Bad Gastein or Kronplatz: the spa town or the groomed dome?
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Bad Gastein and Kronplatz are in different countries and feel nothing like each other, yet our matching puts Bad Gastein closer to Kronplatz than any other resort we cover. Look at where the skiing sits and you can see why. Both villages are low, at 1,000 and 1,200 metres. Half of Bad Gastein's piste and 51 percent of Kronplatz's is at or above 1,800 metres, by our measurement, and both run from December to April.
So this is not really a question about snow. It is about the place at the bottom, a spa town of faded belle époque grandeur or a modern, efficient resort known for its grooming, and about the shape of the mountain above it, which differs far more than the height does. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Bad Gastein | Kronplatz |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,000 m | 1,200 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,644 m | 2,266 m |
| Ski area and lift pass | Its own area is 83 km. Ski amadé pass, 760 km across five regions, not all joined | One area on the Dolomiti Superski pass; its own size is not yet classified by us |
| Piste we measure around the village | 106.6 km | 76.8 km |
| Blue and easier | 41 km, 39% of the piste | 36 km, 47% of the piste |
| Black | 8.2 km, 8% of the piste | 14.1 km, 18% of the piste |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 1.5 km | None in our data |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 37% | 43% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 29% | 16% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 50% | 51% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Salzburg | Innsbruck or Venice |
Bad Gastein takes the size rows and the gentle row. Kronplatz takes the steep row and the black row. The 1,800 metre row, which usually settles a choice between two low villages, is level.
Altitude: the same height of skiing, and both miss our snow test
Kronplatz's village is 200 metres higher, though at 1,200 metres it is still the lowest of the 10 Italian resorts we cover. Bad Gastein's skiing goes further up: 2,644 metres by our measurement, the fifth highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and 378 metres above Kronplatz's 2,266, the lowest top of the 10 Italian resorts we cover.
41 km blue and easier 39%57 km red 54%8 km black 8%
36 km blue and easier 47%26 km red 34%14 km black 18%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Bad Gastein 1.5 km.
That extra height is a thin slice at the top. Through the middle of the mountain the two are level. Half the piste we measure sits above 1,799 metres at Bad Gastein and above 1,807 at Kronplatz, and 27 percent is above 2,000 metres at Bad Gastein against 29 at Kronplatz. Only above 2,200 metres does Bad Gastein pull clear, with 13 percent of its piste there against 8.
Our snow sure test asks for more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres, and skiing that reaches 2,500. Each resort fails a different half of it. Bad Gastein's top clears 2,500 metres, but its share at or above 1,800 is half, not more than half. Kronplatz's share clears the bar at 51 percent, but its skiing stops short of 2,500. Nobody can promise snow at either.
Size: Bad Gastein has more to ski
We measure 106.6 kilometres of piste around Bad Gastein and 76.8 around Kronplatz. Bad Gastein's figure is more than its own area's 83 kilometres, so our measurement probably takes in some of the neighbouring skiing down the valley. Even on the 83, it is the bigger of the two.
Both sit on passes far bigger than the home mountain. Ski amadé is quoted at 760 kilometres, across five regions that are not all joined, and Bad Gastein's own area is one of four separate areas down its valley. Dolomiti Superski is a pass across twelve areas, only four of them joined by lift. At either, much of the pass is for days out rather than skiing from the door, and Kronplatz itself is a single dome. Its longest run we measure is a 4.1 kilometre red with 647 metres of vertical.
The skiing: Kronplatz is steeper overall, Bad Gastein's reds bite harder
These gradients are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch. Italian and Austrian grades are not set the same way either, so the measured figures are the fair comparison.
41 km blue and easier 39%57 km red 54%8 km black 8%
36 km blue and easier 47%26 km red 34%14 km black 18%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Bad Gastein 1.5 km.
On the broad measure, Kronplatz is the steeper mountain. Forty three percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, the joint second biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover and the biggest of the 10 Italian resorts we cover. Bad Gastein's 37 percent is joint eighth of the 55 resorts we cover. A typical resort we cover has 26.
Grade by grade, the picture turns. Bad Gastein's reds average 25.0 percent against 24.0 at Kronplatz, and its blacks 32.6 against 30.2. Where Kronplatz is steeper is at the easy end: its blues average 20.2 percent, against Bad Gastein's 14.9.
The mix differs too. Kronplatz spreads its piste evenly, 47 percent blue and easier, 34 red and 18 black, the fourth most even mix of the 55 resorts we cover. It has 14.1 kilometres of black, the same as a typical resort we cover, against 8.2 at Bad Gastein. Bad Gastein is a red mountain, with 57.1 kilometres of red, 54 percent of its piste. It also has the only marked off piste itinerary of the two, a 1.5 kilometre route with 269 metres of vertical. Kronplatz has none in our data.
Who each one actually suits
Bad Gastein suits people who book the place as well as the skiing. Our read of it is grand and characterful, with the belle époque, the spa and the scenery at the top of its list, and we class it as traditional. On the hill it suits confident intermediates who want plenty of red with some bite, and improvers who need gentle blues. You fly to Salzburg.
Kronplatz suits people who like their skiing well run. Our read is modern and efficient, with grooming, families and museums at the top of its list. On the hill it suits confident skiers who like a steep, groomed run and want some black, on one mountain they can get to know well. You fly to Innsbruck or Venice.
The bit nobody tells you
Kronplatz has families on its list and Bad Gastein does not. Measured, the gentle end runs the other way. Kronplatz's blues average 20.2 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover and close to a typical Italian red at 20.4. Only 16 percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, the smallest share of the 55 resorts we cover. Bad Gastein's blues average 14.9 percent, gentler than a typical Austrian blue at 16.4, and 29 percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent.
For a family of confident skiers that hardly matters. For an improver in their first week off the nursery slope, it is Bad Gastein's blues that will feel like blues. Read the gradients before the label.
So, which one
you want the spa and the grand old resort, more piste to work through, plenty of red, and blues gentle enough for the improvers. Also if Salzburg suits your flights.
your group skis confidently and likes a steep, groomed run, you want more black and an even spread of grades, and a modern resort with museums for the day off appeals more than a spa town.
The height of the skiing is the same, so it comes down to what sits at that height, and Bad Gastein has more of it: 106.6 kilometres of piste against 76.8, with its own area of 83 still the bigger, and gentler blues for the less confident. Kronplatz is the right answer when everyone in the group already skis well and sees the steepest blues of the 55 resorts we cover as the point, not the catch.