Obertauern reviews

Obertauern is a great family ski resort with lots of wide blue and red runs. Most of the slopes are south-facing so you have great skiing conditions in the sun. Due to its altitude (1740-2330m) the snow quality is very good. The ski season usually lasts from November to May. A big plus is the fact that you can ski in- and out from your hotel. No bus needed here!

I do not think Obertauern is the right resort for a complete beginner because there are few real nursery slopes and not easy to access. It really best suits intermediates, since there are opportunities for former beginners to make that next step into the Red runs (as I did) and also for experienced intermediates to take on some of the steeper reds and the few blacks. On the whole, pistes were not over-crowded, although some runs did get pretty busy e.g. 8a near the top of Grunwaldkopf chair and 21a.

I thoroughly recommend Obertauern for families and intermediates. Skiing the 'Tauernraund' in either direction is a great way to spend half a day touring the resort. There are a few challenging blacks - but maybe not enough for hard-core adrenaline junkies. Great lift system with hardly any ques. The night sking on a Thursday and Tuesday are awesome too. The village is small (but bigger than Obergurgl for example) with plenty of bars and restaurants. If you go, please make sure you do go to the Edelweiss Hut for some apres ski.

We stayed at the 4* Hotel Edelweiss. Pretty much ski in and definitely ski out. The resort is extremely child friendly. The Frau Holle ski school was immediately adjacent to the hotel and comes highly recommended. Although the runs were generally shorter than you'll find in some of the larger French resorts for example, there was plenty of variety and enough to keep us happy for a week. Around 100km's of runs in total with 1 gondola; 19 chairs [some heated] and about 6 tows. It's very much a resort aimed at the intermediate, albeit there's plenty of excellent off piste and a few decent steep pisted runs such as the Gamsleitenbahn II. There's a snowboard park and if your legs will take it, ni

Even though the weather throughout Europe last year (06 - 07) was relatively mild, Obertauern was fantastic. Lots and lots of snow. The high resort is hidden away from the main favorites of Austria but has the most fantastic atmosphere and quality runs which I believe are yet to be discovered by most. There are many bars and restaurants throughout the slopes for day time refreshments and plenty of places to eat in the evening. The apres-ski is unbeatable, the Polar Bear Bar (Lurzer Alm) is the place to be - where the most timid of party goers get in the mood for dancing and enjoying themselves, it's very addictive. One of the tidiest resorts i've ever been too. Its such a fantastic place, I