Bad Kleinkirchheim, the famous home to one of ski racing's greatest ever names, Franz Klammer, is located in a sunny little valley in the midst of the Carinthian Nockberge mountains of southern Austria.
The area has attracted visitors from times long past and well before recreational skiing was thought of, thanks largely to its thermal springs. Bad Kleinkirchheim has more than 100 km of generally wide sunny pistes, always perfectly prepared, both above and below the tree line. The resort's own skiing on the Kaiserburg and Nockalm mountains is now more-or less linked to that of its smaller neighbouring village of St Oswald by the Sonnwiesenbahn lift.
The resort has also invested heavilly in a new, silent state-of-the-art snowmaking system with around 500 state-of-the-art cannons providing coverage for most of the saki terrain - a far higher coverage than at most European resorts.
There are three key access points to the slopes so queues rarely build up. There are wide sunny meadows by the village for beginners and with 26 of the 32 runs across both mountain areas classified as 'intermediate' it's a paradise for cruisers. The skiing continues over on the St Oswald side where the skiing can be accessed by another 4 seater gondola, the Nockalmbahn. There's a good area of snow sure high altitude beginner skiing served by the gondola to ensure skiing throughout the season.
More than 70 ski instructors are employed to help their ski and snowboard "students" to improve, and carving fans will also have a very good time. There are two ski schools, situated in different parts of the village.
For expert skiers there are more demanding pistes such as the K 70 FIS run, named after the Austrian "emperor" Franz Klammer. This FIS run is difficult enough to ski, even for professional World-Cup ski-racers, it includes a tricky jump and a steep bottom section.
Cross-country skiers will also find a variety of routes at different altitudes. You can choose between runs either 1,100 or 1,900m above sea level, including the Nockalm-Panorama-Run which offers wonderful views of the snowy mountain area whilst cross-country skiing.