Planai

The main ski mountain above Schladming, home of the famous Night Slalom

The main mountain above Schladming, rising to 1,894 metres and directly accessible from the town centre by gondola. Planai is the heart of the Ski amadé network, and the mountain that hosts the World Cup Night Slalom each January — one of the most atmospheric races on the alpine circuit, run under floodlights with the town visible in the valley below.

For ordinary skiers, Planai offers wide, well-groomed intermediate runs and excellent snow-making infrastructure. The mountain is connected by lift to Hochwurzen on one side and Hauser Kaibling on the other, allowing a long traverse across the linked area. In summer the gondola runs for hikers and mountain bikers, and the summit views over the Enns Valley and toward the Dachstein are among the best in Styria.

things to do sight
A story
The Night Slalom on Planai — held every January as part of the World Cup circuit — is one of the most dramatic events in alpine skiing. Up to 45,000 spectators line the floodlit course, creating a noise level that can affect the racers' concentration. When Austrian Hermann Maier won here in the late 1990s after his catastrophic fall at the Nagano Olympics, the crowd was so loud the television microphones could barely capture the commentary.