Thanks to its rich history of skiing and other winter sports, SalzburgerLand is usually associated with action and exhilaration. But the whole area around the city of Salzburg is also a fantastic place for relaxation, thanks to its wealth of thermal spas (or ‘thermen’).

Yes, it’s that time of the year again when we fish out our furry boots and become amateur meteorologists in the hope there will be a decent covering of the white stuff, because one thing sure to ruin a wintery holiday is no snow.  One place where you don’t need to worry about snowfall, during winter and that is; The Kitzbuhel ski area in Tyrol, Austria.  This place is as powdery as it will ever gets, with an average 180 days of snow a year, making it the country’s first non-glacial ski area.

If you can’t wait to breathe in some clear, fresh mountain air, to marvel at the sun glistening off the snowy Alpine peaks and for that exhilarating thrill as you start to descend a perfect powdery piste...then don’t wait. Instead, head to Austria’s SalzburgerLand – renowned for its 2,500 kilometres of slopes – as the ski season is about to kick off with the largest winter opening party weekend in the Alps.

SKIWELT, AUSTRIA
Ninety minutes from Salzburg and Innsbruck airports, SkiWelt is a collection of eight villages, with Ellmau, Soll and Scheffau best for beginners, as they have good nursery slopes on the lower runs and efficient snow-making facilities.  For more advanced skiers and boarders, there are black runs around the Hohe Salve peak. And the Hahnenkamm, host to the treacherous downhill race, is a short shuttle bus ride away in the neighbouring resort of Kitzbuhel, which is fabulous for both intermediates and beginners. The mountains are not that steep but you still get beautiful views.

CRESTED BUTTE, United States

BEST FOR: Steep and deep skiers looking to channel their inner cowboy.

Arguably the last remaining gem in Colorado’s world-famous portfolio of ski towns, Crested Butte is overflowing with authentic skier soul.  Located a mere 35 miles as the crow flies from Aspen, Crested Butte has a vibe that couldn’t feel further away from the glitzy celeb-fuelled world that exists just over the hill. ‘Crusty Butt’, as it is also affectionately known, is a genuinely welcoming place of locally owned businesses and ‘real’ people who are fiercely proud of their funky little Rocky Mountain cowboy town.

One thing sure to ruin a wintery holiday is no snow. Yes, it’s that time of the year again when we fish out our furry boots and become amateur meteorologists in the hope there will be a decent covering of the white stuff.

But there is one place where you don’t need to worry about snowfall. The Kitzbühel ski area in Tyrol, Austria, is as powdery as it gets, with an average 180 days of snow a year, making it the country’s first non-glacial ski area opened for the winter season.

The Kitzbühel resort is the first non-Glacier ski area to open in Austria, with 179 kilometres of perfectly groomed slopes, 36km of ski routes; 180 ski days throughout the season, romantic mountain huts and cosy hotels.  The area is home to the world famous Streif, a spectacular downhill ski race piste.  It is easy to see why Kitzbühel is regarded as one of the best ski resort in the world.

For those of us who like to ski or snowboard, choosing a resort can be a daunting task when the time comes to select a destination of your next winter trip.  Let us introduce you SalzburgerLand in Austria, it has everything you need, modern spa resorts and traditional huts to 550 state-of-the-art lifts. SalzburgerLand has 22 ski resorts, which as a combined offer cover 2,000km of pistes for all levels of difficulty.

The instant reaction to arriving in Salzburg is a sharp intake of fresh, Alpine air.  It's a breathtaking knockout of a city, with piercing spires and Baroque domes set against a stunning backdrop of mountains and the fast-flowing Salzach river winding around it.

As the warm summer’s sun fades and Autumn moves into Winter a different type of thrill seekers emerge thinking of where best to enjoy the white stuff.  Choosing which ski resort to hangout at and checking the weather reports every five minutes to see how snow is falling can be time consuming. We have put together a list of 10 great destinations that we think will appeal to the different type of skiers. We have Jackson Hole, USA to Rusutsu, Japan plus a whole host of European resorts.