22 ski schools, a children's area right above our house, two periods a year when children ski free, and the question that reaches us every autumn: which ski school, from what age, and what does it cost?
We deliberately don't name any single ski school here. There are several in Ellmau, all with a children's area, all with lunchtime supervision, and which one suits your child depends on the meeting point, on age and, to be honest, on the instructor. What we can tell you is how the system works, roughly what it costs, and how to get to the meeting point in the morning without tears.
The ski area in three sentences
The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser–Brixental has 275 km of pistes and 81 lifts, from Going to Westendorf. Ellmau is linked in by the Hartkaiserbahn gondola and the Astberg; the Hartkaiserbahn is the lift you ski down to from the chalet. Up on the Hartkaiser is the children's area (Kinderland), where the ski schools in Ellmau hold their beginners' courses, with magic carpets, gentle practice slopes and figures you are allowed to hold on to.
From what age?
Age 3: a taster in the children's area
The ski schools in Ellmau take three-year-olds into the children's area: one to two hours in the morning, playing in the snow, first slides on the magic carpet. It is a first meeting with snow and skis, not a course. At that age our grandson shovelled snow for three mornings and was happy. Please set your expectations accordingly.
Ages 4–6: the first group course
From four, children go into proper groups, mostly in the morning from about 10 to 12, and for longer in the second half of the week. Five days are the standard; three days are enough for a first snowplough turn to be proud of. Important: your child should be able to go to the loo alone and be apart from you for three hours. Otherwise the week will be long for everyone.
From age 7: all day, and the lifts
School-age children ski all day, with lunchtime supervision and a meal, and from the third day they are on the first chairlifts. Those who already have two weeks' experience go into the advanced groups, which often ski the end-of-course race at the weekend, with a medal. There is no eight-year-old who doesn't care about that medal.
When children ski free
Twice a year the SkiWelt holds its Family Ski Weeks: from mid-March to early April (in winter 2026/27: 14 March to 6 April) and in the first weeks of December. During these weeks children up to 15 get their lift pass free when a parent buys a lift pass for three days or more (as of 2026, please check). With two children, that comes to a three-figure sum over a week. March also brings longer days, softer snow in the afternoon and sun on our terrace. For families with children under ten it is the best ski week of the year.
Outside these weeks it is worth looking at the SkiWelt family rates: there are reduced passes for children and teenagers, and family passes with savings from the second child (details change every year, please check). The lift pass for children under six usually costs only a small handling fee.
What it costs: guide figures, not a price list
- 5-day children's group course: from about €260–320 (estimate)
- 3-day group course: from about €180–220 (estimate)
- Private lesson: from about €70–90 per hour; for two siblings together often cheaper than two group courses over three days (estimate)
- Lunchtime supervision with a meal: about €15–20 per day (estimate)
- Children's ski hire: from about €15–20 per day, helmet usually included; adults from about €30–40 (estimate)
All figures as of 2026; please check with the ski school and the hire shop. The ski schools in Ellmau publish their prices in autumn, and booking online in advance often saves a few per cent. In the Christmas and February holidays the groups for four- to six-year-olds fill up first, so book the course as soon as the apartment is confirmed.
From the chalet to the meeting point
Chalet Grizzly stands at 820 m, right on the slope. For the parents it is ski-in/ski-out: click in at the front door and ski down to the Hartkaiserbahn valley station, snow permitting. For the children, the way to the meeting point at the valley station is about 10 minutes' walk downhill, more like 15 with children's skis on your shoulder. The KaiserJet is more comfortable: the ski bus, free with the Wilder Kaiser Guest Card. On the first day we recommend the car. The car park at the valley station still has spaces at 9.30, and you won't have picked up your child's skis three times.
In the evening the skis go into the ski room on the ground floor: boot dryer, racks for skis and boards, room for the toboggan. The boots are warm in the morning, which makes the difference between a good and a bad start to the lesson. Over the week you should also reckon with one lost glove, one argument about goggles, and the sentence “I can do it already” on Wednesday.
And the alternative to lessons?
Not every child has to learn to ski, not this winter. The toboggan runs in Ellmau and Söll, winter walks to the Bergdoktor farmhouse, an hour's taster in the children's area, the KaiserBad pool in the afternoon: that is a winter in the Wilder Kaiser too. And if one parent likes to ski while the little one is asleep, the piste at the front door is hard to beat: an hour's skiing, no car, no bus.
“The instructor says ‘pizza’ and ‘chips’, and the children get it straight away. I never understood the chips part. But I have the boot dryer in the ski room, and at eight in the morning that matters more than any technique.”Grizzly, the house bear
