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Resort Guide

Suitability	Resort height: 670m
Families:		[Yes]
Glacier:		[No]
Beginners:		[4]
Intermediates:		[5]
Advanced:		[3]
Snowboarding:		[4]

St Johann in Tirol is a pretty, traditional village close to Kitzbuhel. Indeed the mighty Kitzbuhelerhorn mountain, on which the local ski area is located, towers above the village, part of the spectacular Wilder Kaiser mountains that surround the resort.

Despite its growth, the large village has managed to retain much of the Tirolean charm it has maintained for at least seven centuries. However it has built up a long standing reputation as a ski centre, the first skiers taking to the local slopes nearly 100 years ago in 1910.

St Johann in Tirol offers a moderately sized ski area with a choice of runs for all standards. The ski area is low by modern standards, but three quarters of the slopes are covered in artificial snow to ensure good cover so long as it is cold enough for them to operate.

St Johann is also the key resort in the Schneewinkel ski area, a group of neighbouring resorts with 170km (more than 105 miles) of piste between them. A short ski bus ride takes you to the neighbouring ski areas above Fieberbrunn, Waidring and Kirchdorf. Although these remain quite low ski areas, the most modern snowmaking system in Austria went into service there for the 2006/7 season.

If required, a total of 45 km of piste can be covered in snow along its whole length, using a fully automatic system, in only 60 hours. If that area is still not enough, you can opt for the full Kitzbühel Alps Ski Pass which gives access to 704 kilometres (440 miles) of slopes, serviced by nearly 250 ski lifts in the area, extending to cover the skiing around Kitzbuhel and on the Skiwelt, Austria's largest single lift-linked ski area.

Beginners

St Johann is a lovely resort in which to spend your first ski holiday, full of atmosphere, but also well equipped with alternative facilities if you want a break from your lessons.

The ski school has been highly regarded for most of the past 100 years and continues to provide high standard lessons today. There are excellent gentle slopes on which to learn your skills.

We can also offer well-priced learn-to-ski or learn-to-board packages if you book in advance. These cover the cost of lift ticket, rentals and equipment rental, and offer a good saving on buying these separately in resort, as well as saving you hassle on arrival in St Johann.

Intermediates

St Johann has a good range of ski runs on the local hill that will keep all but the most demanding intermediate skiers happy for a week. Higher runs are on open powder slopes, but most trails are classic pistes winding down through the woodland above St Johann.

From the top of the ski lifts at Harschbichl there's a good choice of four- five kilometre (three mile) long blues and reds back down to the village. For a greater choice, a free ski bus service connects the skiing at neighbouring Fieberbrunn, Waidring and Kirchdorf for those holding the Schneewinkel pass. Night skiing is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7pm till 9:30pm at an additional cost.

Advanced

About 12 percent of the terrain in the area is rated advanced, with a couple of challenging runs above St Johann itself, the toughest arguably Sauregg run 7A, which is over 5.5km (3.5 miles) long.

With the Schneewinkel pass there's access to some excellent powder fields at Fiebrebrunn and at Waidring. The still larger Kitzbuhel Alpen pass brings still more opportunities.

Snowboarding

St Johann is a major boarding centre with pipes, tables, boxes, slides, rails, jumps and kickers. Overall the resort's Snow-Funpark Woodside park is 500 metres long.

The Schneewinkel pass also gives access to some other boarding centres in the region. Fieberbrunn, for example, is one of Europe's top destinations for snowboarders, and has built its reputation thanks to the "Lords of the Boards" operation, which includes a dedicated boarding school, terrain park, half pipe and competition programme.

The large terrain park has something for all ability levels, as well as a chill out zone and bar. The resort has been staging major international boarding events for more than a decade, with the Snowboard Masters World Cup including slalom and pipe events in 1997 and the first ISF European Snowboard Championships ("Lords of the Boards") a year later.

Other Activities and Facilities

St Johann has lots to do besides skiing. Staying outdoors there are 275 kilometres of superbly groomed trails for classic and skate style cross country skiing for everyone from novices to experts.

There's also a toboggan run starting from the top of the Hochfeld-Lift II and descending for 2.5km. It is floodlit for night-time use to midnight daily.

Sleigh rides, snowshoe tours, tandem paragliding jumps, snowmobiling excursions and quad biking on an ice circuit as well as hot air balloon rides are all available.

The Panorama Leisure Center has an artificial ice skating rink as well as a 25m indoor pool, a 62m Sport pool and a hot outdoor pool. The facility also has a new sauna and excellent wellness facilities.

There's a well above average range of shops in the village too, more than 60 to visit and excursions to Kitzbuhel and Salzburg are available.

Après Ski and Dining Out

There are more than 50 restaurants and bars in St Johann which has a friendly and often lively atmosphere. There's a good international mix of clientele with après ski opportunities of all kinds from quiet lounges to lively bars centred on the picturesque pedestrianised heart of the resort.
Popular establishments include Bunny's pub and the Max Pub, whilst The Club Scala, on the main Speckbacherstraße plays modern international dance music until 3am each morning.

Although most of the dining options are hotel based restaurants serving traditional Tyrolean meals, the competition does mean that you have some unusual choices for the Alps including Thai, Mexican, Chinese and Greek establishments. There are also of course several Italian restaurants and even a pizza delivery service.

Families

There's no public non-ski nursery facility for the youngest children but ski kindergarten is available in all three ski schools from age three, operating six days per week and six hours a day from 10am to 4pm, with lunch cover available if required.

Children's ski school begins from age five and continues on to age 14, again lunch cover is available if required.

Piste Map for St johann

Accommodation in St johann

• Bruckenwirt - 4 star, half board
• Fischer - 3 star, half board
• Fischer - 3 star, half board
• Gasthof Mauth - 3 star, half board
• Gasthof Mauth - 2 star, half board
• Goldener Loewe - 3 star, half board
• Goldener Lowe - 3 star, half board
• Goldener Lowe - 3 star, half board
• Hotel Crystal - 4 star, half board
• Park - 4 star, half board
• Park - 4 star, half board
• Park - 4 star, half board
• Park - 4 star, half board
• Post - 3 star, half board
• Post - 3 star, half board
• Sporthotel Austria - 3 star, half board

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