Photo show: top news in the ski areas

Superschnee22421773,23213208200D / Areit / Schneewinkel21521500,00206198190AObertauern217,52116,53,08206199193D / AOberstdorf-Kleinwals.21621062,86205199192A3 valleys Vorarlberg21621062,86201192187ISestriere / Via Lattea19019000,00188180180 … DVitales Land17517231,74166157152DAlpen plus16816263,70156150133DGrasgehren10710432,88999591DOberammergau (5 days) 989 622, 08968383 More slopes, new lifts: The innovations in the ski areas Photo show: Innovations in the ski areas in 2016 Photo show: Drafts for the ” Icehotel ” 2015 Photo show: Hotel at an altitude of almost 4000 meters

Source: Skiatlas app schneeundmehr, EUR / CHF rate: 1.09. All prices in Euro.

The Harz is a great destination for a skiing holiday. The slopes in Germany’s northernmost low mountain range are also well suited for beginners.

Spend an unforgettable ski vacation

Photo series with 9 pictures

Gentle slopes are ideal for beginners

If you want to learn to ski, you should think about a skiing holiday in the Harz Mountains. There are not very high mountains here, but there are plenty of gentle slopes that do not pose any insurmountable tasks even for beginners. In many hotels you can book a course in the ski school in addition to your room. The infrastructure with chairlifts and well-groomed slopes is also impressive. The season in the Harz usually lasts until March.

Many ski areas to choose from

If you want to book a skiing holiday in the Harz Mountains, there are numerous ski areas to choose from. They differ primarily in the level of difficulty and the height differences that you can overcome on the descents. The ski area in Clausthal Zellerfeld, for example, is very popular with winter sports enthusiasts. The slopes here are 300 meters long and the difference in altitude is 50 meters. Or you can go to the Hahnenklee Bocksberg ski area. There you will find an altitude difference of 200 meters over a distance of 1.5 kilometers.

Those who like it more demanding and already have more experience are in good hands in Braunlage, for example. The highest mountain in Lower Saxony, the 971 meter high Wurmberg, is located in this ski area. It has slopes totaling 13 kilometers in length. (Blue, red, black: what do the colors mean on the slopes?)

Ski areas

Ski vacation for the whole family

Both the Braunlage ski area and the area around St. Andreasberg are ideal for a skiing holiday with the whole family. Holidaymakers will find many routes with different levels of difficulty close together. If the individual family members ski differently, everyone gets their money’s worth here. In the St. Andreasberg ski area there are not only good slopes but also two double chair lifts, three drag lifts and many trails for cross-country skiers. (Cross-country skiing: a sport with a long tradition)

Will the coming winter finally sink into the snow again or will many slopes remain green? We don’t know either. But what is certain is that the ski pass prices are rising. The mountain railways have turned the price screw again for the new season.

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The ski pass tariffs were increased by an average of four percent. Individual lift companies paid surcharges of over ten percent. We compared the prices in the major ski resorts in the Alps for the usual six-day passes in the high season.

The most expensive six-day ski pass costs 385 euros

For 385 euros you can go on a whole week of skiing holidays with all the trimmings in smaller ski areas. However, the most expensive six-day ski pass in the Alps costs just as much: skiers will pay 385 euros for the Zermatt-Cervinia-Aostatal regional ski pass in the coming winter.an essay about community service

The mountain railways around the Matterhorn thus maintain their undisputed top position in the hit list of the most expensive slopes in the Alpine region. Even the ski pass for Zermatt alone is more expensive than any other in Europe (six days 317 euros).

Skiing in Switzerland remains expensive

The Zermatt mountain railways increased their prices by 3.6 percent. Like most Swiss regions, they are even below the Alpine-wide average. Nevertheless, skiing remains an expensive pleasure for the Swiss. The next three most expensive ski passes for the new season are also Swiss: St. Moritz charges another 304 euros for its Engadin pass on six days, as it has for two winters; In many local hotels, however, it is included in the room rate. This is followed by the Quatre Vallèes around Verbier (296 euros, as in the previous year) and Flims / Laax (297 euros, plus four euros).

Relatively cautious like the Swiss are the most important French mountain railways this year with just one to two percent surcharge. Chamonix is ​​now asking 285 euros for its Mont-Blanc Unlimited area ski pass, thus defending fifth place among the most expensive ski destinations in the Alps – just ahead of its domestic French competitors Trois Vallées and Les Arcs / La Plagne, where the tariff sheet is 283 and 277 euros respectively this winter.

The lift ticket from Gstaad makes the biggest jump in price

The top ten most expensive ski areas in the Alps are completed by the traditional Swiss piste area Davos / Klosters, which has remained stable in price, where the six-day pass costs 277 euros this winter – as much as the Jungfrau Ski Region, which is priced around 13 euros, and the Gstaad Superpass. The lift ticket from Gstaad made the biggest price jump with a surcharge of 31 euros, but at the same time it also expanded its area of ​​validity to include the Adelboden area.

Hot on the heels of the top group is the Austrian-Swiss ski area Ischgl / Samanun, where 265 (plus eight) euros are charged for the six-day pass. The other major Austrian ski regions strike as reliably as clockwork: year after year, they add three to five percent of the previous year’s price. That is currently between six and ten euros inflation.

Austria is also becoming more expensive

The cost of the Oberinntaler six-day pass "Ski6", with which you can ski in Serfaus, Nauders and the Kaunertal, now 259 euros, eight more than in the previous year. Obergurgl and Sölden charge 253 euros (plus seven) in lockstep, 251 euros in the Stubaital, 249 euros (plus eight each) in the Kitzbüheler Alpen and Salzburger Land.

The Arlberg ski pass is expensive this winter, which is ten more than in the previous winter. Saalbach-Hinterglemm and the Salzburger Sportwelt will charge 233 and 234 euros respectively for a six-day ski holiday in the coming winter. In the Zillertal, 230 euros are debited and the top ski pass, which covers all of Carinthia, 222 euros (all: plus six to nine euros).

Germany’s ski passes are also at the top level

In comparison, skiers still pay 242 euros (four more than in the previous winter) "Portes du Soleil", the area with the most connected kilometers of slopes in the world. The Montafon (223, as in the previous year plus ten euros) is catching up in price in even steps. Meanwhile, Obertauern remains a price tip: Six days of skiing this winter costs 211 (plus five) euros. And if you don’t shy away from the long journey, you can still get a ski pass for more than 200 kilometers of slopes in Sestriere, the Olympic ski resort from 2006, at a price of 190 euros.

Germany’s ski passes are now also priced at peak level. They have cleverly teamed up to create large spaces. Garmisch Partenkirchen "Top Snow Card" also allows skiing in Mittenwald and the Tyrolean Zugspitzorten. The six-day pass costs 221 euros for the 216 kilometers of slopes – nine more than in the previous year.

Upper Bavaria’s smaller ski areas are cheaper

Reit im Winkl charges 215 euros (nine more than in the previous year) in conjunction with the Austrian Steinplatte and various neighboring areas for the 170 kilometers of the "Snow angle"-Ski passes. Oberstdorf and the neighboring Kleinwalsertal only charge five euros for 128 kilometers of slopes together, the six-day pass now costs 210 euros. If you also want to ski in the other Allgäu piste areas or in the Tannheimer Tal, you need the Allgäu-Tirol super snow pass and now pay 217 (plus four) euros for six days.

The smaller ski areas in Upper Bavaria are significantly cheaper, although they have also invested heavily in guaranteed snow. The association "Alps plus" with areas such as Lenggries, Wendelstein and Spitzingsee charged 162 euros for six days of skiing on a total of 160 kilometers of slopes this winter. That is six more than in the previous winter. In mini-areas such as the Allgäu Schneeloch Grasgehren or the Upper Bavarian wood carving village Oberammergau, you can get the six-day ski pass for just over 100 euros. Those who prefer to take pleasure turns in the snow rather than play kilometer eater will certainly be well served.

Photo show: Top innovations in the ski areas Photo show: Oberstdorf and the Kleinwalsertal Photo show: The small ski village of Jungholz Photo show: The Ofterschwanger Horn Advertisement: Ski trips for young and old including ski pass

All ski pass prices mentioned refer to the high season and are rounded up to whole euros. Ski vacationers with a guest card receive discounts in some places.

Will the coming winter finally be a real one again or will the slopes stay green until January? Nobody knows that today. One thing is certain, however: the prices for skiing are currently not rising as strongly as in previous years. Nevertheless, some mountain railways have turned the price screw again for the new season. The Skiatlas app has been comparing for 13 years "Snow and more" the prices of the 50 leading ski passes in the Alpine region. The evaluation for the coming winter shows the trend: The average price for the six-day ski passes, which are particularly popular with holidaymakers, only increases by a good five euros from 266.10 to 271.70 euros. That is just two after almost five percent inflation last season.

On a euro basis, fun on the slopes is even slightly cheaper in Switzerland. However, this is to be seen in relative terms – the ten most expensive ski passes compared still all come from the country of the Swiss. They all now cost more than 300 euros. After all, the ski pass with the highest price is a bilingual European: the Zermatt-Aostatal regional subscription charges an impressive 423 euros for six days of skiing – one euro less than in the previous year due to currency reasons.

One stayed the same price

Outside of Switzerland, only one of the top 50 ski passes remained the same price as in the previous year: the Upper Bavarian merger "Alps Plus" around Lenggries, Spitzingsee and Bayrischzell. Most of the other large ski areas examined used the season change to moderate increases. The largest ski area in the world, the Trois Vallées (now 294 euros), the Ortler ski arena in South Tyrol (241 euros) and the rustic Hörner villages in the Allgäu (164 euros) took the most cautious approach with a surcharge of less than two percent. 

Ortler’s competitor Dolomiti Superski made comparatively strong gains (plus twelve to now 287 euros), followed by Stubaital and Arlberg (ten euros more to now 267 and 262 respectively). At least the two Tyrolean railways offer more service for more money: On the Arlberg, two ski areas have just been connected by lift and on the Stubai Glacier a brand new and significantly faster glacier lift is flashing. 

Ski like god in France

The most expensive ski turns in the euro area are made by skiers in the French Alps. Chamonix piste tickets are just under 300 euros at 299 and 294 euros. Skiers still pay a comparatively cheap 255 euros (seven more than in the previous winter) in the "Portes du Soleil", the area with the most connected kilometers of slopes in the world. The major Austrian ski regions add between five and nine euros to the previous year’s price. The number one price in the Alpine republic is the party stronghold Ischgl (281 euros), followed by its neighbor Serfaus (261 euros). In Ischgl, only guests from the cheaper neighboring towns are charged: with your own guest card, the ski pass costs 41 euros less.

You can still get a lot of slopes for the money in the Salzburger Land. There, the ski pass giant Salzburg Superski has teamed up with the neighboring Kitzbühel Alps to create the second largest ski pass area in the world: Imposing 2700 kilometers of slopes in 25 ski regions can now be taken under the board with this one card – at least in theory. At 265 euros for six days, the card is 25th in terms of price compared to the Alps. Incidentally, the largest ski pass area in the world is the Tirol Snow Card with 4,000 kilometers of slopes – but it is only available as an annual pass. Relative bargains are the Top Ski Kärnten large-area passes, where the six-day pass costs 233 euros, and the German alpine top runners Zugspitze (234 euros) and Oberstdorf-Kleinwalsertal (220 euros).

Ski pass included?

If you choose a ski area that includes your ski passes in the guest card, you can wag through your holiday even more cheaply. This is also a trend that is currently spreading, for example, in the Allgäu at Oberjoch and Oberstaufen, in the Black Forest at Feldberg and in Baiersbronn and in the Bavarian Forest in St. Englmar. If you live there with a participating landlord, skiing does not cost anything extra. 

All ski pass prices mentioned refer to the main season. Ski vacationers with a guest card receive discounts in some places. The prices are based on surveys by the Skiatlas app "Snow and more" in October 2016. The app is based on the former DSV Skiatlas and is available there free of charge in the Apple and Google app stores.

Ski pass prices in the Alps

   

rank

Ski pass

Price 2017 in euros

Price 2016 in euros

Difference in euros

Difference in%

2015

1.  

Zermatt-Val d’Aosta

423

424

-1.00

-0.24

385

2.  

Zermatt-Cervinia

396

397

-1.00

-0.25

362

3.  

Zermatt

347

348

-1.00

-0.29

317

4th  

Qatre Vallées-Verbier

341

342

-1.00

-0.29

296

5.  

Engadin St. Moritz

343

334

9.00

2.69

304

6th  

Flims / Laax

338

335

3.00

0.90