The Ski Amadé region of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

is a network of 28 ski areas and towns that combined, make up the second largest ski area in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

.largest ski domain is

Dolomiti Superski The Dolomiti Superski is a ski area in Italy. Created in 1974, it is spread over an area of about 3,000 km2 in the Triveneto region of Italy, and includes most of the winter ski slopes of the Dolomites. Comprising 12 ski resorts and a total o ...

It is named after the composer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

who was born in the city of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Background

The resorts are linked by buses. There are 860 km of downhill slopes and 278 modern ski lifts, the highest lift being at the

Dachstein Glacier Dachstein Glacier is a glacier located between the towns of Ramsau am Dachstein in the south and Hallstatt and Obertraun in the north, in Austria. Snow is at the top of the glacier throughout the year. However snow is soft in summer. This mount ...

with an altitude of 2,700 m. There are over 700 km of marked cross country

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...

tracks.

Five Regions

The resorts are made up of 28 villages across five principal regions that make up the alliance. The five regions are Salzburger Sportwelt, Dachstein Tauern, Gastein Valley, Hochkönig Ski Area, and Grossarl Valley.

Geography

The ski region stretches from the south-east of

to the upper

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

n Ennstal, including the impressive mountain ranges of

Steinernes Meer The Steinernes Meer (literally "Rocky Sea") is a high karst plateau in the Northern Limestone Alps. As one of the nine sub-ranges of the Berchtesgaden Alps the Steinernes Meer belongs partly to Bavaria and partly to Salzburg. Location To the no ...

Hochkönig The Hochkönig is a mountain group containing the highest mountain (Mount Hochkönig) in the Berchtesgaden Alps, Salzburgerland, Austria. The Berchtesgaden Alps form part of the Northern Limestone Alps. Location It lies to the west of the town o ...

Dachstein Hoher Dachstein () is a strongly karstic mountain in central Austria and the second-highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is situated at the border of Upper Austria and Styria, and is the highest point in each of those states. Pa ...

and Tauernkamm. Being in the

Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the ...

, thus being colder than the Western Alps the region has a good record of snowfall during the winter months.

Interesting facts

*The resorts of

Schladming Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the ...

/Planai, Reiteralm, Flachau and

Zauchensee Zauchensee is a place in the Austrian municipality of Altenmarkt im Pongau, located in the state of Salzburg. Zauchensee is known for its ski resort and as a venue for the Alpine Ski World Cup. Location Zauchensee, named after the lake of the ...

all have runs which are used for the annual

Alpine Skiing World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France ( ...

circuit. *

Hermann Maier Hermann Maier (born 7 December 1972) is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup tit ...

who has won four overall World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals, three World Championship titles and 53 races in the Alpine Skiing World Cup circuit is from the

Austrian Three Valleys Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

area of

Alpendorf Alpendorf (German for ''alpine village'') is a village and a part of the town St. Johann im Pongau. It is south of the Austrian city of Salzburg. It is at an altitude of above sea level. It is away from the town centre of Sankt Johann im Pong ...

Wagrain Wagrain (Austro-Bavarian: ''Wågroã'') is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is located in a high valley stretching from the Salzach at Sankt Johann in the west to the Enns river in the east ...

and Flachau. With 53 champion races he is only second in place to being defined as the world's greatest skier; in front of him is

Ingemar Stenmark Jan Ingemar Stenmark (; born 18 March 1956) is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed fo ...

from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

who has 86 victories. *Scenes from the classic film ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

'' were filmed around the Salzburger Sportwelt region of the alliance. One scene in particular, where

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

is singing as she walks along a grassy verge was filmed near the resort of

. *The Gastein Valley resorts of

Bad Gastein Bad Gastein (; formerly ''Badgastein''; Southern Bavarian: ''Bod Goschdei'') is a spa town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau District, St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Picturesquely situated in a hig ...

and

Bad Hofgastein Bad Hofgastein ( bar, Hofgoschdei) is a market town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The spa town is located in the Gastein Valley, a large ski resort belonging to the Ski Amadé network. Geography The ...

are highly renowned for their

thermal baths A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

as well as for their extensive

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

areas, and are supplemented by the mountains of Graukogel and Sportgastein offering more opportunities for intermediate and advanced skiers and freeriders. The ski lifts of the third town in the valley -

Dorfgastein Dorfgastein is a municipality in St. Johann im Pongau District, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography It is located on the northern entrance of the Gastein Valley within the Hohe Tauern mountain range, south of the broader Salzach Valley. ...

- are linked to the Grossarl Valley.

References

External links

* *
Salzburger Sportwelt region
Ski areas in Austria {{Austria-sports-venue-stub