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Karkogel ski resort gets money for snowmaking

Beautiful snow pictures like those from the Dachstein West ski area should be seen more often on the Abtenau Karkogel in the future. A new snowmaking system should make it possible(Bild: Hörmandinger Reinhard)

Since January, the snow cannons in Abtenau have been at a standstill due to an expired permit - but now there is hope again in Tennengau. The Raiffeisenlandesverband Salzburg wants to merge the area with the Dachstein West ski region.

Last winter was not very pleasant for the Karkogel ski area in Tennengau: lift operations had to be completely shut down at the end of February. This was partly due to the mild temperatures and partly to the fact that the permit for the snow cannons expired at the end of December, as the "Krone" found out.

The Karkogel is of great importance for winter tourism in Abtenau, but this should also be expanded in summer, not least thanks to the toboggan run(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

But help is in sight: following the merger of the Dachstein West ski region with the Oberösterreichische Seilbahnholding, the Salzburg Raiffeisenverband, as a junior partner with a 14 percent stake, wants to push ahead with the integration of the Karkogel into the new Dachstein Tourismus AG. "The Karkogel can be operated very sensibly in a large association with Dachstein West. With the toboggan run, there is potential for the summer that can still be expanded," explains Director Andreas Derndorfer, investment strategist at the Salzburg Raiffeisen Association. Money is to be provided for investment in new snow-making equipment. The municipality and the state have also pledged their support.

As one of the largest investors in the Salzburg cable car industry, Raiffeisen also wants to tackle other issues. For example, by renewing the lowest lift in the Monte Popolo ski area in Eben. It could work like this: The newer Grafberg Express from Wagrain could replace the T-bar lift in Eben, which in turn could become the new Angerlift (Dachstein West). "The Angerlift is the weak point in the area - so we can exploit our synergies," says Derndorfer. The commitment to winter tourism is a given. Derndorfer: "You only have to look at photos from the 1950s to see what it looked like in the mountain valleys without winter tourism. There wasn't much there!"