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Resort Height: 2020m

Kuhtai is an unusual ski area for Austria due to its great height above sea level. The resort base at 2020m is the highest in the country, and in fact higher than the highest ski lifts in some of Austria's largest and most famous ski areas, such as Kitzbuhel.

It is also unusual because the ski area has been largely purpose built, albeit in the traditional Tyrolean chalet style, and is largely made up of about half a dozen large hotels. However there have been some buildings in the valley for many centuries, as the Austrian emperors took summer hunting parties here.
Because of the altitude, the skiing is well above the treeline, and resort guests have doorstep access to open powder slopes on each side of the valley above them.

Kuhtai is also only 40 minutes from Innsbruck and is one of nine resorts participating in a regional lift pass, with a free bus service connecting the different centres via a central Innsbruck hub. This service also brings up the locals from the Tyrolean capital for night skiing and at weekends.

Beginners

Beginners make a good choice in Kuhtai, with its comfortable hotels right next to the nursery slopes, which themselves are served by easy to ride magic carpet lifts and a short two man chair. There's a choice of ski schools, who compete with one another to provide the highest standards, and there's easy progression on to longer easy runs going further up the valley.

Intermediates

Intermediates will be able to enjoy Kuhtai the most with all of the resort's predominantly red graded terrain open to them, and the chance to make first tracks in the powder at the edge of the piste.

As the resort is so high, the slopes cannot go up too much higher, but there is still a good vertical and enough skiing to keep all but the most demanding intermediate skier busy for a week. That most demanding skier has the option of venturing off to one of the other eight ski areas on the pass each day, perhaps the glacier skiing of the Stubai or the World Cup run at Igls where Franz Klammer recorded his famous Olympic victory.

If the day's skiing isn't enough for you, you can head back out onto the slopes every Wednesday and Saturday evening from 7:30 to 10pm. The HochAlter quad chairlift serves the illuminated ski run and the Kaiser Maximilian Hut is open until 11:30pm.

Advanced

About a fifth of the available terrain is graded black, with eight kilometres (five miles) of groomed steeps, the most challenging of which is arguably the one-and-a-quarter kilometre (just under a mile) long Gaiskogel piste number nine.

Ski touring is popular in the area with the high altitude slopes helping to keep the powder in good shape when it falls and ensuring a long season, usually at least in to May.

Snowboarding

There's a small terrain park for freestylers to enjoy and freeriders will discover abundant (hopefully) off piste powder.

Kuhtai is actually a great choice for learning-to-board, because of the dedicated beginners' area with easy to ride magic carpet lift (compared to having to try to get up the slopes for the first time on a T Bar lift – much trickier than coming down).

And then there's the possibility of progressing on to adjacent longer, gentle slopes and off piste powder, without a quantum leap in ability level.

Other Activities and Facilities

Most of the hotels in Kuhtai are four stars with excellent swimming pools and leisure facilities of their own, so no public pool is needed. Most of the other activities available are outdoor, and include cleared winter walking paths, snowshoe excursions, sleigh rides and a two and a half kilometre (one and a half mile) illuminated toboggan run. There are also 15km of cross country trails.

It's easy to make a day trip to Innsbruck on the free ski bus and, for something different, every Wednesday you have the chance to visit the Längentaler hydro-electric power plant nearby.

Après Ski and Dining Out

With only 10 hotel restaurants and bars to choose from, it's difficult to describe Kuhtai as a buzzing metropolis. However the isolation can breed a party atmosphere, and venues such as Yeti and the Dorfstadl are lively as soon as the lifts close. The hotel restaurants serve Austrian and Tyrolean specialities as you would expect, but Italian is available in the Pizzeria Rustica.

The "Fürsten- und Jägerstube" ("prince and hunter" lounge) restaurant in the Jagdschloss hotel is one of the best in the resort and refers to the building's long association with royalty, who stayed in the area on hunting trips.

A free ski bus runs down to Innsbruck after the lifts close if you wish to enjoy the big city nightlife, but there is not a free bus service back. The same bus service brings up the enthusiastic locals some evenings and weekends who help to further liven up the evening scene.

Families

Kuhtai's compact location with snowsure doorstep skiing, along with good facilities for children in most of the hotels and the resort as a whole, make it a rather good choice for families. A non-ski kindergarten is available for children aged two or older and operates daily except Saturdays.

Children aged four and over can join the ski kindergarten operated by the local ski school in a dedicated location which includes an easy to ride magic carpet lift.

Ski/Board Suitability Guide

Suitable for families:	[No]
Suitable for beginners:	[3]
Suitable for intermediate skiers:	[5]
Suitable for advanced skiers:	[2]
Suitable for boarders skiers:	[4]

Piste Map for Kuhtai

Accommodation in Kuhtai

• Alpen-residenz Mooshaus - 4 star, full board
• Astoria - 4 star, half board
• Hotel Astoria - 4 star, half board
• Hotel Konradin - 4 star, half board
• Sport Hotel Kuhtai - 4 star, full board
• Sporthotel - 4 star, full board

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