Kuhtai Skiing & Snowboarding
Kühtai ski resort has the high elevation base, deep snow, modern lifts plus wonderful piste, off-piste & backcountry terrain that every skier & snowboarder craves.
What the resort lacks in skiable vertical it makes up for in every other way. All terrain at Kuhtai is above 2,000m elevation & the resort is set in a valley providing the best of both worlds. A south facing sunny side gathers the morning rays, whilst the north facing terrain stays cold & dry for afternoon freshies. Remember that ‘freshies’ is not a dirty word (Ode to Keating, 2018).
Kühtai Skiing Highlights
On a powder day everything about Kuhtai is a skiing highlight, and whilst skiing powder ALWAYS takes priority, tick off the following when at the resort.
- Follow the sun as it rises. Start on the Hochalterbahn for some 500m vertical leg warmers as the sun crests the ridge. Head anticlockwise from there and reap the harvest on or off piste.
- Ski the trees under the Dreiseenbahn. Look out for the winter walking/sledding track on the way out - can be a helluva surprising drop on to it.
- Ski the dam wall because how many places can one ski on a proper dam wall.
- Spend the day plundering powder without placing a ski or board on an entire groomed slope. We did!
- For those that are inclined, the Kuehtai terrain park is a ripper that will provide superlative airs & spills.
- Explore the Kuhtai backcountry - skin up one of the surrounding peaks & enjoy a lonely fresh line.
- Ski directly to the door of the best après location in Kuhtai at the Eisheisl in the middle of the village.
- If the viz is no good, take the bus to Hochoetz ski resort for some more sheltered turns during a storm. In fact, visit Hochoetz regardless as it is covered by the lift pass & a bus links the two areas.
- Stay overnight at the nearby Mittergrathütten, enjoy the peace & quiet whilst skiing the backcountry.
Ski Lifts
Kuhtai ski lifts are well sited & modern. Even though split by the road through the middle, the resort lifts & pistes are connected by a series of clever tunnels & bridges in the lower end of the resort.
Surface tows are becoming increasingly rare in the resort, with one of the steepest being replaced for the 20/21 season by a new 6-seater chairlift, the Gaiskogelbahn. Unless you are a beginner, one can effectively ski the entire resort without riding any of the remaining surface tows, particularly now that the tasty, rarely skied, shaded terrain at Gaiskogel has a new chair! The longest skiable verticals are on the sunny side of the valley. At the bottom end there is around 510m skiable vertical from the Kaiserhbahn gondola, and at the upper end of the valley, followed by the 500m vert off the Hochalterbahn quad chairlift.
Kuehtai Trail Maps
The Kuhtai ski trail map is reasonably representative of the piste trails but not the off-piste slopes. For example, skiers right of the Kaiserbahn gondola is a massive open slope that provides fresh lines all day long. Skiers left of the same lift, a huge gully with cornices & steeps run into the top of the beginner's Sonnenlift. Neither feature is well represented on the map.
Check out the ski trail map for Kühtai below.
The other significant omission is the broad band of trees under the Dreiseenbahn. Luckily, something that really sets Kuhtai apart from other ski resorts is that one can easily scope all the terrain & not waste any time with the search. All the features not represented on the trail map are in plain sight on a clear day - fabulous for first timers, day trippers & short term visitors.
Worth noting also that the three dotted lines across the road in the upper village indicate skis off & walk across, or if wearing rentals, ski across!
Lift pass and free ski bus connected to Hochoetz, check out the combined ski trail map for Kühtai & Hochoetz below.
Lift Passes
Kuhtai ski resort has the best value ski lift pass in Austria (in our humble opinion). Not only is it fantastically affordable, but combined with the quality of the ski experience, it is exceptional overall. The lift ticket is also valid in neighbouring Hochoetz ski resort which is connected by a free ski bus throughout the day.
Kühtai (& Hochoetz) is part of the 13 resorts valid for skiing with Innsbruck's Ski+City lift pass.
Snowboarding at Kühtai
The resort has is fully snowboarder friendly, with only a couple of the longer traverses to crossing points in the lower resort, plus the awkward exit from the off-piste trees under the Dreiseenbahn causing any great issue.
On-Piste Terrain
The on-piste trails at Kuhtai are the stuff of alpine dreams. Glorious open trails of varying pitch that roll beautifully into the valley and seemingly right onto the hotel roofs in places. Nothing is too dangerous or super steep, so any half half-competent intermediate rider should be able to safely navigate the entire resort.
Novice & Beginner
If there is one area of the resort that is lacking, it is the novice/learn-to-ski & beginner progression areas. The terrain is severely limited when compared to other ski resorts, particularly in longer trails. Three small learn to ski areas dot the valley. One at the upper & lower end of the village & the best one in the centre of the sunny upper village equipped with a short chairlift (the aptly named Startbahn), surface conveyors & children’s activities. Progression terrain is accessed via the gondola and traversing across to the Schwarzmoos T-bar. However, the exit from the Schwarzmoos area is via intermediate piste which is not great slope design!
Intermediates
Kühtai is made for intermediates. The ‘middle of the road’ skiers & snowboarders will not only find plenty of perfectly groomed runs to rip down, but also wide swathes of gentle short pitch off piste to learn your first powder turns.
All lifts have piste trails appropriate for intermediates, with the sunny slopes off the Hochalterbahn & Kaiserbahn having the best fall line & longest skiable vertical. Even though the runs off the Gaiskogel T-bar & Weisbergbahn chair are rated black, the groomed piste is ‘light black’ or ‘grey’ at best as it rolls steeper toward the village - perfect for intermediate progression.
Advanced
There is only one truly advanced piste trail at Kuehtai. The black run off the Hohemutbahn chair plunges alarmingly away from the top station setting one up at phenomenal pace for the gentler lower end. As per above, other advanced slopes are grey or ‘light black’ at best. Advanced snowriders will enjoy all the off-piste & freeride terrain though.
Off Piste, Freeride & Backcountry
All the real action at Kühtai is NOT on the groomed slopes. The off piste & freeride terrain is vast, and because no one seems to ski it, face shots and clean lines are standard. Ridges, gullies, natural half pipes, cornices, trees and wide-open bowls are there for the taking. The brave can even venture over to the dam wall and give it a whirl - surely one of the more unique ski experiences.
Backcountry access is excellent. Skinning up Pirchkogel, Gaiskogel and 3,016m Sulzkogel opens a world of possibility. Because of its height, the terrain is mostly treeless and not so friendly during poor weather (gotta be one negative!). If equipped AND experienced, go forth and explore.