Why you should head to Obertauern, Austria’s snowiest ski resort

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Snow is plentiful in Obertauern One researcher, Dr Günther Aigner, has analysed this wealth of information to calculate that Obertauern’s 256cm average maximum snow depth since 1908 makes it the snowiest non-glacier resort in Austria. Following Paul McCartney’s lead, I wanted to try another Austrian speciality – snowbiking – especially as Hermann Koch, who runs a ski school here, is a seven-times Guinness World Record holder in the sport. open image in gallery One of Obertauern’s main pulls is in its devilish seven peaks The next day, emboldened by the breakfast bubbly, I tried another of Obertauern’s challenges: ticking off the resort’s seven peaks, including navigating the tricky black ridge run from the Gamsleiten peak at over 2,300m, with its 45-degree sections. But to me Obertauern’s real attraction – unless you suffer from acute anxiety about snow shortages – is during the so-called “shoulder seasons” from late November to the pre-Christmas weeks and from Easter Monday to 1 May.