# Ski instructors in Zell am See-Kaprun

> A lakeside town with the tree-lined Schmittenhöhe above and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier next door: snow from autumn to early summer and a link to the Skicircus.

- Region: Salzburg
- Country: [Austria](https://alpinepal.com/en/ski-instructors/austria)
- Time zone: Europe/Vienna
- Currency: EUR
- Coordinates: 47.3233, 12.7981

Page: https://alpinepal.com/en/resorts/zell-am-see-kaprun
Last reviewed: 13 September 2026

## About Zell am See-Kaprun

Zell am See is a proper small town on a lake, with a medieval centre on a promontory, a railway station and a life that carries on in summer. Its own mountain, the Schmittenhöhe, rises to 1,965 m directly behind the town — a rounded, wooded hill with pistes on every side, reached by a cable car that has been running since 1927, and one of the best-known viewpoints in Salzburg.

The second half of the name is Kaprun, ten minutes away, and above it the Kitzsteinhorn: a glacier with lifts to just over 3,000 m, a viewing platform called Top of Salzburg and skiing from roughly October to early summer. Since 2019 the glacier has been linked by lift to Kaprun village via the family-friendly Maiskogel, so you can ride from the valley to 3,000 m without a bus. The whole thing, plus the Skicircus of Saalbach Hinterglemm, comes on the Alpin Card for around 400 km of piste.

The two mountains are complementary: the Schmittenhöhe for tree-lined, moderate skiing and the view, the Kitzsteinhorn for guaranteed snow, high open bowls and freeride. Neither is huge alone, and the town's low altitude — 750 m — means the runs to the valley depend on snowmaking.

## Where lessons start

For a first week the Maiskogel in Kaprun is the obvious choice: a gentle family mountain with beginner slopes at its base and easy blues above. On the Schmittenhöhe the learning terrain is at the top of the lifts on the plateau rather than in the town. Zell am See suits families and mixed-ability groups well, because a beginner on the Maiskogel, an intermediate on the Schmitten and a freerider on the glacier can all be back in the same town for dinner.

## Getting there

Zell am See has a railway station on the Salzburg–Innsbruck line, with direct trains from Salzburg in about an hour and a half. Salzburg airport is about an hour and twenty minutes by road, Munich a little over two hours, Innsbruck two. Kaprun and the glacier are a bus ride from the town, and in high season the road up to the Kitzsteinhorn lifts is busy from early morning; the lift link from Kaprun village avoids most of it.

## Resort areas

- Schmittenhöhe
- Kitzsteinhorn

## Instructors at Zell am See-Kaprun

_No instructors have joined here yet._

## Qualifications required in Austria

Teaching for payment in Austria requires the Skilehrer qualification, issued by Landesskilehrerverband.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should I stay in Zell am See or in Kaprun?

Zell am See if you want the town, the lake and the train, with the Schmittenhöhe lifts a walk or short bus from the centre. Kaprun if you are here for the glacier or have beginners in the party: it is a smaller, quieter village with the Maiskogel lift in it and the Kitzsteinhorn reached without a bus. Both are on the same pass and ten minutes apart.