Ski Germany

Welcome to the Ski Germany page, providing a regular round-up of the skiing conditions and current snow reports for the main ski resorts in the country. Over recent years some of the best piste and off-piste powder conditions in Germany have been reported at Oberstdorf-Fellhorn and Garmisch-Partenkirchen-Zugspitze although of course during any given week the best slope conditions may be found at any of the country’s resorts. Check out the reports below if you are planning a trip at short notice.

Germany is one of the world’s leading ski nations with more than 500 ski areas spread right across the country, and an even larger number of individual ski lift operating companies.

This places it up with Austria, Japan and the USA as the only countries with this many separate ski centres.

Of course most of these ski centres are small village drag lifts but the range of German ski resorts goes right up to international destination resorts like Oberstdorf and Garmisch Partenkirchen (Garmisch-Partenkirchen-Zugspitze), the latter a former winter Olympic ski resort and more recently host to the 2011 Alpine Skiing World Championships.

Its ski area includes the Zugspitz, Germany’s highest peak with skiing and boarding up to 2,830m. The glacier on the top has been a summer skiing and boarding venue in the past but stopped operating outside the regular winter season a few years ago. However it remains snowsure and in January 2012 reported the biggest snowfall of any resort in the world with 2.4m (eight feet) of snow falling in a week there.

With Garmisch itself down at 720m there appears to be a fairly impressive 2100m vertical between the top of the lifts and the resort but in fact the two are separated by some kilometres of funicular train track and a couple of unskiable precipices on the way back down. An area lift pass includes the local ski area and several others over the border in Austria.

However Gamisch is one of about a dozen German ski areas that can offer a lift served vertical of more than 1,000m alongside famous names like Reit im Winkl, Grainau, Mittenwald/Dammkar and Berchtesgaden.

Many of Germany’s biggest and best known ski areas are in the Bavarian Alps along the country’s southern border, but smaller hills are located all over the country including in the former east Germany and with many in the Black Forest.

In the north west of the country the Winterberg ski region up close to the border with the Netherlands brings together more than a dozen separate ski areas which are very popular at weekends with up to 50,000 visiting Dutch skiers and boarders, as well as Germans from Cologne 140km away, who throng the slopes which are floodlit to 10pm, despite sometimes marginal snow cover, and the bars and night clubs later on.

Germany has one of the largest populations of skiers in the world with at least 12 million German skiers, many of them filling resorts in Austria and Switzerland as well as their domestic ski areas. Cross country skiing, biathlon and ski jumping are also very popular in Germany.

The country is also a claimant to being the probable location of the world’s first dedicated ski lift, created in the Black Forest in the 1890s and using green energy – a watermill – to pull a sledge up a slope that skiing pioneers could ride up on.

In the modern era Germany is famous for its indoor snow centres, of which there are now six, including some of the world’s largest. One is home to the world’s biggest conveyor type lift at over 400m long, to get skiers and boarders back up the hill indoors.
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Germany: latest snow conditions round-up


GERMANY REPORT About 10% of Germany's major ski areas remain open, the rest succumbing to the warm temperatures. It's been back up into the low teens in the afternoons below 1000m this week but stayed closer to freezing, though still a few degrees above, on the country's still open high slopes. As with much of Europe, there's been a mixture of snow/sleet/rain showers and sunny spells through the week.

The Fellhorn (40/145cm / 16/58") ski area at Oberstdorf continues to post the most terrain open in the country with 100% of their runs, 34km (21 miles) of slopes still open.

Summary of forecast snowfall and ski conditions for resorts in Germany. Fresh snow is forecast at 44 resorts. Powder is reported at 0 resorts and 0 are reporting good piste conditions.

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A–A

B–E F–J K–N O–R S–V W–Z

Ski resorts in Germany from A to A

Resort
snow depth
top and bottom

on-piste

off-piste

Last Snow

Next 9 Days
0–3 | 3–6 | 6–9
snow (cm)
Next 5 days weather forecast.
Freezing level (m)
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

(995m — 1295m)

snow report 6 days ago

opens in 61 days 3.0 cm
32 days ago
light rain part cloud part cloud cloud light rain
Mid station 1145 m
2900m 3150m 3600m 3550m 3100m

(680m — 935m)

snow report 6 days ago

opens in 68 days 1.0 cm
on 24 Apr
rain showers cloud cloud cloud cloud
Mid station 808 m
2850m 3300m 3500m 3300m 2900m

(841m — 1139m)

snow report 13 days ago

opens in 62 days 1.0 cm
on 25 Apr
light rain part cloud part cloud part cloud light rain
Mid station 990 m
2600m 2850m 3750m 3550m 3200m

(730m — 1490m)

1.0 cm
on 25 Apr
light rain part cloud part cloud cloud cloud
Mid station 1110 m
2900m 3150m 3600m 3550m 3100m

(681m — 800m)

snow report 6 days ago

Altastenberg webcam
opens in 68 days 3.0 cm
on 24 Apr
light rain part cloud cloud cloud light rain
Mid station 740 m
2050m 3100m 3250m 3200m 3050m

(460m — 605m)

snow report 13 days ago

opens in 68 days 1.0 cm
on 25 Apr
cloud clear part cloud part cloud cloud
Mid station 532 m
1250m 2200m 3450m 3300m 3100m

(740m — 820m)

snow report 13 days ago

opens in 61 days 2.0 cm
on 25 Apr
cloud clear part cloud part cloud cloud
Mid station 780 m
1250m 2150m 3500m 3250m 3100m

(750m — 826m)

snow report 13 days ago

opens in 68 days 2.0 cm
on 25 Apr
part cloud part cloud part cloud clear cloud
Mid station 788 m
1450m 2000m 3700m 3600m 3150m

(750m — 900m)

2.0 cm
on 25 Apr
cloud part cloud part cloud part cloud light rain
Mid station 825 m
2100m 2800m 3750m 3550m 3150m

(560m — 680m)

snow report 11 days ago

opens in 72 days 1.0 cm
on 25 Apr
cloud part cloud part cloud part cloud cloud
Mid station 620 m
1850m 2900m 3500m 3300m 3050m

(1050m — 1456m)

snow report 10 days ago

opens in 61 days 20 cm
31 days ago
light rain clear part cloud part cloud light rain
Mid station 1253 m
2450m 2850m 3750m 3550m 3200m

(595m — 843m)

snow report 13 days ago

opens in 68 days 3.0 cm
on 24 Apr
part cloud part cloud cloud cloud cloud
Mid station 719 m
2350m 3050m 3300m 3200m 3050m

(844m — 1134m)

1.0 cm
on 25 Apr
light rain part cloud cloud part cloud rain showers
Mid station 989 m
2600m 2900m 3700m 3550m 3200m

(845m — 1134m)

2.0 cm
on 25 Apr
light rain part cloud part cloud clear light rain
Mid station 990 m
2450m 2850m 3700m 3600m 3200m

(630m — 1480m)

snow report 11 days ago

Aschau im Chiemgau webcam
opens in 73 days 34 cm
30 days ago
light rain cloud cloud part cloud rain showers
Mid station 1055 m
2850m 3000m 3550m 3600m 3200m