Mountain Layout — Skiing

Here is a larger, more detailed trail map in pdf format.

Here is an interactive St. Johann trail map

The of St. Johann and Oberndorf run along the flanks of the Kitzbüheler Horn. You can reach them from neighboring Oberndorf by gondolas from St. Johann and from neighboring Oberndorf.

The runs lie on the north-facing side of the Kitzbüheler Horn so they maintain their snow cover for the entire season. Snowmaking now spreads the white stuff over three wide top-to-bottom swatches of the mountain. Though the resort has spent money on snowmaking, they, like Kitzbühel, did it at the expense of lifts. It is one of the drag lift capitals of Austria.

The top station is Harschbichl at 5,577 feet. From there you have a choice of blue and red runs and one black trail.

We enjoyed the black run, which really begins from Penzing at 4,799 feet and swings down through mogul fields to the parking lot above Oberndorf. A new gondola now serves this section of the mountain non-stop from the parking lot. As with any Austrian resort, the off-piste possibilities are endless.

Intermediates can go wild. Some say is dedicated to intermediate pleasures. Start with the run from the Eichenhof drag lift on the far side of St. Johann for a good downhill cruise and small crowds. From there you can work your way to the Jodlalm chair lift that will take you to just below the Harschbichl. From the top of the the Jodlalm chair, cruise to the middle station of the gondola to reach the summit. You can follow the lines of a dozen different trails cut into the mountain.

Beginner slopes are at the bottom of the mountain.

An expanded pass, Schneewinkel, opens more than 55 lifts serving 170 km. of runs through two adjacent valleys. The St. Johann pass is valid on these lifts when purchased for four days or longer. Though they claim 8 different towns included in the pass, there are only five worth noting—St. Johann in Tirol, Oberndorf, Waidring, St. Ulrich am Pillersee, and Fieberbrunn.

Again, all are drag-lift heavy and have trails for intermediates and beginners. The longest run in the other areas is in Fieberbrunn tracing a 5 km. length and dropping 2,624 feet. The most difficult trail in the area is Buckelpiste Reckmoos under the Reckmoos lift. Fieberbrunn opens up lots of expert off-piste possibilities, but go with a guide.


Mountain rating
St. Johann and Oberndorf are for intermediates. The slopes are rarely challenging unless you go off-piste, and only beginners and the intermediates will find the skiing interesting enough for a week. Mainly family-friendly skiing is found in Kirchdorf and Erpfendorf. However, with the regional ski pass advanced intermediates and experts can try a number of challenging slopes in the area, in particular those in the Fieberbrunn off-piste areas and on the Steinplatte above Waidring, about 16 km.