Hauser Kaibling pours €2m into slopes, snowmaking and digital access for 2026/27

Austria’s Hauser Kaibling is ramping up preparations for the 2026/27 winter with a fresh €2 million investment programme focused on slope quality, snowmaking and digital guest services, resort officials announced this week. The push comes on the back of roughly €36 million spent over the past two years on new lifts and infrastructure, a spending wave the resort says has already driven a 16 per cent rise in visitor numbers.

Where the €2 million is going

Around 80 hectares—roughly the size of 112 football pitches—are being reworked ahead of the season, with crews reshaping sections of piste and ski roads to improve capacity and safety. Alongside that, the mountain is carrying out reseeding, drainage improvements and further optimisation of its snowmaking network.

Snow reliability is a central pillar of the investment. The entire snowmaking system is being overhauled and tested before winter, and the resort is adding modern, more energy‑efficient snow generators. According to Hauser Kaibling, these upgrades will support “intelligent, digitally controlled” snow production and snow‑depth measurement, delivering more consistent piste conditions while using resources more efficiently.

On the guest‑experience side, the biggest visible change is a new smartphone ticketing system. Skiers can now buy their pass online, load it into the key2ski app and open the turnstiles directly with their phone, removing the need for paper tickets or a visit to the ticket office. To make this work, new access antennas are being installed at the lifts.

Information infrastructure is also being expanded: two new LED walls are being added, bringing the total number of digital information screens around the mountain to six. As part of the standard pre‑season routine, safety equipment—including catch nets, signage and rescue and emergency gear—is being inspected and refreshed.

Bigger picture: a multi‑year modernisation push

This season’s €2m spend is the latest chapter in a broader modernisation of Hauser Kaibling and its connections within the Schladming 4‑Mountain Ski Area (Planai, Hochwurzen, Reiteralm and Hauser Kaibling) in Ski amadé.

Over the last two winters, roughly €36 million has gone into new lifts and related infrastructure. Highlights include:

• Kaiblinggrat chairlift (2024/25): An 8‑seater with weather covers and heated leather seats, now Styria’s most powerful chairlift, replacing the old 4‑seater Quattralpina and boosting uphill capacity.

• Senderbahn gondola (from 2025/26): A new 10‑seater gondola replacing the previous 4‑seater chairlift, cutting the ride time to the transmitter plateau to under five minutes and improving the link to Planai.

• Mitterhausalm I on Planai (from 2025/26): An 8‑seater chairlift further strengthening the connection between Planai and Hauser Kaibling within the 4‑Berge‑Skischaukel.

• Kaiblingalm expansion: A €10 million project including a new reservoir (40,000 m³), expanded pistes, pumping stations and pipelines, plus a “GenussInsel” relaxation area at 1,800 m.

According to resort figures, these investments have helped attract around 85,000 additional skiers over the past two seasons, underpinning the 16 per cent growth in guest numbers.

2026/27 positioning and season outlook

For 2026/27, Hauser Kaibling is marketing the upgrades as a step towards “even greater snow reliability” and “perfectly groomed slopes” through smarter, digitally controlled snowmaking and continuous infrastructure investment. The mountain will open as part of the Schladming 4‑Mountain Ski Area, offering access to 123 km of pistes and 43 lifts across the four peaks.

The season is scheduled to run from 28 November 2026 to 4 April 2027, with the official 4‑Berge‑Ski‑Opening in Schladming set for 11–12 December, headlined by Austrian pop star Helene Fischer.

In practical terms, guests this winter should notice:

• More consistent early‑ and late‑season cover thanks to upgraded, resource‑efficient snowmakers and enhanced water infrastructure.

• Smoother, wider and better‑drained pistes on around 80 hectares of reworked terrain.

• A fully app‑based ticketing experience at the lifts, with fewer queues at ticket offices.

• More real‑time information via six digital screens, including the two new LED walls.

For a resort that has staked its recent growth on heavy capital spending and improved interconnectivity, the €2 million 2026/27 programme signals a shift from headline lift projects to fine‑tuning the on‑mountain product: snow quality, operational efficiency and a more seamless digital guest journey.