ITS ALL ACTION AT THE SKICIRCUS

270km of pistes and countless off-piste and full of action on and off the slopes. Another major plus – it is just an hour from Salzburg to the slopes, which offer a majestic break away from it all in a wonderfully scenic area.  Here’s what you will find –

• 140 km of blue, easy runs for beginners
• 112 km of red cruising fun runs for intermediates
• 18 km of difficult black runs for the more advanced
• 60 mountain huts and various snowparks, plus
• Floodlit pistes, toboggan runs and a freeride park
• One of Austria’s most diverse areas, which has additionally -
• Ski movie, speed and race tracks and
• The longest and fastest speed rope in the world!

  Here is what one resort chief, Katharine says about her home resort

The pristine snow everywhere in the circus makes it a freeride playground and the only sound you will hear is the swish and swoosh of your own edges as you zoom down countless pistes and freeride runs. The recent merger with Fieberbrunn in the Tirol adds well to the mix, as it turns the resorts into a freeride Mecca, where fans will find Freeride parks with every difficulty as well as avalanche transceivers and check-points.

This is also a fabulous region for Nordic (cross-country) enthusiasts as you can don skinny skis and glide to your heart’s content  and there is also the major new Nordic Park at Saalfelden Leogang, where there are many kilometers of  tracks. Over at Saalfelden the Nordic Park at Ritzensee has networks of runs for enthusiasts and biathletes, a 1.8km floodlit track, as well as hiking trails. And restaurants abound for re-fueling. But the daddy of all X-country areas is over at Fieberbrunn, where there are  some 45km of tracks, and you can glide over to nearby Hochfilzen  to ski on the tracks built for the World Biathlon Championships. Remember to take your rifle!

More for the action fanatics – go to Leogang’s Flying Fox XXL at the Asitz, where you can reach speeds of 130kph on the 1.6 km steel wire, the world’s fastest. And just over the mountain at Saalbach Hinterglemm is Europe’s highest Treetop Trail, where you can combine with a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge of the Alps – a truly unique project. And the action never stops here – as the resorts boast every activity known to snow –

• Tobogganing
• Skating on the frozen lake, and at the The Ritzensee and in the Sportzentrum rink in Saalbach Hinterglemm.
• Snowshoeing all over the snowy mountain and the foothills above the region’s most scenic resort.
• Winter walking and curling, plus warm bathing at Fieberbrunn, where there are excellent children’s facilities.

Great hotels and restaurants abound all over the region, so a traveller cannot go wrong. And then there is the cuisine – often local delicacies which are tasty and absolutely filling. Prepare to refuel with menus to suit every palate – Specknodel, Kasnocken, and Salzburger knockl. Take me there..