Obertauern Revisited

19th January 2024 | Jane Peel, Obertauern, Austria

Last modified on January 22nd, 2024

To be honest, my memories of Obertauern are limited.

I was last here on holiday decades ago.

I can’t remember exactly when but I was in my twenties and my skiing experience was limited, to say the least.

I would probably then have described myself – optimistically – as an “intermediate” skier.

In fact, the only reason I remember being here was because of a huge poster I bought in resort.

I had it framed and, for several years, it graced the wall on the upstairs landing at home.

The poster (consigned to the local council tip during one of my rare but ruthless clearouts) showed the black run that begins at the top of the Gamsleiten 2 lift.

It is one of the steepest in Austria with a pitch that, I’m told, reaches 45 degrees in places.

Here it is, pictured from the other side of the valley.

You can make out the Gamsleiten 2 chairlift to the right of the photo above the avalanche barriers.

The poster was meant as an encouragement.

“One day I’ll come back and be able to ski that run,” I told myself.

So, here I am, at last, back in Obertauern, much older but probably no wiser.

Obertauern Facts:

• The skiing is from around 1700m to 2300m
• The slopes are on both the north and south side of the town with 11 valley lift stations
• It claims to be the snowiest non-glacier resort in Austria
• Only 3% of skiers are from the UK (pre-Covid figures)
• There are 100km of pistes: 61km blue, 35km red and 4km black
• The longest run is around 2.6km
• An adult 6-day lift pass costs €291.50
• It opens at the end of November and closes at the beginning of May

These facts tell you a lot about Obertauern.

It’s well-suited to intermediates.

There are anti-clockwise and clockwise colour-coded circular routes, the Tauernrunde, that can be completed almost entirely on blue pistes.

It’s a good bet for guaranteed snow throughout its long season.

The snow is certainly more reliable than in many of the lower altitude Austrian resorts that tend to be favoured by British skiers and snowboarders.

One disadvantage is that the skiing is pretty much all above the tree line.

In windy or whiteout/low light conditions, the mountains can be bleak and uninviting, especially in January.

But an advantage of being here at this time of year is that the slopes are quiet.

And, when one day is bad the next can be good, as you can see from my videos recorded 24 hours apart for The PlanetSKI Snow Report.

Obertauern has a big claim to fame.

The Beatles.

The 60s superband?

Yes.  That one.

A decade after Obertauern was purpose-built as a ski resort, the powers-that-be wanted a way to attract more skiers from all over Europe.

I know, someone thought, let’s invite The Beatles to be ambassadors for Obertauern.

And, in 1965, John, Paul, George and Ringo duly arrived.

They filmed scenes for their cult musical comedy Help! here.

And they performed their only Austrian concert at the Marietta Hotel in the town.

Coincidentally, that’s where I’m staying.

The Marietta name, though, disappeared at the end of March 2023.

The building has since been thoroughly renovated.

It reopened as the 4* Valamar [PLACES] Hotel at the start of this season.

It’s one of three Croatian-owned Valamar hotels in Obertauern.

[PLACES] is not a typo; the square brackets are part of the branding for this Uber Cool – or should that be Ober Cool? – property.

Kresh (first names only here) is a “Destination Insider” at [PLACES].

He knows everything.

He tells me it’s aimed at “modern, young travellers”.

I’m clearly an anomaly.

There are plenty of retro touches for the oldies, largely exploiting The Beatles connection.

The suites, ie the bigger, more expensive rooms,  have been given names such as “Get Back” and “Love Me Do”.

They all have turntables and Beatles vinyl records.

It’s a nice touch, among many nice touches.

Here’s another one, perhaps for the aforementioned “modern, young travellers”.

And there’s me thinking the only thing I was ever likely to find in a hotel’s bedside cabinet was a Gideon’s Bible.

There are all the usual spa facilities.

But prepare to get an eyeful of men and women in all their naked glory if you use the sauna or steam room.

This is Austria and that’s how they roll here.

It’s impossible to mention here everything that’s a bit different about the Valamar [PLACES] Hotel.

But here’s one thing that’s cool.

It’s cashless and cardless.

Each guest is a given a plastic bracelet that resembles a watch.

It acts as your room key and gives you €30 credit per day to use anywhere in the hotel – for example for lunch or dinner or in the bar.

You can even carry unused credit over to the next day.

And the food is good.

Especially the breakfast, which is included in the room rate.

Everything you could possibly want to eat and drink before skiing.

And some things maybe not.

There’s also a a rooftop bar with live music and a DJ.

As you might imagine, it’s not the place to go if you want a cheap ski holiday, but it is an amazing experience.

Now, back to the skiing.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll be wondering whether I finally got to ski Gamsleiten 2.

Or black piste 26a to give it is proper name.

Of course I did.

After all, I don’t have the luxury of waiting another 30 to 40 years to do it.

*Prices at the Valamar [PLACES] Hotel start at £219 per room per night with Flexi Half Board (inclusive of B&B and with €30 credit per person per day). More information about the hotel and Valamar’s other two hotels in Obertauern can be found on the Valamar website.