Kitzbühel - Slope

The season runs from mid-December until mid-April.

Kitzbühel's extensive ski area can offer much to satisfy all needs, from gentle nursery slopes to guides happy to take experts to some of the most difficult off-piste powder. Most experienced skiers will want to visit the famous Streif run on the Hahnemkamm, scene of famous races each January since the 1930s, attracting huge crowds as one of Austria's biggest sporting events – comparable to English football’s FA Cup Final.

Kitzbühel was the first resort to offer a ‘ski safari' more than 50 years ago, with the concept of skiing in a circuit from one mountain to the next, rather than returning over the same slopes. A spectacular gondola installed a few years ago made a final key link in the route, as well as setting world records for the highest point above the valley floor (400m/1,312ft), and the length of cable between lift towers. These records have, however, since been broken by a new lift at Whistler in Canada.

Kitzbühel is also part of several larger ‘ski regions' for those looking for more than its own extensive slopes. The local ski area is linked, more or less (there's a short bus transfer), to the neighbouring SkiWelt region. This brings a combined area with more than 400km (250 miles) of piste – one of the world's largest. Bigger still is the Kitzbüheler Alpen AllStarCard ticket which takes in this area plus neighbouring (but not lift linked) ski areas to offer a total of more than 1,080km (675 miles) of runs.