Jeff Reines
Follows in the footsteps of The Beatles in snowy Obertauern
The Beatles put the ski slopes of Obertauern on the map when they chose it as a backdrop for their film comedy caper Help! nearly 60 years ago. Its long, snowy season stretches from November until May, so it has the best guarantee of the white stuff, and with its panoramic views of the Salzburger Land mountains, it’s no wonder Austria’s leading winter sports resort has gained the nickname “the snow bowl”.
It did not disappoint on that front as the flakes started to fall not long after my arrival. They continued through the night and all the next day. So with a Ticket to Ride in hand, my first jaunt on the piste was the most challenging.
While fighting through the fatigue of my burning thighs, there was also a virtually blind battle through a total whiteout. Thankfully, the knowledge and understanding of our young guide Lizzie took the edge off and ensured the challenges were punctuated by thrilling joy rides down the wide, flowing inclines that run both sides of the picturesque valley.
The next morning brought everything a skier could ever wish for – the perfect powder day delivered under clear blue skies. Obertauern had left me with one concern, that the modest 2,240ft vertical drop wouldn’t offer me enough to challenge the skills that my, as it turned out false, confidence demanded. Only four per cent of its 62 miles of terrain are black runs.
Aside from overestimating my faded skiing abilities, I should not have worried. Among the red runs covering about a third of the resort’s immaculately groomed area were enough challenging descents, dips and drops to test me at the height of the skills I had from
working two winters on a ski mountain in Colorado 30 years ago.
The adrenaline was soon coursing through my veins, transporting me back in time to my best snow sporting days in the Rockies.
Untouched off-piste areas abound here, some wide open, some strewn with trees for that extra challenge and unparalleled thrill. Then there’s the sheer exhilaration of world-famous black run Gamsleiten 2, one of Europe’s steepest mogul slopes, and the multi-terrain, long and winding meander of the three-mile red Zehnerkar. There are also plenty of red and blue runs.
Obertauern’s relatively compact layout means you don’t spend ages riding lifts to reach challenging runs.
The 26 lifts comprise everything from T-bar and doubles to spacious gondolas and up to eight-seat chairs, many with protective plastic bubbles and those toasty heated seats.
This, and well-placed bridges over the main road, enables you to avoid huffing, puffing and pole-pushing and maximise time heading downhill on its panoply of terrain at your own pace.
But Obertauern isn’t just about skiing and The
Beatles’ visit in 1965. It was here I discovered my new favourite sport – snow-biking.
I’m a good skier and a mediocre mountain biker, but love them both, so I was excited to see how they have been combined into one thrilling winter activity. What are the chances my first time would be under the tutelage of a holder of seven Guinness World Records? Hermann Koch has hit 80mph on a snow bike and, in a team of two, achieved the greatest vertical distance on one in 24 hours.
It is basically a push bike with the wheels replaced by skis, and the vehicles are remarkably easy to manoeuvre, with your boots snapped into short skis to help you stay upright and sliding smoothly. Simply turning your head determines the direction of your trajectory down the slope.
On paper, this sounds highly unlikely, but in practice it really is that easy.
Within a couple of trips down the learner slope, I had total control, taking the skid turn in my stride, presumably much like Paul McCartney when he had a try six decades ago. Soon I was taking to the chair lift and satisfying my need for speed downhill.
When you need a change of pace, there are varied pit-stop spots to recharge. The food covers typical Austrian bases in mouth-watering style, from Treff 2000, with an owner boasting a Michelin-star sister restaurant in Salzburg, to the top-ofthe-world Gamsmilchbar, named for a delicious milky and warming rum drink, and features a sloped glass ceiling open to the stunning mountain peaks.
A last-run stop at one of the oldest ski huts in Austria, Achenrain Hutte, is a must for its jam-packed camaraderie in quirkily decorated surrounds.
Whether you’re whizzing down a slope or sipping an apres-ski gluhwein at a mountainside bar, Obertauen’s setting is an alpine wonder surrounded by spectacular rocky peaks, complete with its own towering mini Matterhorn called Seekarspitze. The whole place has been created for one purpose only.
Fiercely and proudly independent Obertauern has only a few hundred year-round residents and was built entirely for skiers (and, latterly, snowboarders, of course). Its pistes, lifts and on-mountain eateries are
all owned by seven local families – including members who stood in as The Beatles’ body doubles for ski scenes in Help! – who fashioned the ideal ski destination from scratch, all accessible along one road.
I stayed at the Sporthotel
Snowwhite Mountain Spa resort, where the rooms have been furnished in an effortlessly cool alpine style with rustic wood panelling and cosy throws on the beds. The fairy tale further comes to life in its gorgeous wellness centre with indoor pool, steam bath and saunas, and restaurant which serves breakfast until 11am should you fancy a lie-in.
This comes in handy for the apres-ski partygoers. The Lurzer Alm is a particularly riotous venue that was rammed with post-piste revellers late into the night. One extra tip – take cash as card payments were not accepted in several spots.
While there’s still plenty of time to visit this season, Obertauern is gearing up to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its moment in the worldwide spotlight in 2025, with some top-level negotiations understood to be taking place behind the scenes to try to secure the return of a Beatle or two.
I’ll remember my trip like it was Yesterday and could’ve happily stayed on the slopes Eight Days a Week but definitely plan to Get Back to Obertauern, whether next year or the year after or When I’m 64.
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Lurzer Alm is a particularly riotous venue rammed with post-piste revellers