Like Kronplatz, but in Austria: the same height of skiing, and more of it
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
You love Kronplatz for one groomed mountain done well. Our line on it is a perfectly groomed dome above the Puster valley, modern and efficient, with grooming, families and museums at the top of its list. We measure 77 kilometres of piste around it, split 47 percent blue and easier, 34 red and 18 black, the fourth most even mix of the 55 resorts we cover. Forty-three percent of it is steeper than one in four, the joint second biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and the blues average 20.2 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover.
It also skis higher than its village. Kronplatz sits at 1,200 metres, the lowest of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, yet 51 percent of its piste is at or above 1,800 metres and half of it is above 1,807. It misses our snow sure test only because the skiing stops at 2,266 metres, under the 2,500 metre line.
The honest headline: Austria can match that height of skiing closely, and most of the pitch. No resort we cover matches the blues, and none of the three Austrian resorts our matching puts closest is modern by our read. Bad Gastein comes closest on the mountain itself.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Steeper than one in four | Gentler than 15% | Blues, average gradient | Piste at or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkKronplatz | 1,200 m | 2,266 m | 77 km | 43% | 16% | 20.2% | 51% |
| Bad Gastein | 1,000 m | 2,644 m | 107 km | 37% | 29% | 14.9% | 50% |
| Mayrhofen | 630 m | 2,412 m | 90.5 km | 32% | 32% | 12.7% | 55% |
| Kitzbühel | 800 m | 1,968 m | 135 km | 29% | 29% | 16.7% | 11% |
Bad Gastein: the closest on the mountain
- VillageVillage
- 1,000 m 200 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,686 m 411 m higher
Bad Gastein: 107 km of piste we measure. 41 km blue and easier 39%57 km red 54%8 km black 8%
Our matching puts Bad Gastein closer to Kronplatz than any other resort we cover, in any country, and the height profile is where the two are closest on our figures. Half its piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 51 percent. The midpoint of its piste sits at 1,799 metres, against your 1,807, and 27 percent is above 2,000 metres, against 29; its top, 2,644 metres by our measure, is 378 above yours. The village is at 1,000 metres, 200 below yours.
The pitch is close as well. Thirty-seven percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the third biggest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. The reds average 25.0 percent against your 24.0, the blacks 32.6 against 30.2. The difference is at the easy end, and a family may welcome it: the blues average 14.9 percent, gentler than a typical Austrian blue, and 29 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 16.
There is more of it. We measure 107 kilometres around the village. Bad Gastein's own area is 83 kilometres, one of four separate areas down the valley on the Ski amadé pass, which spans five regions that are not all joined. Our measurement is bigger than that, so it probably takes in neighbouring skiing; either way, it beats your 77.
For the day off, Kronplatz has museums on its list; Bad Gastein has thermal spas and faded belle époque grandeur, grand and characterful by our read.
What you give up is the modern feel and some of the hard end. Bad Gastein is traditional rather than modern, and we do not class it as a family resort. It is a red mountain, with 57.1 kilometres of red, 54 percent of its piste, and 8.2 kilometres of black against your 14.1. Nor is it snow sure on our measure: the top clears 2,500 metres, but its share at or above 1,800 is half, not more than half. You fly to Salzburg.
Mayrhofen: the closest on the family week
- VillageVillage
- 630 m 570 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,500 m 225 m higher
Mayrhofen: 91 km of piste we measure. 29 km blue and easier 32%48 km red 53%14 km black 16%
Mayrhofen is the only one of the three that keeps Kronplatz's family label. Our read is lively and welcoming, a Zillertal town with a steep signature run, and nightlife, families and a snow park are on its list. Its skiing sits a touch higher than yours: 55 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, half of it lies above 1,829, and the top is 2,412 metres by our measure, 146 above yours. It still misses our snow sure test, because the top stops short of 2,500 metres.
The black is the same as yours, 14.1 kilometres. Kronplatz's longest run we measure, Ried, is a 4.1 kilometre red with 647 metres of vertical; Mayrhofen's is a 4.3 kilometre red that drops 1,161. Its own domain is 142 kilometres across Penken, Ahorn, Rastkogel and Eggalm, and we measure 90.5 around the town. The Zillertal pass adds three more separate areas, with the Hintertux glacier a bus ride away.
The trade is the bottom of the mountain. The town is at 630 metres, 570 below yours and the second lowest of the 55 resorts we cover. The blues average 12.7 percent, the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, but there are only 28.5 kilometres of blue and easier, 31 percent of the piste and the least of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, while 53 percent is red. And it is lively rather than modern. Fly to Innsbruck or Salzburg.
Kitzbühel: the closest on the even mix, with far more black
- VillageVillage
- 800 m 400 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,000 m 275 m lower
Kitzbühel: 135 km of piste we measure. 63 km blue and easier 47%39 km red 28%34 km black 25%
If what you love is Kronplatz's even spread of grades, Kitzbühel is the one resort we cover in Austria that beats it. Its split, 46 percent blue and easier, 29 red and 25 black, is the third most even of the 55 resorts we cover, one place ahead of yours, and the most even of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. We measure 135 kilometres around the town, with 34.0 of black, the most of the 55 resorts we cover, and the longest run we measure is a 4.1 kilometre black that drops 1,068 metres. Our guide's Kitzbühel is a real medieval town, home of the Hahnenkamm races and the Streif, and nightlife and racing are on its list.
The trade is the height. The town is at 800 metres, 400 below yours, and the skiing tops out at 1,968 metres by our measure, 298 below your top and the second lowest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. Only 11 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 51. It is not snow sure on our measure. The reds average 20.3 percent, the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and our tags for it are lively and traditional, not family.
What makes Kronplatz is its mountain: real pitch from top to bottom, and just over half its piste at or above 1,800 metres, though the village is low. Bad Gastein copies that best of the three: the same share at or above 1,800 metres near enough, 37 percent steeper than one in four, a higher top, more piste, and kinder blues for your least confident skier. Go knowing it is traditional rather than modern, has less black, and swaps the museums for the spa. If the family label is the point, Mayrhofen.