Vienna Skiing. A Guide For Skiing Around Vienna
Alpenostrand is the German word for the eastern fringe of the Alps ranging from the Vienna region south to Graz and Maribor (Slovenia).
There are many regions all over the world which are truly famous for their great backcountry skiing, their big mountain lines, their gnarly couloirs or their deep powder. I have to admit, the Vienna region does not belong – by all accounts – to these regions. However, after skiing for some 20 years now in the Vienna region I can honestly claim that I have experienced incredible deep powder, skied over awesome terrain and shit my pants in gnarly couloirs in the Vienna region just as in any other of the more glamorous freeride locations.
Skiing last winter with Wade, a student from Montana and keen skier himself, was somewhat an eye-opener for me, that I might not be the only one thinking that the Vienna region is a fantastic freeride location of its own right. Wade, who more or less accidentally landed in Vienna for his European winter experience, was as enthusiastic as me and my local friends about the awesome skiing possibilities the region around Vienna had to offer.
Then, why it is, that the Vienna region is in no one’s book? It happens only that no one is talking about. Curiously enough, skiing is to Vienna just as it is to Innsbruck or any other town in or near the Alps. Indeed, skiing history would have some black holes would it not be that some obscure skiing pioneers of the greater Vienna region like Max Kleinoschegg, Toni Schruf or, above all of them, Mathias Zdarsky made their first lines into the snow near Vienna a century and more ago.
Of course, the gems of the Viennese ski region lie not open to the casual visitor. They have to be discovered by searching around actively, looking what may behind these dense woods or behind this rocky entry into a shadowy couloir. Interestingly enough Vienna does not boast a lively freeride scene. Indeed, you will come quite rarely across a fellow freerider with his (or her) quintessential fat skis. Although Vienna is home to many enthusiastic backcountry skiers, the local folks here tend to stick to their ridiculous skinnies. After all Austrians are known for being conservative and adhere to innovations.
There is also the prejudice that a lack of deep powder and limited space for long lines prevails in the Vienna region. Nothing can be more wrong as these prejudices. I cannot count anymore the days when bottomless powder made us laugh out loud. Even it is true that some winters may be a pain powder-wise (the last one which fell into this category was the dreadful winter of 2007/07) but usually the Alpenostrand gets a good share of orographic precipitation. The last winter (2008/09) serves as an outstanding example with snow levels in some villages of up to 2.50 m!
And then, during spring time the mountains near Vienna excel as well offering perfect corn skiing in its many couloirs. Thanks to the specific geology of this region (plateau-like limestone massifs with steep walls on their fringes) there is really no shortness of interesting couloirs here. It is not that long ago that descents like the Breite Ries at the Schneeberg had been regarded as gnarly steep skiing for the advanced and the nearby Lahning Ries as ultimate experience for the extreme skiers. In this respect discovering the Vienna region is somewhat like traveling into the past and reliving a great tradition.
Skiing in the Vienna Region. Backcountry Spots and Ski Resorts auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen
The map gives an overview of the different ski resorts and mountain massifs around Vienna which are particular suited to the freeride-oriented backcountry skier. In general ‘earning your turns’ has to be the motto in this region. Though there are many ski resorts near Vienna, most of them do not offer really big terrain for side-country freeriding. Too much woods and the obvious open terrain gets tracked out as quick as in any other European resort (of course, the outliers of this general rule have to be held in secret). But, put your skins on your skis and you will discover a variety of options for all tastes.
The greater region can be divided along two axes, the north-south and the east-west respectively. Both axes are equipped with convenient transport infrastructures (A2 Südautobahn and A1 Westautobahn plus the two major train lines in Austria) which guarantee easy and fast access to the skiing.
The North-South-Axis offers the approach to the Schneeberg-Rax area and the Semmering-Wechsel region with well known ski resorts like Semmering-Hirschenkogel and Spital/Stuhleck. Lesser known, family-oriented ski resorts are Untersberg in the Gutensteiner Alps (very close to Vienna) or Mönichkirchen and Mariensee at the Wechsel. Some Styrian ski resorts like Niederalpl and Brunnalm/Veitsch are located in the gorgeous environment of high alpine massifs while in the same time somewhat hidden from the weekend masses. Long queue lines at the lifts are very rarely here.
