Basics: We flew British Airways from Edinburgh – Gatwick – Salzburg, as there unfortunately does not seem to be any direct flights from Scotland. We had pre booked a taxi using www.huberreisen.athuber.reisen@sbg.at. They were waiting for us on arrival and we were the only 2 people in the minibus. The cost was 82Euros for the return journey for 2. Would certainly recommend them for efficiency and reliability and best of all the transfer time was only 45 minutes. What a bonus that is. .
Lift system: http://www.skiamade.com/en/winter/skiresorts/slopepanorama/?region=ss
There was an 8 man gondola from Radstadt, which takes you all the way to the top of the hill. The 4 man chair on the Radstadt and on the Altenmarkt side of the mountain were very efficient. However the 2 man chair from Altenmarkt is in need of upgrading. It became very busy at the end of the day when everyone was trying to get back over to the Radstadt side of the mountain. It was in fact, the cause of the only queue we had to stand in all week.
The terrain: The Radstadt-Altenmarkt hill has two sides to it, each side running down to the respective towns. The Radstadt side has two ways down, red or blue. Both are lovely runs through the trees. The red which was directly below the gondola was a really enjoyable run at the end of the day! The Altenmarkt side also has some nice fairly easy reds and lovely confidence giving blue runs. We skied our first day on Radstadt and Altenmarkt and it was a great way to get the ski legs back working.
From Altenmarkt, you simply crossed the road, got on the ski bus and after 10 minutes you were in Zauchensee. We spent the majority of the week skiing in this area. Really loved it. From the top, you can take red or blue, all the way down to Flachauwinkel. There were more challenging runs available and a steep, but wide black run which was manageable for me on the way back into Zauchensee. The slopes were really quiet while we were there, the sun was shining and it was just fantastic.
The snow: The conditions were fabulous. Perfectly groomed slopes every morning It actually snowed every day that we were there, but. That said, we had 5 out of our 6 days in beautiful sunshine. It was totally glorious.
Off-piste I'm not that brilliant at it, but Ben took my daughter out to Reiteralm for a day's off-piste skiing. She had a great day and said she'd never laughed so much as she did when Ben landed on his nose after misjudging a jump!!
The resort: Radstadt is a fairly quiet town. We arrived on the Saturday and all the shops close on a Saturday afternoon. The restaurants were reasonably priced, Being that we were fully catered, we only ate one lunch and one evening meal in town. For me the downside to the restaurants was that they could be a bit smoky. The ski bus was always on time and it took about 10 minutes to get to the hill in the mornings. It's a really good area for families and groups, although maybe wouldn't suit those who want the wild après ski. That said, there was a nightclub in Radstadt which my daughter and some of the other guests in the chalet said was really good fun to visit for a night out!!!
Fashion: A few wee interesting 80's outfits were out there. Wish I'd taken a photo of the lady in the pink all-in-one with shoulder pads!
Helmets: Barely saw anyone not wearing one. It was "spot the hat wearer"
Food: We were fully catered and the food in the chalet was excellent. Ben's cooking was delicious and we both gained about half a stone as we ate so much!! On the slopes, lunches were good and not too expensive. It really didn't matter where you stopped, prices were comparable and the surroundings very comfortable. Although not speaking any German, made life a little difficult. Strudel was easy to spot though and vanilla sauce!! Yummy.
This was the new bar at the bottom of the gondola in Radstadt,which was a great place to stop at the end of the day for Gluwein whilst waiting for the ski bus back to Chalet!!
Accommodation: http://www.austrian-adventures.com/ Chalet run by Ben and Ange We were treated to a wonderful week of fully catered accommodation in. Haus Suzanne. The garage is used as the ski room with boot racks in the boiler room. There is a sauna, which we never actually used, on the garage level and also a newly fitted out bar area for the use of the guests with Gluwein and cake on return from the slopes and an "honesty bar" for anyone to use in the evenings. The beds were sooooooo comfy and the rooms much bigger in comparison to those in France and of course we had ensuite facilities. The dining room was cosy and Ange obviously took pride in her lovely tablecloths which we managed to spill wine on every single meal time!!!.
What made the holiday special for us though, was that Ben and Ange could not have been nicer or more helpful. I kid you not - nothing ever seemed to be too much trouble. On the first evening, Ange took us to the ski hire shop in Altenmarkt and arranged a 10% discount. The first two mornings, she even dropped us off at the slopes. They took us out with some of their friends to go sledging 2 nights, which was some of the best fun I have had in years. I cannot remember laughing like that since I was a kid. They also returned our hired skis for us on the last day, to save us having to do it the previous evening.
This was the Chalet "Haus Susanne"
Lift Passes – we had Ski Amade lift passes which cost us £175 each for 6 days skiing.
Conclusion: We had a totally wonderful holiday. Loved the ski area although, we never managed to see a fraction of what is actually available. So we'll just have to save that till next time.
All I can actually say is "A huge thank you to Ben and Ange" they were just fantastic hosts. "We arrived as guests and we left as friends"