Home away from home: Zell am See - Austria

A little mountain town by a stunning lake in the Austrian Alps. I came here with my parents when I was just starting to learn snowboarding back when I was 16, have done my Anwarter course and stayed to teach for my first winter season, visited in summer and still try to go back every year for a couple of weeks whenever I can find the time.

With it's 130km of diverse runs, the Kitzsteinhorn glacier a 20 minute bus-ride away, a bunch of nice bars, friendly locals and decent train-connection, this wintersports-region is very family friendly. But even when the snow is gone, or not there yet, this is a place worth visiting. The lake is simply amazing, there is rafting, climbing, hiking, mountainbiking and much more in the vicinity and the atmosphere is a lot more relaxed and laid-back than in busy winter.

For more practical information see the website of Schmitten.

Winter favourites:

• Run Without a doubt run #13, 'the standard'. Starting from the top of the mountain with some red slopes, keep left and the second half is an amazing black slope with nice big bumps and turns to bring you right back into the valley. Especially good early morning before the crowds have come.

• Lunch-place This one is tied. There are a couple of lovely huts on the mountain to enjoy some rest, the view and a typical local lunch. The Pinzgauer Hutte is hidden in the forest and they have to drage you back to the runs behind a ski-doo when you're done. From Hochzelleralm are great views of the region and the inside is uniquelly old-fashioned.

• Mountain bar I'm personally a big fan of umbrella bars, so that when the sun comes out, the roof opens and the goggle-tan can get some work done. But all kidding aside, there are too fine places to have a beer, depending on which side of view you prefer. The first is right outside Panorama and my favourite is located by Breiteck Alm, where a cold beer is waiting for you whenever you're ready to drink it.

• Town hangout When in Rome... So when you want to hang out with some locals (read: season-workers), go for a drink at Castle Bar on Schloß-square. In the middle of this tiny park is a wooden bar and the barman Martin might even give you a discount if you mention me ;)

• Bar Please stay clear of Diele unless you want to be part of very ugly apres-ski and go to Greens instead. Hotel Gruner Baum has this small bar on the corner and a bigger cocktail-bar in the basement with decent music and lovely staff.

• Restaurant Kupfer Kessel is my all-time favourite! This old petrol station-turned-into-restaurant has the biggest menu you have ever seen. Whatever you eat, it will be fantastic and a ridiculous amount. Don't forget to order a side of falsche schnecken! When you get sick of eating schnitzel, visit Basmati, a cheap-looking Italian/Indian restaurant (weird combination right? Ignore the Italian part and go for a curry!) with great dishes.

• Off-mountain pass-time When you're sick of skiing or boarding (can't imagine), walk around the lake for staggering views or go to a hockey-match. And the Hallenbad pool has a decent spa section for when you're muscles are sore.

Other winter tips:

• Stay away from Glocknerhaus and Mittelstation for lunch in high-season unless you want to stand in line for hours.

• The nice blue beginner run of Glocknerwiese is overcrowded with beginners-groups on sunday and monday.

• Take the first lift up, go for a run when the slopes are still perfect and have a coffee at a Pfiff (at the bottom of most big lifts) to see all the hungover teachers stumble by on their way to work ;)

• If you're timing is right and you visit Zell in early December, watch out on the night of the 5th. It's Krampus, a startling Austrian celebration that involves hideous monsters with whips and a lot of schnaps. I love it.

What to do the rest of the year:

• Walk up to one of the water reservoirs. It's a beautiful hike and when you get there you can plunge into a basin of melting water.

• Drive to Kaprun and visit the Sigmund-Thun Klamm. A gorge of 32 meters deep carved by the water from the melting glacier with a nifty balkony-like wooden structure so you can get up close and personal with the limestone and waterfalls.

• Have nerves of steel? There are 3 great via ferrata (klettersteig) routes by Höhenburg that are almost worth a heart-attack.

#live #europe #snowboard #mountains