Austria’s ‘beautiful, forgotten’ ski resort trying to win over Britons

“This is my playground. We have 300 peaks over 3,000m. I ski and climb – that’s my life,” said our guide, Stefan Rieger, as he photographed my 17-year-old in front of the Grossglockner, Austria’s tallest mountain (12,461ft). Grinning, he dropped into a powder bowl.

“I wish we lived here!” exclaimed Hamish, my son, following. It was February half-term, a weekend break from exam revision, freeride skiing in wildly beautiful Heiligenblut am Grossglockner.

The birthplace of Austrian Alpinism

Heiligenblut is virtually unknown to British skiers but famed domestically as Austria’s answer to Chamonix. A historic mountaineering mecca, it lies within Austria’s largest national park, the Unesco-recognised Hohe Tauern, offering expansive high-alpine terrain.

The gateway to the country’s highest mountain, the Grossglockner (“big bell”), Heiligenblut’s unique tongue-twister name (“Hi-lee-gen-bloot”) draws blanks from even the most seasoned British skiers. It translates as “holy blood”, derived from a legendary vial of Christ’s blood said to be housed in its 15th-century Church of St Vincent.

First climbed in 1800 and skied in 1909, the Grossglockner helped establish the region as the cradle of Austrian alpinism, laying the foundations for a winter tourism industry now worth more than €12bn (£10bn) annually. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that Heiligenblut became a ski resort.

Exposed and set at a high altitude (9,521ft), its ski area, despite being prone to wind closures, is snow-sure and offers quiet slopes for all abilities. Small but mighty, it packs a punch: there are just 34 miles of piste (mostly reds and blues) yet more than 1,500 hectares of lift-accessed off-piste terrain, six designated freeride zones, and multiple marked avalanche-safe routes.

I first heard of Heiligenblut and the Grossglockner in 2018. I visited the following year with the Ski Club of Great Britain and had always wanted to return with my son, for its safe freeride zones and ice-climbing après-ski.

“Heiligenblut’s great for families of all abilities – teenagers can freeride safely here,” explained Stefan at our lunch stop at the Hans Lackner Fleisskuchl hütte. Over steaming homemade Tyrolean gulaschsuppe (a beef, vegetable and paprika soup, €6.50), Hamish and I were captivated by descriptive tales of the Grossglockner.

The loss of British skiers

Heiligenblut attracts enormous numbers of summer visitors, yet its winter economy has struggled in recent years. Fortunes have long seesawed in this valley. The 1600s gold rush brought boom, then bust. In the 1930s, the 36-bend Grossglockner High Alpine Road fuelled summer tourism. To date, it has brought some 70 million motorists to view the Pasterze Glacier. But since the pandemic, the resort has had to fight hard to keep its ski lifts open.

“Our population has declined from 1,200 to 900, and is mostly over 60 years old. The young leave for cities,” Peter Rupitsch, a sixth-generation local and former director of Hohe Tauern National Park, told me. “We’re at the end of the Moll Valley – visitors don’t pass through and don’t tend to come unless they are local skiers-in-the-know, ski mountaineers or climbers.”

Erhard Trojer, president of Heiligenblut tourism board and our hotelier, agreed: “We’re suffering. Winter tourism is down. Why don’t the British come anymore?” he asked. “In the 1980s through the 2000s we saw 50 to 100 weekly, with Inghams and other packages. Now we see maybe a dozen British skiers all season.”

Statistics from the Austrian Tourism Board support the claims. “Heiligenblut is famous in Austria and popular with Austrians and neighbouring Germans, Czechs, Dutch and Slovakians,” said Magdalena Penz, head of Austria Tourism. “But British visitors are now less than 1 per cent – down almost 20 per cent from 2015.”

‘The most beautiful forgotten valley in the world’

In recent years, the problem has been investment. But finally there’s good news, and more, on the horizon. In May 2026, Austrian businessmen Thomas Seitlinger and Johannes Böck acquired full ownership of the Grossglockner Bergbahnen (mountain lift system). They are committed to stabilising the ski area’s finances and developing the resort into a year-round family adventure destination, with proposals including a high-altitude zipline and mountain biking.

Locals are quietly optimistic, working on modernising chalets and renovating family-run hotels. There are calls for new five-star hotel openings to attract more non-skiers and a growing luxury market. They hope this will reverse the shrinking ski holiday trend and lure guests for longer week-long stays.

“Heiligenblut is very special. We have the skiing, Grossglockner, the Gothic church, this stunning national park…” said Trojer. “When the sun shines, we call it ‘paradise, the most beautiful forgotten valley in the world’.” And now that the winter ski lifts are secure, British skiers appear to be listening to his claims.

In August 2026, Britain’s largest ski travel agency, Iglu Ski, announced 30,000 additional package holidays across the Austrian region of Carinthia, including Heiligenblut. Managing director Simon McIntyre said it is responding to demand for traditional, picturesque Alpine villages, good value, and multi-generational, family-friendly skiing. Bookings for 2026/27 are already “exceeding expectations”. It would appear Heiligenblut’s investment is paying off.

Essentials

Iglu Ski offers seven nights at the four-star Hunguest Hotel Heiligenblut from £1,429, half board, including flights and private transfer, based on two sharing. Equipment rental is available at Intersport Grossglockner and guiding with Stefan Rieger (info@stefan-rieger.at). Lift passes cost from €40 per day. Find out more at heiligenblut.at.

Louise and her son were guests of Hohe Tauern tourist board and hotellaerchenhof.at

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.