Rating: ★★★★ 8 out of 10

“Nassfeld is the best resort in Carinthia (south eastern province of Austria) and one of my favourite in the whole country. Lower intermediate skiers will enjoy perfectly groomed slopes the most. Pistes are diverse. There is lots of sun during the winter months. Nassfeld is mainly visited by guests from Austria, Italy, Croatia and Slovakia. The large number of bars and restaurants scattered around the resort will serve you food and drinks at a reasonable price. Evenings are quiet. You will be able to find accommodation in different villages in and around the resort (Tropolach, Sonnleitn, Sonnenalpe Nassfeld, Schlanitzen or Hermagor). Read the rest of Nassfeld Review to discover everithing you should know about the resort.”

Pros: Versatile pistes, excellent lift system, sunny, great for families

Cons: short black runs, quiet evenings

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NASSFELD SLOPES

Nassfeld has around 110 km of slopes. It is situated relatively low; bottom of the area lays at 610 m and the top is located at 2,020 m. Snow reliability is good. Sunny days dominate the slopes. As a result of the amount of sunshine, the orientation of the resort, and low altitude, snow can get slushy late in season. Lifts are new and fast. It won’t take you a lot of time to get from one part of Nassfeld to another, although it is spread across a relatively wide area. That wide outline of pistes gives the resort its special appeal. There are no boring linking slopes.

Pistes are diverse, some slopes are treeless, and others are surrounded by woods. Runs are relatively long. In this part of Austria, Nassfeld has one of the longest pistes which is called Carnia. It is a total length of 7.6 km. The longest gondola ride is Millennium Express; it goes from Tropolach (610 m above sea level) to Kofel (1919 m).

There is a distinct lack of difficult runs, so expert skiers might get bored after several days. There are attractions around, created to make skiing more interesting (a ski movie race, fun slope, snow park, speed measuring …).  My personal top speed was 75km/h, try to top that when you get there :).

If the conditions are not right or you want to change slopes and the scenery you can go on an excursion to Molltaler glacier. You won’t have to buy a ski pass if you have one for Nassfeld. Top of this resort is situated at 3,122 m. All in all, there is around 17 km of groomed pistes on the glacier. A car ride to it should last about 1.5 h.

FREE RIDE AND TERRAIN PARKS IN NASSFELD

Nassfeld has diverse off-piste spots (wide and open or wooded). You won’t have to walk a lot if you don’t want to, because the number of powder junkies is low. Best spots are around Start Carina area, Watschinger Alm, and under lift number 20 which will take you to Kofel Centre. You can also hire a guide which should cost you from 75 EUR for several hours up to 100 EUR for a full day of touring and freeriding.

Nassfeld has decent snow park which can keep you occupied for some time. It is situated around drag lift number 2. There are 2-3 intermediate/pro kickers and a whole bunch of different rails and fun boxes. When I was researching my next destination some sources claimed that there is also a half pipe. It wasn’t case during my stay.

HOW TO GET TO NASSFELD

Nassfeld is situated in South-Eastern Austria, right on the Italian border, Slovenia is also close by. It will take you only 1 h 10 min to get to the closest airport which is situated in Klagenfurt, about 95 km away. Ljubljana (Slovenia) airport is also close; it is only 125 km away (1 h 30 min by car). Trieste (Italy) airport is 180 km away; it will take you 1 h 52 min to get from the airport to Nassfeld. Transfer price starts at 45 EUR per person.

Austria has excellent railway network.  The closest train station is in Hermagor, only 10 km from Tropolach (lowest village with access to Nassfeld resort lifts). If you are arriving from other European countries you must take a train to Vilach and then catch the local S4 line to Hermagor.

If you are coming by car you should know that Austria has great motorways. You won’t have to drive on local roads for long, no matter where you are coming from. Note that gasoline prices are substantially lower at petrol stations on local roads (up to 15%-20%)

WHERE TO STAY IN NASSFELD

There is a big choice of hotels, apartment houses and especially guest houses in and around Nassfeld. Hermagor is the biggest place in the neighbourhood but it does not have direct access to lifts. It is furthest away from first lift (10 km). Tropolach is the lowest village of the resort, accompanied by a big parking space just by the base station of the Millennium Express gondola. You will find the best hotel in the area there. It is a 4-stars venue called Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Carinzia. The hotel is only a few meters away from the gondola.

While we were there, we stayed in Sonnleitn. It is a small area composed of several hotels and apartment houses, surrounded by woods and ski pistes. We opted for apartments called Alpenhäuser Marcius. Our accommodation there was spacious, well-equipped and within walking distance from the first run (there was a shortcut so we can say that our house was ski in/out). It was furnished in an old style (not so hard if you have furniture which has seen better days :)). All in all we were satisfied. Sonnenalpe Nassfeld is very similar to Sonnleitn, while it is bigger and has more shops.

WHAT TO DO AFTER DAY ON SNOW (APRES-SKI) IN NASSFELD

During the day we liked “Kofel Alm” which has a great location (Kofel Centre), food and view. We couldn’t wait to try their pork on the spit which was roasting in “U Slovaka”, a restaurant/bar near base station of lift number 24. Yet, our hunger wasn’t strong enough to beat the music played by the DJ (Slovakian songs mixed with Gangnam Style). Generally, food and drink prices are affordable (lower than in France and Italy). Nights are really quiet, and the fact that hotels and apartment houses are scattered around mountain is not helping at all.  Sonnleitn had only one pizza place and hotel restaurant where you can go out so we didn’t bother.

If you like heavy metal music than you could visit Full Metal Mountain festival usually held during last days of a season. It is place where skiing meets day time parties and night concerts.

If you liked this Nassfeld Review and you think that you have found your next winter holiday destination you can book your accommodation here.