Zell am See, Austria – Skiers in Zell am See will have the opportunity this winter to ski terrain that’s been inaccessible by lift for over 30 years, thanks to the installation of a new gondola that links the Salzburg resort’s Glemmtal to neighboring Saalbach- Hinterglemm-Fieberbrunn.
The new zellamseeXpress lift will link Glemmtal in the Saalbach-Hinterglemm area with Zell am See’s Schmittenhohe area, to create the largest interconnected ski region in the country with 270 km of marked runs and 70 lifts. Beginning in December, 10-passenger cabins will rise from an angle station above Viehhofen to a top terminal at 1,920 meters (6,299 feet) on the Salersbachköpfl, where skiers can descend a new 3.3 km red piste to lead skiers back to the angle station, or they can continue down to Viehhofen, where every hour the 680 bus carries skiers from the bus stop at Förstereck for 30 minutes back to Zell am See. All terrain on the Schmitten will have 100% snowmaking coverage.
By winter 2018-19, a second phase of construction will complete the zellamseeXpress lift’s first stage extending down to the valley, completing the lift link, and a new cable car will also connect into
Glemmtal. All told, the project will cost an estimated €25 million.
Together, the zellamseeXpress lift’s two stages will span nearly 10,000 feet in just nine minutes. The spacious cabins will have heated seats and free WiFi, but with those amenities becoming so commonplace that they’re now nearly passé, lift designers had a new twist up their sleeve for the zellamseeXpress: six special Jukeboxx cabins allow riders to connect their smartphone via the WiFi to a built-in multimedia sound system to play their favorite tunes.
The downhill run reopened by zellamseeXpress was popular with skiers from 1930 to 1980.
“The combining of Schmitten with Glemmtal means not only a significant improvement in quality by extending the slopes’ range, it is also an old Zeller dream realized,” said Dr. Erich Egger, CEO of resort lift company Schmittenhöhebahn AG.
Video: Construction progresses on the new zellamseeXpress lift at Zell am See, Austria.