Skiing in Austria

Austria is one of the world's six leading ski nations. It and Japan share the record for having the most ski resorts in the world - they have about 600 each.

Austria is the more significant in the history of downhill skiing however, and indeed the country is responsible for exporting 'Alpine' skiing all over the world a century ago. Downhill skiing really began in the 1860s in Norway when Sondre Norheim invented a technique that became known as Telemark after the region in which he lived. This involved bending your knee and lifting your heel to make a turn on steeper slopes than had previously been possible on cross-country skis, which had been around for thousands of years.

Although winter sports holidays began to take off in Switzerland as early as the 1860s, practitioners were mostly riding toboggans or ice skating, not downhill skiing.

Skiing History

About the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth centuries, a gentleman called Mathias Zdarsky invented an Alpine method of skiing with the heel of the boot fixed, although the skier used one long pole rather than two shorter ones. He eventually taught thousands of people to ski at his home resort at the village of Lilienfeld, close to Vienna, where the ski hill still operates.

However downhill skiing came to global attention after the invention of the Arlberg Technique at the other end of the country, which more closely resembles skiing today. Hannes Schnedider took his newly developed skills from the Arlberg to Japan and around the world, eventually settling in New Hampshire, USA. He had been forced to flee Austria in the 1930s having refused to become part of Nazi propaganda efforts. Other Austrians set up resorts all over the world, most famously Vail in the US.

Ski Resorts

Austria has developed many famous ski resorts of its own including Kitzbuhel, St. Anton, Lech, Mayrhofen, Soll, Zell am See and Obergurgl. Unlike resorts in most other countries, there are no purpose built resorts in Austria, instead they are all traditional communities that have embraced skiing but stuck to their heritage and resisted over development. Strict planning laws mean that you won't find a rectangular concrete apartment block in any Austrian resort, only traditional wooden chalet style buildings.

Resorts like Alpbach have been voted the most beautiful in Europe and have some of the purest air on the continent. There are also many beautiful and spectacular mountain views to be seen from Austria's resorts, in fact this is the norm, but areas like the Ziller Valley are particularly highly regarded for their magnificent scenery.

Popularity

We Brits absolutely love our skiing in Austria and an Austrian ski holiday has a charm all of its own with resorts that are as stunning for their scenery and unspoilt charm as they are for their superb skiing.

In the 1970s and through in to the early 1980s the country was the most popular destination for British skiers, and although it now lags well behind France, about one in six ski holidays are still taken there and it retains the second place in popularity.

Ski areas

Most of the Austrian ski areas you'll find are not small. The largest to be fully lift-linked is the Ski Welt which has more than 250km (160 miles) of runs shared between eight resorts including Soll and Westendorf. A new connection nearly links this to Kitzbuhel's ski area of another 160km (100 miles) to create one of the world's ten biggest ski areas.

Other larger areas are to be found at Saalbach - the country's second most popular tourist destination after Vienna - which has 200km (125 miles) of runs, and in the Ziller Valley, at Solden, and the cross-border Silvretta area Ischgl shares with Samnaun in Switzerland.

The Arlberg ski area of Lech and St Anton is another of the world's giants. Austria also offers many small or medium, neighbouring ski areas on one lift ticket, with passes such as Ski Amade and Salzburg Superski pass covering up to 1600km (1500 miles) of piste provided by dozens of ski areas - useful if you have a whole season to spend visiting them all and a hire car to get around.

It's wrong to think of all Austrian resorts as low lying too. Obergurgl at 1800m is one of the highest traditional villages in Europe with ski lifts extending above 3000m. Its season lasts from November to May. Half a dozen other Austrian ski areas operate summer skiing on their glacier, more than any other country, and the Tux glacier is one of the few in the world that opens 365 days a year.

Home to the world's leading lift manufacturer, Doppelmayr, most Austrian resorts have invested in modern lifts including the latest innovations such as heated chair lifts and high capacity gondolas as well as magic carpet conveyor lifts that are easy for beginners to use in nursery areas.

Traditional ski holiday

Other aspects of Austrian ski holidays that may sway you in their favour include the fact that most resorts are normally a short transfer from the airport, the traditional resorts have local ownership of cozy bars and restaurants so you're likely to find a much better atmosphere than in many purpose built areas.

Hearty mountain meals are also the norm, usually home made with local ingredients. Most of the larger resorts have good facilities off the slopes too, such as adventure swimming pools. Costs are relatively moderate on the European scale too, with most lift ticket prices towards the average, or slightly below, for the Alps as a whole, and proper discounts for children.

Austrian ski resorts are also great for a wholesome family skiing holiday, but non-ski nursery care for the youngest babies (aged zero to three) is not so commonly provided as it is in France. A few of the biggest resorts, such as Mayrhofen do have it though.

All in all Austria is one of Europe's best choices for a quality ski holiday in beautiful surroundings and with personal service provided by enthusiastic and friendly locals.