Oberau austria
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Oberau Austria.
Oberau Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1947 the Austrian ski resort Oberau lies at 936 metres altitude in the Tirol / Tyrol region of the Austrian Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes at 1900m Oberau ski area is not snow sure. Over 25 snow cannons ensure artificial Oberau snow making covers 25km of ski trails, which equates to around 39.7 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Oberau (Austria) is Innsbruck at a distance of 70km or approximately 60 minutes driving time. Oberau ski season runs from December to March.
SNO-man says
Wildschonau is made up of three villages with separatre ski areas which are marketed together. Oberau is a tiny village close to the dense lift network of larger neighbours Auffach and Niederau, to which it is not lift-linked, A free local bus service links all three villages which also participate in the huge Kitzbüheler Alpen pass offering around 700km of trails on one ticket.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Oberau Austria
Beginner Trails
 0 runs 0km |
0% |
Intermediate Trails
 17 runs 13.8km |
53% |
Advanced Trails
 11 runs 38.2km |
34% |
Expert Trails
 2 runs 2km |
6% |
Oberau Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €177.5 - €197 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Dec 2012 |
| Ski Resort Closes | Mar 2013 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Oberau Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 63km |
| total length of Oberau trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 7km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | ? |
| direction Oberau ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 1900m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 828m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 936m |
| centre of Oberau ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 900m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 900m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Oberau
Skiing Oberau you'll enjoy 32 pistes and trails and that means approximately 63km of ski runs. Oberau lifts number 26 with the capacity to uplift 30000 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the Austrian ski resort of Oberau is over 7km long.
Oberau Ski Area
Oberau ski area has 0% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 53% intermediate, 34% advanced ski slopes and 6% for expert skiers - the most difficult Oberau piste is the ?km WM Run run, with a steepness/slope angle of 7%. You can ski Oberau after dark as there is night skiing on ?km of illuminated piste.
Oberau for skiing gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Oberau
If you snowboard Oberau you'll want to know that, of the 26 ski lifts in total, 22 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Oberau snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Oberau snowboard facilities include 1 terrain parks and 0 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 140 metres), 1 quarter pipe and 0 boardercross courses.
Oberau for snowboarding gets 2 stars out of 5 overall
Oberau Apres Ski
The apres ski Oberau scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
10 apres ski bars 30 restaurants 0 bowling 2 night club 0 cinema 0 billiards / pool 0 games room 0 concert 6 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 6 saunas 0 hot tubs 0 solariums 0 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 0 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 0 squash racquetball 5 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 40 prepare winter walks 0 climbing 0 golf 0 fishing 12 museum 0 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Curling.
SNO-man says
Most of the facilities in the area are outdoors based. They include tobogganing (available at all centres but the longest run 5km/3 miles long at Auffach), winter hiking (50km/32 miles of marked trails with guided hiking available), a sleigh ride, horse riding (two schools, one in Niederau the other in Mühltal with all breeds of horses, from ponies to Haflinger ) or a tandem paraglide with an instructor. Organised farm to farm and hut to hut walks are staged regularly. A natural ice rink is formed on the summer outdoor pool in Oberau; the rink is open from 3pm to 9pm daily and skates may be rented. A unique attraction is the 'Slow train Wildschönau' - actually a land train, but the kids don't care about that. It makes tours to the spectacular Kundler gorge with ice-covered walls, and the Schonaugeralm. There are evening trips to the gorge when a sound and light show makes for a surreal experience; watch out for the huge Wildschönau dragon.
There are two libraries and two museums in the area. The first Wood Museum of the Tirol in Auffach contains interesting curiosities from the Wildschönauer history of wood and is housed in the wood carving store of Hubert Salcher in Auffach. In Oberau the Alpine farmers' museum "z´Bach" moved to an old farm house, in 1997, the building dating from the year 1795. The front rooms show more than 1,100 items from past centuries. Other historic buildings in Oberau include the Kellerwirt, part of the Abbey of Seeon and dating back to 1275. The Schellhornhof is an old farm house with wine cellar, house chapel, interesting fresco paintings and grain storage (first mentioned in 1416). A second religious building in Oberau, besides its famous church, the Antonius Chapel is of octagonal design and was built in honour of Saint Antonius of Padua between 1706 and1708. Special points of interest include the Albertitafel (1763) and a niche containing a statue of Christ at the flagellation column in a frame designed in the best rococo style. The mine, which had been closed for 130 years, was re-opened in 1990. Access in winter is by advance reservation. Finally excursions are possible to nearby Innsbruck as well as Salzburg and even over the border to Italy.
Oberau for apres ski gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
More Oberau Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Oberau resort - ski Oberau by any other name
The Austrian ski resort of Oberau ski resort is also known as Oberau and has the following common misspellings:
Oberau ski area has ski slopes which face ?
The direction which the various Oberau ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Oberau ski resort has ski slopes facing ?.
Oberau for snow gets 2 stars out of 5 overall
Oberau reviews, 2.8 star rating and resort and ski area information is collated by SNO man from staff experience and customer feedback.