Skiing in Sölden

Sölden: two glaciers, three 3,000 m peaks and a 15 km run to the village

Sölden ski guide: 45 numbered pistes with official lengths, two glaciers, the BIG3 Rally, 2026–27 pass prices, Innsbruck transfers and where to stay.

Kilometres of slopes in the official slope list

147

Lifts in the Sölden ski area

31

Highest point, Schwarze Schneid (m)

3340

Austria's longest top-to-bottom run per the operator (km)

15

Adult 1-day pass, peak season 2026–27, cash desk (EUR)

86.50

Skiing & terrain in Sölden

All 59 entries in Bergbahnen Sölden's live slope list (checked 18 October 2026): 45 numbered pistes, 13 ski-route entries and the Giggijoch snow park, grouped by the operator's three areas. Added at the end and not part of the counts: the Rettenbach World Cup course, the 15 km top-to-bottom run, the BIG3 Rally circuit and four area rows.

Entries in the official live slope list

59

Numbered pistes (Piste Nr.)

45

Ski-route entries (Skiroute)

13

Kilometres in the live list (147.2 incl. snow park)

147

Glacier slope kilometres (28.8 blue, 1.6 red, 3.2 black, 1.5 ski route)

35.1

• Blue (easy) numbered pistes in this table — Gaislachkogl 10, Giggijoch 5, glacier 6: 21
• Red (intermediate) numbered pistes in this table — Gaislachkogl 5, Giggijoch 9, glacier 1: 15
• Black (difficult) numbered pistes in this table — Gaislachkogl 3, Giggijoch 4, glacier 2: 9

The live list gives each piste a number, a colour and a length, so every numbered piste here has an official length; the lengths add up to the operator's 147.2 km including the snow park. Piste 19 appears twice with two sections. The operator does not publish run names, so we keep its numbers. A few marketing texts use other colours (the BIG3 Rally page calls pistes 2 and 10 red); the table follows the live list. Sector areas are the operator's: the Rettenbach valley run (30) is listed under Giggijoch. Opening status changes daily from 8:00; use the live page.

Sölden pistes: Gaislachkogl, Giggijoch, the glaciers and the BIG3 Rally

Bergbahnen Sölden splits the area into three linked parts with 31 lifts and 147 km of slopes. Its live slope list numbers every run: pistes 1–10 and 50 on the Gaislachkogl, 11–30 on the Giggijoch side (including the Rettenbach valley run, 30) and 31–41 on the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers, plus ski routes numbered 60–81. In total that is 45 numbered pistes — 21 blue, 15 red and 9 black — and 13 ski-route entries, each with a published length.

The glacier holds 35.1 km (28.8 blue, 1.6 red, 3.2 black, 1.5 ski route). Rettenbach (2,675–3,250 m) is the steeper side with the World Cup giant slalom course: 1,198 m long, 370 m of vertical and a steepest section of 68.2%. Tiefenbach (2,795–3,249 m) is flatter; a ski tunnel links the two. From the Schwarze Schneid area, what the operator calls Austria's longest top-to-bottom run drops about 15 km and almost 2,000 vertical metres to the valley.

The BIG3 Rally links the three lift-served 3,000 m peaks — Gaislachkogl (3,048 m), Tiefenbachkogl (3,250 m) and Schwarze Schneid (3,340 m) — in one day: almost 50 km and more than 5,200 m of altitude difference, starting at the Giggijoch valley station and finishing at the Gaislachkogl valley station. Start early, because the official route includes two walks to viewing platforms.

Sölden for beginners: Innerwald, Giggijoch and the Tiefenbach glacier

Sölden sells two cheap beginner tickets on site. The Innerwald ticket covers the two Innerwald drag lifts in the practice area above the village (2026–27: adult €18.50 a day, children born 2012–2018 €10.50). The Giggijoch ticket covers the Giggijoch gondola, the Giggijoch mini-lift and the Hochsölden-Rotkoglbahn (adult €39 a day, children €21.50; snowkids born 2019–2022 pay €2). Prices checked 18 October 2026.

Most blue runs are on the Giggijoch and Gaislachkogl: the live list has blues such as 13, 15, 23, 24 and 30 on the Giggijoch side and 2, 6, 8, 9 and 10 on the Gaislachkogl. On the glacier, the operator recommends the flatter Tiefenbach side for beginners and leisurely skiers, while Rettenbach has the red and black training slopes.

Several blue runs are long (piste 13 is 10.8 km, 15 is 9.9 km), and black piste 7 ends right at the Innerwald practice area — know where your run finishes. Plan to ride a lift down if the lower slopes are icy or thin.

Getting to Sölden: Innsbruck, Munich or Zurich, then the train to Ötztal-Bahnhof and the bus

Sölden has no airport. The tourism board lists Innsbruck (INN) as the closest at 83 km, about 1 hour 15 minutes by road, then Bolzano (206 km), Munich (231 km, about 3 hours 15), Salzburg (263 km) and Zurich (281 km, about 3 hours 30). From Innsbruck it recommends the train towards the Ötztal, then a bus or taxi up the valley.

By rail, the station is Ötztal-Bahnhof at the valley entrance. Railjets stop there every two hours, there are six daily direct trains from Zurich (about 3 hours) and from Vienna (about 4.5 hours), and one daily ICE from Dortmund via Frankfurt and Stuttgart. The public valley bus — line 320 Imst – Ötztal-Bahnhof – Obergurgl — serves Sölden every half hour; the listed autumn timetable runs to 12 December 2026, so check the winter timetable for your dates.

The Ötztal Shuttle can be booked from the Innsbruck airport terminal or the station to your accommodation, and local taxis take pre-booked transfers. Once you stay overnight, the Ötztal Guest Card covers public buses and ski buses in winter free of charge.

Sölden with kids: ski schools, kindergarten from 10 months and fun slopes

The tourism board says children can start ski school from age 3, and kindergartens take children from 10 months. Group courses usually run in German or English; private instructors cover many more languages, including French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and Polish. Skischule Sölden-Hochsölden, the village's first school (founded 1928), runs the Bobo kids' club and is moving its group courses to compact three-hour half-day sessions with up to 8 people.

Vacancia ski school runs kids' group courses for ages 4–15 in groups of up to 8, from 9:30–11:30 and 12:30–14:30, meeting at 9:15 at the Giggijochbahn mountain station; lunch with supervision can be added. Confirm the meeting point and language when you book, because each school organises its own.

For playful terrain, the Heidebahn fun slope on the Gaislachkogl (400 m) is easy enough for the youngest, and the Giggijoch has a 950 m fun slope and a fun cross. Non-skiing parents can ride to the Gaislachkogl viewing platform, which pedestrians can reach in winter; the Tiefenbach and Schwarze Schneid platforms are for skiers only.

Where to stay in Sölden: village centre, Hochsölden, Zwieselstein or Vent

Sölden village (from about 1,377 m) has the two big gondolas: the Gaislachkogl gondola to the Gaislachkogl and the Giggijoch gondola to the Giggijoch, plus the Innerwald practice lifts. Staying close to the gondola you will use most saves the morning bus; it also has the restaurants and nightlife, but the village is long, so check the walk to the lift in ski boots.

Hochsölden, a hotel village at 2,083 m inside the ski area, is the ski-in/ski-out choice: you start on the slopes at the door, with sunny views, but it is quiet in the evening and you depend on lifts to reach the village. Zwieselstein (1,470 m), a few kilometres south, is calm and well placed for day trips to Gurgl and Vent; Vent (1,900 m, 17 km or 20 minutes from Sölden) is a small mountaineering village with its own quiet skiing.

Outside walking distance, use the free ski bus with the Guest Card. Before booking, check the stop nearest the property, ski storage and whether your gondola runs to the village at day's end.

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Sölden ski pass 2026–27: prices, the Ötztal Superskipass and the Epic Pass

Passes for one or two days are valid only in the Sölden ski area. From three days you get the Ötztal Superskipass, valid in all six Ötztal areas (90 lifts, 363 km). From six days, entry to 007 ELEMENTS and the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum is included.

Cash-desk prices for 2026–27 (checked 18 October 2026): adult 1-day €81 in pre-season (12 November–4 December), €84.50 in main season and €86.50 in peak season (19 December–6 January and 30 January–26 February); adult 6-day peak season €478.50. Children (born 2012–2018) pay €47.50 for a peak day; snowkids (born 2019–2022) pay €2 a day. Online prices are cheaper when you buy at least five days ahead.

Autumn and spring passes cover only the glacier, at lower prices. Holders of the Epic Pass get five ski days in Sölden in 2026–27.

Best time to ski in Sölden: snow history, 2026–27 season dates and forecasts

For the best snow window, aim for February and March. In a SkiPair calculation from GeoSphere Austria's official monthly records for Obergurgl (1,941 m, in the neighbouring Gurgl valley and roughly at Hochsölden's height), 1991–2020, the average monthly maximum snow depth climbs from about 67 cm in December and 88 cm in January to about 105 cm in February and 115 cm in March, with 50 cm or more on the ground almost every day of those two months. New snow is spread fairly evenly from November to March (about 70–80 cm a month), so January is also a good bet; December is the shoulder while the base builds, and April still has a deep base up high but softens lower down — the village is far below the station. Historical averages do not guarantee a given season.

For 2026–27, glacier skiing started in early October and the Audi FIS World Cup opener on the Rettenbach glacier is on 24–25 October 2026. The full glacier and winter ski area season runs from 12 November 2026 to 18 April 2027 (opening subject to snow), with the glacier alone open in spring until 2 May 2027. In winter the glacier road is closed to private traffic; you reach the glacier by the Gletscherexpress gondola.

Before you go, check the live slope status, updated daily from 8:00, which shows how much of each piste is open. On the day, look at wind and visibility for the 3,000 m lifts and the snow line for the long runs to the village.

Find ski partners in Sölden for the BIG3 Rally or the glacier

Sölden works well for a solo trip: two gondolas start in the village, and the BIG3 Rally is a natural shared goal for strong skiers. On SkiPair, add your dates, base and level to match with someone on the same days — for example a BIG3 day from the Giggijoch, early-season glacier laps in November, or easy blues on the Giggijoch.

Agree on the plan first: whether everyone has a pass valid for the days (one- and two-day passes are Sölden only, three days and up are the Ötztal Superskipass), where you meet, and when you turn back so you reach a lift or the valley before closing. Keep the live slope status on your phone.

Ski pass prices for Sölden

Check the operator’s current prices for your ski dates, ticket duration, age group and the area covered by the pass.

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Weather and snow

A clearer view of the snow in Sölden: recent snowfall, what is forecast next, and an outlook for your dates.

Snow and temperature are model estimates. They do not confirm that lifts or pistes are open. Further-ahead dates show seasonal patterns rather than a weather forecast.

Flights & getting to Sölden

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Closest airport is Innsbruck (INN).

Sölden is better with your kind of people

A destination in common is a good start. Find skiers and snowboarders whose dates, ability and idea of a great day match yours.

A glimpse of Sölden

Archive photos · cropped for display

Questions about this resort