KitzSki Starts The Winter With New Chairlifts And Digital Innovations
Just in time for the 2023/24 winter season, KitzSki will open the two new 6-seater chairlifts Gauxjoch and Trattenbach in December, offering winter sports enthusiasts the highest level of sustainable travel comfort. KitzSki is also one step ahead when it comes to digitalization: SKIDATA's smartphone ticket is valid throughout the entire ski area for the first time, and the new KitzSki app is also celebrating its premiere. The starting signal for the 2023/24 winter season was given on November 11th with the opening of the Resterkogel training center.
Kitzbühel. More comfortable, faster, more sustainable: These are the new 6-seater Gauxjoch and Trattenbach chairlifts, which KitzSki will put into operation in time for the start of the 2023/24 winter season. The new lifts, which were built within six months, replace the Trattenbach triple chairlift and the Gauxjoch drag lift - two systems that were built in the 1980s. The investment volume was around €23.0 million. “Our focus is on offering guests a unique and unforgettable driving experience, while at the same time looking at the environment,” emphasizes Mag. Anton Bodner, CEO of Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel.
Equipping the chairlifts with premium seats and intelligent seat heating as well as a slightly tinted weather protection hood promises the highest level of ride comfort. The speed of up to 6 m/s and a conveying capacity of 2,400 people per hour per system help to avoid waiting times at peak times. The 734 meter long Trattenbach 6-seater chairlift takes you from the valley station (1,508 meters above sea level) to the new mountain station at 1,816 meters above sea level in 3 minutes and 35 seconds. The new, 1.2 kilometer long 6-seater Gauxjoch chairlift, whose mountain station is located at 1,867 meters above sea level, is just as fast. Both systems are located in the Jochberg municipality.
“The path taken towards modernizing the lift systems - such as the construction of the two 6-seater chairlifts Trattenbach and Gauxjoch this year - will continue to be taken at Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel. The high quality standards are the motivation to take part in the concert of the best ski areas in the world,” says Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Mayor of the City of Kitzbühel Dr. Klaus Winkler up.
Innovative, comfortable, sustainable
For the two new chairlifts, KitzSki relies on the know-how and expertise of LEITNER. LEITNER EcoDrive, an automatically adaptive speed control system for cable cars, is being used for the first time in Austria. A camera system records the number of guests waiting at the stations and regulates the speed of the trains on this basis. In this way, up to 20% energy can be saved. In addition, the stations were covered with a photovoltaic system and thus use the power of the sun to produce energy.
Another innovation is the Intelligent Heat Detector System (IHD), which was developed by employees of Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel and implemented by the LEITNER company. Using a heat sensor on a reference vehicle in the system and the utilization at the access barriers, the IHD system can automatically regulate the seat heating, thus contributing to saving energy and the sustainable use of the seat heating. The sensor detects the temperature on the surface of the armchairs and passes this information on to the system. This means that – depending on the temperature of the seating surfaces in the station – the chairs are only heated as needed.
“By using innovative and sustainable products, such as those used here for the first time in Kitzbühel, we want to make a valuable contribution to future alpine mobility together with our long-standing premium partner. In doing so, we take responsibility for our environment and continue to work closely with cable car operators worldwide to optimize existing products and develop new solutions,” explains Martin Leitner, CEO of LEITNER.
Even more service: the new KitzSki app and the smartphone ticket from SKIDATA
In addition to sustainability, KitzSki is also placing great emphasis on digitalization in winter 2023/24. An innovation is the KitzSki app. Installing the KitzSki app is free. This makes it easier to buy tickets, plan your journey and find your way around the ski area. It also offers a comprehensive overview of live data such as weather conditions, snow conditions, huts, lifts and piste status. The user-friendly app allows winter sports enthusiasts to document their day and share the highlights with friends. “The new KitzSki app primarily stands for information and is the ideal companion for our guests in the ski area,” emphasizes Mag. Christian Wörister, CEO of Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel.
Another digital innovation is SKIDATA's smartphone ticket, which will be applicable throughout the entire ski area for the first time from the 2023/24 winter season. Thanks to this innovation, winter sports enthusiasts can get to the slopes more quickly and conveniently without using the traditional keycard. “Using it is incredibly easy: When a ski guest approaches the turnstile with their smartphone ticket, the access reader opens automatically. You don’t have to take your smartphone out of your pocket to do this,” says Wörister.
Book earlier and secure discounts
Tickets can be purchased directly via the app or on shop.kitzski.at. Anyone who purchases tickets for 1-14 days via the web shop will receive up to 20% discount on the purchase price - the earlier you buy, the higher the discount. A limited number of discounted tickets are available per day.
Alternative winter sports offers at KitzSki
With signposted piste ski tours in Kitzbühel, Kirchberg and Mittersill, KitzSki is also taking this trend sport into account in the 2023/24 winter season. A total of five routes with a length of 5.4 kilometers and an altitude of 1,290 meters are signposted: tours to the Gaisberg and Schwarzkogel (Kirchberg and Aschau), to the Bichlalm towards Stuckkogel and the Hochetzkogel (Kitzbühel) and to the Resterkogel (Pass Thurn). There is also an illuminated natural toboggan run on the Gaisberg, on which around 3.5 kilometers and 435 meters in altitude can be covered.
Hiking fans don't miss out either: this is ensured by the varied and well-maintained winter hiking trails, which can be easily reached using the KitzSki cable cars. The legendary panoramic tour from the Hahnenkamm to the St. Bernhard Chapel and the panoramic route from the Trattalmmulde to the picturesque Hornköpflsee are particularly popular. A popular highlight is the “Walk & Fly” winter hiking route in Jochberg, including a crossing with the 3S cable car to Pengelstein. Two high-altitude cross-country ski trails, on the Kitzbüheler Horn and on the Resterkogel, round off the varied winter sports offering at KitzSki.
Travel environmentally friendly and stress-free
In order to promote the environmentally friendly alternative to traveling by car, KitzSki relies on cooperation with public transport and travel companies. For example with the KitzSkiXpress from Geldhauser, which offers the bus trip, breakfast on board and ski tickets in one package. Modern double-decker buses run daily from Munich, Holzkirchen and Rosenheim to the KitzSki ski area, and on selected days also from Augsburg and Nuremberg.
In addition to traveling by train from Northern Germany (“In the Nightjet to the Snow”), KitzSki, together with ÖBB and Deutsche Bahn, also offers a combination ticket with the train from Eastern Austria. In addition, winter sports enthusiasts in the region can use both the “Streifzug” and the extensive KitzSki ski bus network free of charge.
A new package offer is being introduced for guests arriving from the Czech Republic: on five selected dates from December, a bus from the Czech tour operator Alpy will start from Prague on Thursdays at lunchtime and travel to Kirchberg with stops in Pilsen and Karlovy Vary. The package includes arrival and departure, meals on the bus, accommodation in various categories and a 4-day ticket for KitzSki.
Resterkogel training center has been in operation since November 11th
Traditionally, KitzSki started the winter season with the Resterkogel training center, this year on November 11th. There are currently bookings for 120 training sessions from national and international squads as well as ski clubs and junior teams.
