Over the past few years, there has been huge investment in this ski region straddling the state line between Salzburger Land and Tyrol. After modernising the lifts, local regions took the plunge in 2015 and the ski area Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang in Salzburger Land merged with Fieberbrunn in Tyrol. This created the largest interconnected ski area in Austria. Though the Skicircus, as it is also known, has had to relinquish that title for the 2016/2017 season to Arlberg (St. Anton has merged with Lech Zürs), the ski area remains fantastic, generously sized and home to a variety of different terrain.
Every ski resort has its strengths
Despite four resorts joining forces to create a huge ski region, each sub-area remains quite different; each with its own strengths and target groups. Leogang is without doubt the best destination for families, as there is a huge children’s ski area close to the valley, and the slopes here are a little less busy. In Saalbach and Hinterglemm in contrast, advanced skiers and those who enjoy eating up the kilometres will love being in the heart of such a huge swathe of terrain. Hinterglemm is without doubt the place to be for party, and it has now established a reputation as being one of the top après-ski destinations nationwide. Fieberbrunn, in contrast, has gone all-in for freeriders, now enjoying a global reputation in this regard.
Ski World Championships 2023
In an effort to share with the rest of the world the perks of Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, eye-catching events are held in the ski area every year. For instance, the Skicircus usually gets the ball rolling at the start the season with the events Rave on Snow and Formula Snow. In addition, Fieberbrunn is an annual fixture on the Freeride World Tour. However, the top prize is arriving in 2023 when Saalbach Hinterglemm plays host to the Alpine ski stars of the Skiing World Championships. The ski area was selected to host the event ahead of competitor St Anton.
A ski area without obvious weaknesses
Due to these factors, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn is one of the best ski areas we have ever tested. This huge region, weighing in with 270 km of runs, hardly exhibited any weakness across the board. For instance, the ski area’s options for advanced skiers, freeride and freestyle all received top marks, while it also impressed us in the categories après-ski and on-mountain dining. You have to look pretty hard to find weaknesses, but the closest thing is probably be the low average volume of snow the ski area receives every year.