Ski touring around Niederau

What is ski touring?

In ski touring you walk uphill on skis, with heels that can move freely and climbing skins under the skis that stop you from sliding back. At the top you remove the skins, lock the bindings for descent and ski down. You set your own pace and breaks and enjoy the silence and the views. Depending on the tour you walk in open terrain or along the edge of a piste. Expect real effort: a tour of a few hours and a few hundred to over nine hundred metres of ascent is normal. The more open the terrain, the more you need to know about snow, slope angle and weather.

From Niederau: Norderberg and Markbachjoch

The Wildschönau tourist board describes a ski tour that starts in Niederau itself: about 5.9 km and 800 m of ascent via Norderberg and the Lanerköpfl, with the descent on the Hochberg run. The tour is rated easy and takes about 3 hours 10 minutes. That makes it a logical first tour from the village, even without a car. Because part of the route follows or uses pistes, the rules for piste use apply. Check beforehand where you may walk and ski and when the pistes are being groomed.

Ski touring evening at the Norderbergalm

The Norderbergalm, in the ski area around the Markbachjoch, hosts a ski touring evening in winter. In the 2026 season it was scheduled on Thursday evenings from mid January to mid March, from 18:00. You walk up the forest road to the hut and relax there with regional food and drinks. Important: stick strictly to the stated times. After that the pistes are groomed with winch cables, which is potentially fatal. Ascent and descent are only allowed on the marked pistes. Dates and conditions can change each winter, so check the current programme.

Schatzberg near Auffach

The Schatzberg (1,898 m) near Auffach, the highest village of the Wildschönau, is known as an easy piste tour. You walk up to the left of the piste to the Schatzbergalm; the summit lies roughly 100 m of ascent above it. Tour portals quote about 900 m of ascent and a little over two hours going up. A combination with the Hahnkopf (1,902 m) is also described. Auffach is about 20 minutes by car from Niederau. Piste touring is subject to the lift operator's rules, such as grooming times and closed sections.

Wiedersberger Horn and Reither Kogel in the Alpbachtal

In the Alpbachtal, tour portals describe the Wiedersberger Horn (2,127 m) as a ski tour, for example from the Greiter Graben via the Moserbaumgartenalm, with about 1,000 m of ascent and roughly 2.5 to 3 hours of walking. The summit is open and offers views of the Zillertal, the Alpbachtal and the Inn valley. Another option is piste touring on the Reither Kogel (1,110 m) near Reith, on a floodlit family piste, where a ski touring evening is offered on Tuesdays. From Niederau allow about 40 minutes by car; ask about the current situation.

Hohe Salve near Hopfgarten

The Hohe Salve (1,828 m) near Hopfgarten in the Brixental is a well-known piste tour. A tour portal rates it easy, with about 1,200 m of ascent and around 2.5 hours going up. The route partly follows the pistes and is usually well trodden when there is enough snow. In spring the south slope beside the piste can have little snow. The region publishes rules and overview maps of wildlife protection zones for ski tourers in the Brixental and around the Hohe Salve; consult them beforehand. Hopfgarten is about 35 minutes by car from Niederau. Ask about the current piste grooming times.

Gear and avalanche safety

Besides touring skis, climbing skins, boots with a walk mode, poles and warm clothing, touring in open terrain requires the avalanche emergency kit: a transceiver (beacon), probe and shovel. The Austrian mountain rescue service also lists a phone, first-aid kit, bivouac sack and cold-weather clothing; a helmet and, if possible, an avalanche airbag are extras. The gear only helps if you can use it, so practise. Before every tour read the Tyrol avalanche bulletin (lawine.tirol.gv.at), plan an alternative and a turn-around point, and go in a small group. This guide does not replace that bulletin.

Season, beginners and guidance

The touring season follows the snow and usually runs from winter into spring; exactly how and when depends on the weather and the avalanche situation, and snow cannot be guaranteed. Beginners do best with piste touring or an organised evening such as at the Norderbergalm or the Reither Kogel. A tour with a mountain guide or ski touring instructor is a good way to learn the basics; ask the tourist office or your accommodation which guidance is available in your period. A stop at a mountain hut fits well at the end of a touring day, but plan your descent before dark.

Frequently asked questions