The snowfalls of the last few days in the high mountains make it possible: On October 7, 2022, the season on the Kitzsteinhorn at Zell am See-Kaprun, Austria will begin – and the Glacier Park will also open the very next day with the first obstacles. From then on, a unique freestyle playground awaits snowboarders at the Kitzsteinhorn until May as gradually the Superpipe, Easy Park, Central Park, and South Central Park will also open. But Salzburg’s only glacier ski area makes not just the freestylers happy: the freeride and touring routes are a perfect destination for powder fans and splitboarders.

Glacier Park kicks the action off

From October 8, 2022, the first elements will be ready at the Glacier Park on the glacier plateau, which will be continuously supplemented with more obstacles and lines depending on snow conditions – updates on this will be available on the social media channels of the Snowpark Kitzsteinhorn. Freestyle snowboarders will then be able to get their kicks at the creative set-up of the Glacier Park until around January 2023. The varied obstacles of the Easy Kicker Line, Medium Kicker Line and Jib Lines are perfect for practicing new tricks or refining existing skills. The “skatepark made of snow” is maintained by the experienced shaper team around head shaper Wolfgang Hilberger, who is also responsible for the world- class quality of the other snowparks on the Kitzsteinhorn.

Top stars at the Kitzsteinhorn Superpipe!

A few weeks after Glacier Park, the mighty Kitzsteinhorn Superpipe will also be ready – however, it will first be reserved for the top international stars who will prepare for the winter season here at the Superpipe Training Weeks from October 31 to December 4, 2022. Last year, the renowned training session saw future snowboard halfpipe medallists Ayumu Hirano (JPN), Scotty James (AUS), Jan Scherrer (SUI), Queralt Castellet (ESP), and Sena Tomita (JPN), among others, fine-tune their skills for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Ali Zehetner, one of the world’s best-known halfpipe shapers, is responsible for the construction of the 150-meter-long and 6.50-meter-high Kitzsteinhorn Superpipe. In December, the facility will then open for all other freestylers.

More snow parks to follow

From December on, other snow parks at the “Kitz” will also go into operation. They attract riders with a varied offer and are among the best in the world thanks to their perfectly shaped set-ups. In the Easy Park, the first obstacles await all snowboarders and freeskiers from around December. From presumably January, the next playground for tricks and jibs opens with the Central Park. And when South Central Park is added in February, up to 20 obstacles can be ridden in a row in one run!

Freeride XXL: Powder dreams wait off-piste

Cliff jumps, powder fields, natural pipes and its snow-reliability due to the high altitude make the Kitzsteinhorn an off-piste paradise for freeriders. The five signposted routes close to the lifts offer premium-class backcountry fun: freeriders can let off steam in the varied terrain of “Ice Age”, “Westside Story”, “Left Wing”, “Jump Run”, and “Pipe Line”. Following the motto “Safety first!”, they can get up-to-date information on the freeride routes, the weather, snow and avalanche situation as well as equipment tips and check their avalanche transceivers at the Freeride Info Base at the Alpincenter before they set off. At the Freeride Info Points at the beginning of the routes, they will find interesting information on a topographical map about the steepness of the slope, danger spots and the most beautiful line.

Already from autumn onwards, as soon as snow conditions will allow it, ski tourers and splitboarders will find two marked ascent routes on the Kitzsteinhorn along the piste from Langwiedboden (1,976 meters): On the “Snow Queen” route, they overcome 474 meters in altitude – the destination is the Alpine Center at 2,450 meters. The longer “Eisbrecher” route leads over 899 meters in altitude to the top station of the Maurerlift at 2,875 meters. Guided tours will be offered every Thursday from December 29, 2022: A state-certified mountain guide takes participants up the pristine Tristkogel (2,642 meters). The guiding including emergency equipment costs Euro 100 (excl. ski ticket). Registration until 6 p.m. the day before by e-mail toinfo@bergfuehrer-zellkaprun.at or www.bergfuehrer-zellkaprun.at.

Highlights: X OVER RIDE and World Rookie Tour Snowboard Finals!

Numerous highlights from November to May offer further reasons to come to the Kitzsteinhorn in addition to parks and powder. The first of these is SnowTime from November 4 to 6, 2022, the Sport Glaser Ski & Snowboard Test on November 12 and 13, and the Touring Testival from November 18 to 20. Here you can participate in guided ski tours and workshops or test the latest ski touring equipment. The Risk’n’fun Freeride Camp offers an Austrian Alpine Club training program for all freeriders from February 13 to 17, 2023. A highlight for freestylers will then be the World Rookie Tour Snowboard Finals from March 19 to 25. On April 1, the pros of the freeride scene will compete at the X OVER RIDE 2023 and collect points for the qualification for the Freeride World Tour.

K-ONNECTED: Direct connection from Kaprun to Kitzsteinhorn via Maiskogel

From December, the cable car connection K-ONNECTION links the centre of Kaprun with the Kitzsteinhorn via the Family Mountain Maiskogel. For winter sports enthusiasts and other guests, the connection means short distances directly from Kaprun to the glacier and back. Over a distance of 12 km from the valley station to TOP OF SALZBURG (3,029 m), you overcome 2,261 metres of altitude and cross four climate zones. The heart of the K-ONNECTION is the 4.3km long 3K K- onnection. It’s the world’s most modern cable car system and connects the top station of the MK Maiskogelbahn (1,570 m) with the Langwied middle station (1,976 m) on the Kitzsteinhorn.

Focus on sustainability

Gletscherbahnen Kaprun AG is aware of its responsibility and pays attention to sustainable management in all areas. One example is the Grubbach Hydro Station, which ensures snow supply in winter and produces electricity in summer. All cable cars and lifts are operated with 100% green electricity from renewable energy sources. The superpipe is filled with snow in spring and then covered with a special fleece so that the “old snow” can be used to build the new pipe the following fall. Similar snow depots are also created for the snow parks, so less snowmaking is needed here as well.

For more information, please visit www.kitzsteinhorn.at.