbruck & Salzburg. The massive resort sits amongst two other Austrian skiing behemoths Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm and Ski Welt. The fantastic Zell am See ski resort is also nearby via the train.
The best international gateway airport for Kitzbuhel is Munich (MUC), plus either Salzburg(SZG) or Innsbruck (INN) for those coming from within Europe or UK. Search & book private airport transfers.
The ski resort can easily be accessed by train, with 3 stations near the ski lifts at Kitzbuhel main, Kitzbϋhel Hahnenkamm & Kirchberg in Tirol. In the Salzburgerland section of the resort, a Pinzgau local railway station at Mittersill is close to the Hollersbach base, via the train from Zell am See.
The excellent Austrian railways (OBB) Railjet train service runs to Kitzbühel & Kirchberg in Tirol from either Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck & Zurich. The train has a full restaurant service & is a pleasurable way to travel to the resort. Regional trains also make the journey & more regularly, but journey time is longer.
Search & book train tickets to Kitzbuehel or Kirchberg in Tirol.
Worth knowing is that once at Kitzbühel, buses labelled ‘SKIBUS’ are free when you have ski gear and a lift pass, including long journeys from Mittersill, over Pass Thurn to Kitzbuehel. See the Ski Bus map here. Additionally, with a valid lift pass & ski gear, all trains labelled ‘STRIEFZUG’ are free between St Johann & Westendorf. Super!
For day trippers in a rental car, there is ample car parking (both outdoor & undercover) throughout the vast resort near each of the main access lifts. Parking outdoors is free and the quietest zones on busy days are at Pass Thurn and at the gondola valley station near Hollersbach.
For more info on the best ways to travel to & around KitzSki, see our Travel to Kitzbuhel page.
Kitzbühel, Kirchberg & Mittersill (Pinzgau Valley) Accommodation
For those desperate to be in the thick of the action, the town of Kitzbühel is the place to stay. Kitzbuhel is the largest town in the KitzSki region, plus has far & away the most vibrant atmosphere & greatest diversity of lodgings. Sadly, that also means it is the hardest to find accommodation! Nonetheless there are options for ski-in ski-out, 5-star luxury, budget hostels & everything in between (but leaning toward the upper end of the fiscal spectrum!).
Search & book all Kitzbuhel ski accommodation.
To the west of Kitzbühel is Kirchberg in Tirol, which whilst quieter than its better-known neighbour, still has a wide range of well-situated hotels, chalets, apartments & guesthouses, plus a few excellent upper mountain, ski-in ski-out options. Kirchberg has superb access to the main ski area & wonderful egress via some long return trails extending past the gondola valley stations down into the outskirts of town.
Search & book all Kirchberg in Tirol ski accommodation.
On the road south of Kitzbuhel, small hamlets including Jochberg have lodgings ranging from numerous apartments & chalets up to the huge 5-star Kempinski Hotel. Further up at the highest point of the road at Pass Thurn & Breitmoos are several options with direct access to the ski lifts.
Search & book all Jochberg ski accommodation.
A full range of chalet, apartment & hotel options are also on the quieter Salzburgerland side of the resort in the Pinzgau valley at Hollersbach & Mittersill. The village of Hollersbach-im-Pinzgau is close to the gondola ski lift base that leads up to Pass Thurn, making it a convenient valley lodging option. Mittersill is close to the road junction leading up to Pass Thurn and on to Jochberg & Kitzbuhel, plus has the railway station for the Pinzgau line from Zell am See.
For more info & recommendations on the best accommodation in the region, see our Where to Stay in KitzSki (Kitzbuhel-Kirchberg-Jochberg-Hollersbach-Mittersill) page.
Ski & Snowboard Rentals, Lessons & Guiding
Ski rentals are available with our partners in three locations near the Hahnenkamm gondola base at Kitzbühel & adjacent to the novice/children’s learn-to-ski area at Kirchberg in Tirol. Receive a discount when you search & book via our Kitzbuhel Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
The Kitzbuhel ski region has more ski instructors & mountain guides than you could proverbially poke a stick at. To simplify the choice, see our Kitzbühel Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Reviews
The Powderhounds are constantly reviewing new ski resorts in Europe (& across the globe) or having a second or third look at old ones. We have skied the region a few times and loved it, but a word of warning - warming winter temperatures can mean the valleys are a little greener than they used to be in this relatively low-base-level resort! Check out our contemporaneous opinion pieces via the 'Reviews' links on the page.
See how Kitzbühel compares to the rest of the Austrian ski resorts on the Austria ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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