World Cup women in Lienz: Hochstein will remain closed in the future!

World Cup women in Lienz: Hochstein will remain closed in the future!

Lienz, Österreich - On March 28, 2025, it became known that no World Cup races will no longer take place in the Hochstein ski area in Lienz. This decision was made by the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) and is a consequence of the uncertain situation around the future of the Hochstein. Christian Scherer, Managing Director of the ÖSV, commented in an interview with ORF about the challenges that led to this difficult decision.

"There is no written confirmation on the renewed commissioning of the ski area," said Scherer. This leads to considerable planning uncertainty for the ski association and the organizers. The Hochstein ski area also has to deal with financial problems and records losses of around 400,000 euros annually. This economic situation made the Supervisory Board of the Lienzer Bergbahnen, as reported, to hire winter operation.

World Cup race laid

The last women's World Cup in Lienz took place in December 2023, and the next planned date would have been in December 2025. The mayor of Lienz, Elisabeth Blanik, expressed criticism of the situation and the associated financial pressure, which contributed to the decision. The ÖSV has already announced that the women's World Cup races will be held in another place. The change of the venue is a direct reaction to the lack of planning security.

• Last women's World Cup: December 2023
• Next planned World Cup appointment: December 2025

A possible alternative could be the city's second ski area, the Zettersfeld. The ÖSV plans to check the World Cup suitability of the Zettersfeld in February. This would enable the World Cup to return to Lienz if the framework conditions are correct. General Secretary Scherer emphasized the need to assess the logistics in detail for the event.

While the Hochstein ski area remains closed for financial reasons, the hope remains that Lienz can become part of the Ski World Cup in the future, such as Gailtal Journal . The coming months will be crucial for further development. Because many Skifans like to remember the exciting competitions that took place every two years between Christmas and New Year's Eve on the Hochstein before the situation became as drastic as it is today.

Mikaela Shiffrin, who won the Lienzer Slalom in 2023, is only one of the many athletes who regret that the famous place is no longer in the racing calendar. It remains to be seen whether the Zettersfeld can meet the requirements to continue the tradition and bring the ski world back to Lienz, such as 5 minutes and Krone report.