Obertauern vs Schladming: Which Is Better?

By Best:in Editorial Team · Updated September 2026

As of September 2026, pick Obertauern for snow: its 100 km of pistes sit between 1,630 m and 2,313 m and the season usually runs from late November to early May. Pick Schladming if you want scale and a real town: the 4-Berge-Skischaukel links four mountains with 123 km of pistes and 47 lifts, and any pass from two days upwards becomes a Ski amade ticket covering 760 km.

Which is better overall, Obertauern or Schladming?

There is no single winner, because the two resorts solve different problems. Obertauern is a high bowl: the village sits at 1,740 m and the lift-served terrain runs from 1,630 m to 2,313 m, with 100 km of pistes and 26 lifts. Schladming is a valley town with four linked mountains above it, giving 123 km of pistes plus 4 km of ski routes on 47 lifts, from 2,015 m down to 728 m.

Snow reliability favours Obertauern, where the quoted season runs from the end of November to the beginning of May. Scale, vertical, and off-slope life favour Schladming, which has more than 1,250 m of continuous descent and a day pass that also opens Fageralm, Galsterberg, and Ramsau am Dachstein. Short trip in January with mixed abilities: Obertauern. Long week in March with strong intermediates: Schladming.

How do Obertauern and Schladming compare on the key numbers?

ObertauernSchladming 4-Berge-Skischaukel
Pistes100 km 123 km plus 4 km ski routes
Lifts26 47
Altitude range1,630 m to 2,313 m 728 m to 2,015 m
Base village altitude1,740 m about 750 m
Vertical drop683 m (1,630 m to 2,313 m) more than 1,250 m
Piste grading split61 km blue, 35 km red, 4 km black Four mountains, longest run 7.7 km
Adult day passEUR 72.00 (2026/27) Published in the Ski amade tariff; 2026/27 figure not verified at publication
Pass network beyond the home areaSpeiereck included from 1.5 days; LUNGO adds Fanningberg and Katschberg Day pass covers 7 areas; 2 days or more becomes Ski amade (760 km)
Quoted seasonEnd of November to beginning of May Late November to early April in 2025/26 regional tariff periods
RegionLungau and Radstadter Tauern, Salzburg Schladming-Dachstein, Liezen district, Styria

Which resort holds snow better through the season?

Altitude decides this one. Obertauern's lowest lift base is 1,630 m and its highest point is 2,313 m, so the whole ski area sits above the height at which many Austrian valley resorts start. The village itself is at 1,740 m, on a pass through the Radstadter Tauern, and the marketed season runs from the end of November to the beginning of May.

Schladming's four mountains top out at 2,015 m, but the pistes run all the way down to 728 m in the Enns valley. That 1,250 m of vertical is the attraction in midwinter and the weak point in late March, when the bottom third of the runs is the first to suffer. The 2025/26 regional tariff period ran from 29 November 2025 to 6 April 2026, roughly a month shorter at the back end than Obertauern's quoted window.

What does a lift pass cost, and what does it cover?

Obertauern publishes flat, area-only tariffs. For the 2026/27 season the listed adult day ticket is EUR 72.00, with EUR 54.00 for youths, EUR 36.00 for children, and EUR 68.00 for seniors. Short options exist: EUR 44.00 buys two hours and EUR 53.00 buys three. Passes are issued on KeyCards with a EUR 2.00 deposit. From 1.5 days the pass is also valid at Speiereck in Mauterndorf, about 15 km away, while LUNGO passes add Fanningberg and Katschberg.

Schladming sits inside a bigger system. A day ticket is valid on Hauser Kaibling, Planai, Hochwurzen, and Reiteralm, plus Fageralm, Galsterberg, and Ramsau am Dachstein. From two days the ticket automatically becomes a Ski amade pass covering five regions and 760 km of pistes. We have not verified a 2026/27 adult day rate, so check the operator tariff before you budget.

Which resort suits beginners, families, and mixed groups?

Obertauern is the softer option on paper. Of its 100 km of pistes, 61 km are graded blue and just 4 km black, and the Tauernrunde circuit can be skied clockwise or anticlockwise, so a group can split and still meet for lunch. Because the 26 lifts fan out from the village, a nervous skier is rarely more than one lift from the bed.

Schladming answers a different brief. Four separate mountains and 47 lifts mean a family can spend a week without repeating much, and the longest single run measures 7.7 km. Beginners are served on each mountain, but linking sectors involves gondolas and, in places, valley transfers. The town at roughly 750 m also gives non-skiers shops, a station, and thermal spa options in the wider Schladming-Dachstein region.

What mistakes do people make when choosing between them?

The first is buying the wrong pass duration. In Schladming the jump from one day to two days changes the product entirely, because two days or more turns into a Ski amade ticket valid across 760 km. In Obertauern the equivalent threshold is 1.5 days, which is when Speiereck becomes part of the deal. Booking two single days instead of one 2-day pass throws away both upgrades.

The second is assuming that more kilometres means more skiing. Schladming's 123 km are spread across four mountains, and shuttling between them eats time. Obertauern's 100 km sit in one bowl with 26 lifts. The third mistake is late-season complacency: the Schladming base at 728 m behaves very differently in April from Obertauern's 1,630 m lift base.

What are the alternatives if neither fits?

If you like the Obertauern altitude argument but want a lower price point, the LUNGO pass covers Obertauern, Speiereck, Fanningberg, and Katschberg on one product, which spreads a week across four Lungau areas. If you like the Schladming logic, the Ski amade network is the wider version of the same idea: five regions and 760 km on one pass, reachable from a Schladming base after two days.

For groups that need bigger, steeper terrain than either offers, Austria's larger Tyrolean and Vorarlberg areas are the next step up. For groups that mostly want snow certainty in early December or late April, the deciding number stays the same: Obertauern's lift base at 1,630 m versus Schladming's at 728 m.

Which options rank highest?

1.

Obertauern

The village sits at 1,740 m and the lifts work a bowl between 1,630 m and 2,313 m, which is why the season is quoted as late November to early May. Of the 100 km of pistes, 61 km are blue and only 4 km are black, so it flatters improvers. Lifts radiate from the village like spokes, so almost every bed is a short walk from a base station. An adult day pass is EUR 72.00 for 2026/27.

Best for: Snow-sure, ski-in ski-out weeks

Official website See full facts
2.

Schladming 4-Berge-Skischaukel

Four linked mountains (Hauser Kaibling, Planai, Hochwurzen, Reiteralm) give 123 km of pistes plus 4 km of ski routes on 47 lifts, with a vertical drop of more than 1,250 m from 2,015 m down to 728 m. A day pass also covers Fageralm, Galsterberg, and Ramsau am Dachstein; from two days it converts into a Ski amade pass worth 760 km. The trade-off is the low base, and Schladming is a working town rather than a slopeside hamlet.

Best for: Big-mileage intermediates and mixed groups

Official website See full facts

How is this ranking computed?

  • Snow reliability and season length: 25%
  • Terrain size and variety: 20%
  • Ski-in, ski-out convenience: 15%
  • Pass value and network breadth: 15%
  • Beginner and family suitability: 15%
  • Access and off-slope options: 10%

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