Planai & Co. prepared

Snow cannons ensure the start of the winter season

A touch of winter: The snow cannons are running at full speed on the Planai.(Bild: Planai)

In two weeks' time, the major Styrian ski resorts will be ringing in the new season. Until then, they will be firing from all cylinders, as Mother Hulda is still giving them a bit of a run for their money.

Open fire, is the motto on the Styrian mountains at the moment. And in this case, it has nothing to do with trigger-happy property bankrupts and former top red politicians. Rather, it's thousands of snow cannons firing from all cylinders to give Mrs. Holle a helping hand - she's been a little hesitant since her early start in September.

"But the conditions for snowmaking are now ideal - it's already white around the summit area," reports Planai Managing Director Georg Bliem. On the Planai-Hochwurzen alone, there are 800 snowmaking systems that provide the necessary base for fun on the slopes. Incidentally, snow can be produced from a temperature of minus three degrees. Bliem emphasizes how energy-efficient the systems have become: "A cubic meter of artificial snow used to cost 8 euros, today we come in at 2.50 euros."

The new gondola lift to Rohrmoos will open on December 4. The official inspection will take place on November 24.

Marcel Hirscher trained on the Reiteralm
The 200 snow cannons are also running at full speed on the neighboring Reiteralm. "We've now had two really good nights," says Managing Director Daniel Berchthaller happily. Thanks to a snow depot, ski superstar Marcel Hirscher even trained on natural snow at the beginning of the week. As on the Planai, they hope to be able to open the lifts on November 23. "It should get colder next week and there should also be some natural snow," says Bliem optimistically.

Marcel Hirscher has already completed training runs on the Reiteralm.(Bild: Christoph Oberschneider/Red Bull)

Like the Planai and the Galsterberg, the Lachtal was also delighted to be awarded the Styrian Piste Seal of Quality. Like the neighboring Kreischberg, the popular Murtal ski resort is looking forward to the start of the season on 6 December. "We have a total of over 250 snow-making machines on both mountains - they have been running at full speed since Wednesday," says Managing Director Karl Fussi.

Piste quality seal

The following eight Styrian ski resorts have been awarded the Piste Seal of Quality 2024 by an expert commission of the Chamber of Commerce:

• Gaaler Lifts
• Galsterbergalm
• Lachtal
• Lobmingtal
• Planai-Hochwurzen
• Planneralm
• Salzstiegl
• Stuhleck

A total of 27 Styrian ski resorts currently bear the Piste Quality Seal.

Eight Styrian ski resorts were awarded the Piste Quality Seal.(Bild: Helmut Lunghammer)

He presented the "Mur-Mürz Top Skipass" in Murau on Thursday. From the Turracher Höhe to the Stuhleck, you can now ski in 15 ski areas with one card - a total of 96 cable cars and 278 kilometers of pistes await you. Information at skiberge.at.