Zell am See - Kaprun: High-tech chair lift takes winter enthusiasts up to the pistes

Construction has been going on all summer, at the most difficult of conditions. Despite many days of rain, the work has now been finished in time for the start of the winter season: Schmittenhöhebahn AG, the company that operates the popular skiing resort on the mountain of the same name, has invested about 14 million euro in the further development of its infrastructure. Consequently, the 'Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun', Austria's best-known winter sports destination, has again increased its service capacity for the many visitors expected to arrive during the cold season.


As snow conditions are already so good that no wishes are left unfulfilled, a spontaneous decision has been made to put the official start into the winter on Schmittenhöhe forward by a day. From half past eight tomorrow morning, on 25th November, lifts and chair lifts will be taking all those who are hungry for snow up to the pistes at a very favourable price. Reduced prices apply to all day-tickets and one-and-a-half-day tickets until 2nd December.

A new system producing artificial snow on the all-rounder and family terrain of Sonnenalm/Sonnkogel, ten hectares of extra pistes at Hochmais and a new chair lift with heatable seats: no effort has been spared to make holidays even more attractive for all fans of skiing and snowboarding. With the help of the new system, artificial snow can now be produced on 90 per cent of all pistes. Schmittenhöhe is thus absolutely guaranteed to have plenty of snow in the future - whereas a complete cover of white splendour could so far only be expected on the region's other local mountain, in the skiing area on the glacier of Kitzsteinhorn. Thanks to a new downhill piste, that satisfies their growing demand, the winter of 2005/2006 will bring even more conveniences and skiing fun for tourists. The pistes offered have been extended by ten hectares so that skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts now find ample room for their sports on a total of 200 hectares of pistes. The pistes of both skiing areas of the 'Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun' now add up to an impressive 132 kilometres of finest powder snow.

But not only have the pistes been widely extended. Schmittenhöhebahn AG has also just put a new six-seater chair lift into service that makes the ascent even easier. Its special feature: even in very bad weather conditions, winter sports enthusiasts will be able to reach their destination (at a height of 1,763 metres) after a completely stress-free ride that bridges a difference of 382 metres in height - weather protection hoods and heatable seats will see to that. Furthermore, the gondolas can be uncoupled at the stations to make getting on and off easier for the passengers. For the time being, the system is to take 2,400 people per hour on the 1.2 kilometre ride up to the pistes. But if need be, up to 3,000 passengers per hour could be transported by this high-tech chair lift.

More information on the 'Europa-Sportregion' can be found on the Internet at www.europasportregion.info.


Contact Europa-Sportregion
Europa Sportregion Marketing GmbH
Guest Service
Phone +43 (0)6542 - 770 0
welcome(at)europasportregion.info
http://www.europasportregion.info

Press contact
knoefler-journalist | media and communications
Mr. Benjamin Knöfler
Phone +49 (0)6028 - 80729 0
esr(at)knoefler.de
http://www.knoefler-journalist.de


General Information:
With 13,500 beds and two million overnight stays per year, the 'Europa-Sportregion Zell am See - Kaprun' is one of the most important tourism centres in Austria. In winter as in summer, guests find all kinds of leisure activities to choose from. For ski fans there are 130 kilometres of finest pistes in thick powder snow. In the summer months Zell am See and Kaprun captivate with ideal conditions for more than 40 different kinds of sports - from hiking and golfing, cycling and all water sports to extreme sports like canyoning and, last not least, summer skiing on the glacier of Kitzsteinhorn. In recent years the region has also hosted many races of the Mountain Bike World Cup. In 2002 it was the venue of the UCI World Championships of Mountain Biking.

This release was published on openPR.