In the largest developed ski area in the alpine region, skiers can expect a fabulous landscape and culinary delights in equal measure.
You can take a sporty approach to numbers: 12, 28, 10,000 – these are the dream dimensions of the Peaks Trophy, which, as the name suggests, is all about "collecting" peaks. There are 12 in total, strung along the Radstädter Tauern from A for Alpendorf/St. Johann to Z for Zauchensee. Twenty-eight lifts are needed on route to get from the five valleys that have to be crossed to the top again and again. At the end of the day, you will have covered 10,000 metres of altitude.
It sounds like a lot, but the numbers are somewhat abstract, since the metres of altitude are climbed by ski lifts and the actual sporting achievement lies in the descent, the distance covered and the time required to do so. The latter is a parameter for the stickers that can be won: If you complete the route in one day, you get a black sticker; if you need two days, the sticker is red. If you need even longer or enjoy lift ascents and ski descents in stages over an entire season, you still get the Blue Trophy.
The supreme discipline would actually need quite different measurement parameters: the highest consecrations would come from visiting as many ski huts as possible on the tour. Will one winter be enough? In any case, the offering is huge. In the Snow Space area alone (Flachau, Wagrain and St. Johann) there are more than 60 huts. There are also two other ski areas nearby (Kleinarl, Zauchensee). So where should you start and where should you stop off?
At Kogelalm between Wagrain and Flachau, right next to the Flying Mozart, Roter 8er and Starjet 3 lift stations, for example, Thomas Eschbacher (chef, sommelier and brandy sommelier) tempts guests with traditional Austrian cuisine and a well-stocked wine cellar. The view of the Dachstein massif, the Bischofsmütze, the Tennengebirge and the Hochkönig is there for dessert. In Griessenkarhaus, accessible only by the Achter-Jet gondola, you should not miss the Sky Lounge, the spacious open-air terrace in Gipfelstadl by the Starjet and in Oberforsthof Alm in the Alpendorf the gourmet cuisine made from local organic products in the panorama lounge. All of them are almost overpowering time-eating backdrops for an ambitious summit hunter. The advantage of ski mountains: they are still there the next day. So there is no need to hurry, on the contrary. Because the valley landscapes in Salzburg's Sportwelt Amadé, Austria's largest ski area with 270 lifts and 760 kilometres of pistes, are also lavishly decorated. For example, after a day on the slopes around Flachau, Hermann Oberreiter enchants in the evening at Hoagascht with his 'PongAsia' creations, an Asian interpretation of Austrian cuisine. Think spring rolls with Asian apricot-chilli dip, sushi bowl with crispy duck or Viennese melange of Flachau beef in a copper kettle. And all this is served up in a setting that is just as unique: the food is served in a converted cowshed, with regional roots dominating the prepared dishes. Alpine salmon, char and trout come from the restaurant's own fish pond in Flachauwinkl, while beef, veal and lamb come from animals that graze in the local mountain pastures during the summer months.
For a direct comparison of Alpine-Asian affinities, a visit to Gaumenlust in Flachau is worthwhile. Hermann Wieser cooks here. He gained his experience and ideas in South Korea and now brings them, in combination with local specialities, to diners at Hotel Montanara. Mediterranean extravaganzas and Alpine classics, meanwhile, adorn the menus in the two sister restaurants Almmonte 96 and Vallentino right next to the valley station of the Flying Mozart gondola in Wagrain. And in Reinbachstube in St. Johann, junior chef Fredi Mössler is now realising his finely balanced five-course menus alone (without his father of the same name) in das fredl's. Aim for the 'Gourmet Trophy' instead of the 'Peaks Trophy', and you'll never be done...
The various gastronomic hotspots in the Flachau Valley can now be reached more quickly thanks to the Panorama Link gondola lift. It functions as a kind of "fast lane" of the 'Peaks Trophy' and connects the ski areas Snow Space Flachau, Flachauwinkl-Kleinarl and Ski Paradise Zauchensee with each other in an aerial manner. The name of the cable car says it all. A breathtaking view of the Hohe and Niedere Tauern mountains awaits you during the ride.
When you hear the word "view", you can't miss the Schmitt'n. Zell am See's local mountain, the Schmittenhöhe, is nature's ideal viewing terrace. Lakes, glaciers and 30 peaks at least 3,000 metres high, all can be seen from the Schmitt'n plateau. And now, also from indoors in the new aptly-named mountain restaurant Das Panorama. Here, when the ski day comes to an end, the village on Lake Zell offers its own 'Après-Chill' programme from this winter season onwards. It's a promise of cosiness to be able to sit under the open sky, with online guest registrations and assigned seating (lessons from Covid-19 pandemic winters), open fires, warm fur blankets, alpine finger food, background music and the specially created alcohol-free cocktail, Alpine Glow. A special online map serves as a guide to participating restaurants. Signs point the way from the valley stations to the designated hosts. Seventy-seven kilometres of pistes, including gentle 'pleasure highways' but also the brutally steep 'Trass' with a 70-degree incline, offer enough variations to discover. And no matter where, there is a sun terrace everywhere from which you can gaze at the blue sky. Be it at Jaga Alm, Kettingalm or the modern AreitLounge.
The architectural counter-programme awaits in the valley. Prielau Castle, where the highly decorated chef Andreas Mayer has been providing taste experiences of a special kind since 2004, was first mentioned in a document in 1425. Erlhof in Thumersbach, where fine cuisine is a family tradition, is 300 years older still. It first appears in a document in 1137. At that time, knights and minstrels still roamed the area, 90% of the European population lived as bonded farmers, and windmills were being invented. Almost a thousand years later, free citizens can find knights' games, medicinal herb recipes, wind and weather apps and numerous information handy on their smartphones...
The ski resorts of Zell am See and Saalbach-Hinterglemm have now expanded this service. In Zell, the app gets to know the user better with every interaction and provides offers and suggestions for the ski day tailored to their personal preferences and interests. It also operates as a mobility card for free public transport. In Saalbach, you can use the app to quickly and easily book a hotel or mountain railway tickets, call up live weather information and snow reports and check the avalanche situation, among other things. After all, apart from its 270km of pistes and 70 lifts, the ski area also promotes itself as an El Dorado of "powder parties in the backcountry". In addition, there are 140km of winter hiking trails and a cross-country ski trail at the end of the valley – all of them likely to work up a hearty appetite. Sixty huts ranging from rustic to modern are available with open doors and sun-warmed terraces. For example, the hut with the code 1350 (which stands for the altitude and the year in which Saalbach was first mentioned in a document) is located right at the Hochalm cable car station. Here you can watch the sun go down undisturbed while enjoying good food. Or Winkler Alm next to the middle station of the Zwölferkogelbahn, where regional cuisine is served with unlimited far-reaching views over Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
There, in the two sister villages in the valley, the gastronomic tone is similar. In Hotel Tiroler Buam in Saalbach, chef Robert Mair lets his guests choose between "Slow Food Radical Regional" half-board and hearty South Tyrolean specialities in the à la carte restaurant Südtiroler.Fein.Speisen. In Arte Vinuum in Hinterglemm, lovers of highly creative dishes will find what they are looking for, while Wiesergut will satisfy gourmets who are in the mood for refined slow food cuisine based on old family recipes and regional ingredients from the Pinzgau.
Obertauern is similarly diverse. The density of top chefs is as high as the mountains around the village at the top of the pass. Patrick Pass enchants with Asian-alpine taste explosions in the à la carte restaurant Fritz & Friedrich in the Rigele Royal hotel. Ambitious, en vogue and deliberately daring, sushi stands next to char, Salzburg bacon meets tamarind. Different every evening, but always the finest cuisine. And on request, to take away under the Josef & Yuki brand created by Pass. Why not put a jar of 'miso, but stew' or "pumpkin, but coconut" in your hand luggage as a souvenir of a successful holiday? In Seekarhaus, Stefan Fischer continues the tradition of a cuisine that is both full of positive surprises (in terms of creations) and low in negative surprises (in terms of high quality). Guests of the Abstraktum are delighted with extraordinary creations.
"Cooking is the art of constantly reinventing oneself, consistently developing oneself while remaining true to oneself, of never stopping being curious and of not taking oneself too seriously," says Fischer, adding: "It's never about the chef, it's about the guest." The guests who flock to Seekarhaus, however, are conversely very much concerned with the chef and his skills. And about the skiing pleasure all around. More than 100km of pistes of every difficulty level and steepness stretch out between Gamsleiten, Zehnerkar and Seekarspitze. The fact that the Beatles once tried their luck as skiers here massively boosted the international popularity of the place. Reminders of the "Fab Four" can still be found in various places, from statues to a piano in the middle of the slope. The slopes are garnished above all with fine places to stop for refreshments along the Tauern Round through the entire ski area. Almrausch near the Kehrkopf cable car offers fondue variations, while Treff 2000 next to the mountain station of the Grünwaldkopf cable car offers tasty soups and one of the most extensive wine lists in the village.
If you want it a notch quieter, you have to go down from the Tauern towards the north, cross the Enns at Radstadt, leave the Tennengebirge on the left and head back up into the mountains towards the Dachstein massif. Destination: Filzmoos. Apart from wide, carving-friendly pistes, a horse-drawn sleigh ride is one of the best ways to enjoy the winter landscape here. This form of transport has a long tradition. There are more than 20 teams of Norikers, Friesians and Haflingers in the village. With Oberhofalm and Unterhofalm, there are charming and quiet (car traffic is barred) routes to choose from. Instead of letting yourself be pulled along, you can hike the route on snowshoes. An equally sensual nature experience that leads to the foot of the charismatic Bischofsmütze. If you change the mountain scenery to the Tennengebirge only a few kilometres further west, you will find a similar idyll in Werfenweng. Gentle tourism is more than just a declaration of intent here. What the Papageno-Bahn is to Filzmoos, the Ikarus-Bahn is to Werfenweng: a central feeder to well groomed slopes that also function perfectly as a family ski area. Auszeit at the top of the Rosnerköpfl mountain station or the Wenger Alpenhof down in the village serve as oases of relaxation.
Or you can move one village further and end up at one of the best gastronomic addresses in the country. Karl and Rudolf Obauer have ensured that Werfen has become a permanent fixture on international culinary maps. They call their way of cooking, which is committed to the region but not tied to it, "integrative cuisine" i.e. they integrate everything that can make a culinary experience special and unique. The pair have been succeeding at the highest level for many years.
Obauer
Great culinary art is celebrated here. The brothers combine creativity and consistency at the highest level of quality – and have been doing so for many years.
Markt 46, 5450 Werfen
T: +43 6468 5212
obauer.com
Erlhof
Fresh gourmet ideas at the highest level in a rustic ambience, plus a generous wine cellar and a simply magnificent view of Lake Zell.
Erlhofweg 11, 5700 Zell am See
T: +43 6542 56637
erlhof.at
Mayer’s auf Schloss Prielau
Andreas Mayer plays on the historic castle setting with his aromatic kitchen. 120 perfume essences, which reflect the core notes of individual dishes, allow for a unique enjoyment experience.
Hofmannsthalstraße 12, 5700 Zell am See
T: +43 6542 72911
mayers-restaurant.at
Oberforsthof Alm
Regional specialities served at an exceptional level in an interesting mix of restaurant and dance spot.
Alpendorf 12, 5600 St. Johann im Pongau
T: +43 6412 6396
oberforsthofalm.at
Salzburgerstube
Between the lake and the hotel's own bathing pond – all-round enjoyment continues with the high level cuisine.
Auerspergstraße 11, 5700 Zell am See
T: +43 6542 765
salzburgerhof.at
Sonnenhof Kräuterreich by Vitus Winkler
Exceptional chef Vitus Winkler creates a taste experience that delights all the senses and lingers afterwards, for example, a surprise multi-course menu. Located not far from St. Johann.
Kirchweg 2, 5621 St. Veit im Pongau
T: +43 6415 4323
verwoehnhotel.at
AlmMonte
A double pack of indulgence: alpine cuisine and Mediterranean flavours meet in AlmMonte 96 and Vallentino. And all this in the exquisite setting of a design hotel.
Widmoosweg 3, 5602 Wagrain
T: +43 6413 7286
almmonte.com
Arte Vinum
Unique room concept, unique gourmet cuisine. The high standard flows through to the very well-stocked wine cellar.
Reiterkogelweg 169, 5754 Hinterglemm
T: +43 6541 6346
oberforsthofalm.at
Cavalli
France and Italy help shape the cuisine served in the shadow of the cathedral – not to the detriment of staple Austrian dishes.
Haas-Kappacher Straße 8, 5600 St. Johann im Pongau
T: +43 6412 20180
cavalli.at
Das Edelweiss
Mountain cuisine is the slogan for the culinary programme of Alexander Herregger, garnished with an international touch.
Unterbergstraße 65, 5611 Großarl
T: +43 6414 3000
edelweiss-grossarl.com
Das Kleine Restaurant
Head chef Andreas Grün has refined his unconditional commitment to organic, regional and sustainably produced food into "Cuisine Alpine".
Glemmtaler Landesstraße 208, 5753 Saalbach
T: +43 6541 74140
hotel-theresia.com
Das Seekarhaus
Centrally located in the middle of the ski area with excellent cuisine by Stefan Fischer and magnificent views from its sun terrace.
Seekarstraße 32, 5562 Obertauern
T: +43 6456 20010
seekarhaus.at
Die Kohlmayerei
The kitchen is a meeting point between Alpine and Mediterranean taste elements. Andreas Lechner cooks at one of the most exclusive addresses in the village.
Ringstraße 5, 5562 Obertauern
T: +43 6456 72720
daskohlmayr.at
Die Schatzarei
Schatzen - "chatting" in local dialect – is an apt way to describe the inn classics here, which shine under the regional flag of origin.
Unterbergstraße 55, 5611 Großarl
T: +43 6414 2640
tauernhof.com
Fritz & Friedrich
Chef Patrick Pass and sushi master Rico Rassbach create "Alpine Asian Fusion". Local products prepared with Asian culinary artistry.
Rosenweg 1, 5562 Obertauern
T: +43 6456 73540
fritzundfriedrich.com
Gaumenlust
Here, too, trendy Far Eastern dishes shine into traditional Austrian cuisine. Exciting.
Unterberggasse 167, 5542 Flachau
T: +43 6457 2403
montanara.com
Herzenslust
Fine wines accompany a wide range of tasty delights here, from mild to wild and fillet to tenderloin.
Schrotteralmstraße 3, 5562 Obertauern
T: +43 6456 20222
tauern-herz.at
Hoagascht
Hermann Oberreiter has found his own culinary path: 'PongAsia' is the name of the creative firework that brings a piece of Korea to Flachau.
Flachauer Straße 14, 5542 Flachau
T: +43 6457 32490
hoagascht.at
Jagastub’n
The region of Pongau writes the menu here – with delicacies including game, fish and veal. Accompanied by a rich selection of wines.
Unterbergstraße 76, 5611 Großarl
T: +43 6414 8384
grossarlerhof.at
Kraftwerk
Located in an old power station from the 1930s, delicacies from their own organic farm and game from the Zell mountains are given a modern interpretation.
Schmittenstraße 12a, 5700 Zell am See
T: +43 664 3888016
kraftwerk-restaurant.at
Wiesergut
Slow food cuisine fed by regional products. Pinzgau cows provide the milk and beef, the farm's own chickens the eggs for breakfast.
Wiesern 48, 5754 Hinterglemm
T: +43 6541 6308
wiesergut.at
Happy Filzmoos
Rustic shell, modern interior and a kitchen that enchants with a mix of Mediterranean and local. Well-stocked wine cellar.
Neuberg 152, 5532 Filzmoos
T: +43 6453 8584
happyfilzmoos.at
Stöcklwirt
Between game and vegetarian delicacies, there is plenty of room for traditional inn cuisine in this family business.
Hauptstraße 22a, 5600 St. Johann im Pongau
T: +43 676 7168471
hotel-stoecklwirt.at
Südtiroler.Fein.Speisen
South Tyrolean specialities and slow food are the unique selling points of Robert Mair's cuisine. Schlutzkrapfen are a must.
Vorderglemm 267, 5753 Saalbach
T: +43 6541 6513
tirolerbuam.at
Xandl Stadl
Vegetables from local gardens, meat from free-range animals, first-class spices, the best ingredients – nothing else goes into the pots and pans here.
Zwölferkogelweg 540, 5754 Hinterglemm
T: +43 664 1127909
restaurant-hinterglemm.at
AreitLounge
Chilled out extension at AreitAlm, right at the mountain station of the AreitExpress. Spectacular views from indoors by the open fireplace or outdoors on the terrace.
T: +43 6542 57177
areitlounge.at
Eder Hütte
Down-to-earth, regional specialities such as Hausbratwurst made to the secret recipe of master butcher Alois Schultes, served with warm coleslaw and tarte flambée.
T: +43 6542 5317513
eder-huette.at
Fiaker Wirt
Rustic Fiakerstüberl with classic Austrian home cooking.
Filzmoos 23, 5532 Filzmoos
T: +43 6453 8209
fiakerwirt.co.at
Kleinbergalm
The shell is an original Canadian log cabin, the filling an original alpine ski lodge with lamb from their own farm. At the mountain station of the Großberglift.
Kleinbergalm, 5532 Filzmoos
T: +43 664 1340589
kleinbergalm.at
Steinbock
Young, modern alpine design sets off fine alpine cuisine made from regional products, combined with an international touch and a good wine selection.
Römerstraße 75, 5562 Obertauern
T: +43 6456 7245603
steinbock-obertauern.at
Treff 2000
Former Michelin star chef Franz Fuiko runs this first port of call for wine lovers on the mountain. More than 120 wines are on the menu. Good food, too.
Wiseneggerstraße 70, 5562 Obertauern
T: +43 6456 7347
treff-2000.at
