I found Austria’s most snowsure family-friendly ski resort

Shouting “nujv!” wouldn’t have seen me whooshed off the slopes in an emergency. As it turns out, “nujv” is what The Beatles actually spelt in semaphore when they posed in snowy Obertauern for the cover of their album Help! According to the photographer who shot the iconic image, 60 years ago this winter, the correct arm positions to spell H.E.L.P. just didn’t look right artistically.

Not that I’d spent sleepless nights worrying about emergencies on the slopes before our trip to the Austrian resort. Well, maybe just a few. This would be the first time we’d skied together as a family and my first time on skis in a decade. Since my last pregnancy had left me with creaky knees, I was nervous about returning home with my limbs intact.

At 1,752m-high, Obertauern – Austria’s only attempt at a purpose-built ski resort – spends November to May deep in snow, from one end of its narrow tree-lined valley to the other. The Fab Four brought fame to this snowiest of Austrian ski resorts – located an hour from Salzburg – and those who navigate its 100km-plus pistes will spot no less than three monuments to the band.

It’s surrounded by a natural bowl of peaks and – Beatles fame aside – it came up on my radar when it was named Austria’s most family-friendly ski resort last year. A survey from travel booking website Omio rated Obertauern as the best resort for families in Austria, due to its affordable kids’ ski passes, good ski schools and 61km of cruisey blue runs.

The best of these ran down from the Hochalmbahn lift, curving above Obertauern’s snowy bowl and with a viewpoint down the valley of ice-streaked ridges to distant Mauterndorf. It was here that I stopped to catch my breath. I’d been lunging too heavily into my first runs – resulting in burning thighs. It wasn’t until after lunch that I finally remembered to stand up properly and ski, making swishy turns from my hips instead. “Like riding a bike!” my husband suggested encouragingly, after once again waiting for me at the bottom of the piste.

From our vantage point in Gamsmilchbar restaurant, and with a warming glass of goats’ milk, rum and honey (gamsmilch) to sup, we considered Obertauern’s plus points. A child’s ski pass costs £27 a day in low season, which compares to at least £40 for similar dates in Alpe d’Huez, France.

My five-year-old rode the ski lifts for free (all under-six can, whereas most resorts only permit under-fives for free). Instructors at Skischule Koch, were friendly and spoke great English, cheering on my daughters. The girls sang and waved as they took the travelator to the top of the beginner slope, happily accepting a Haribo gummy after the occasional fall. Obertauern has three different children’s ski areas, plus a ghost-themed tunnel run for older ones, hung with spooky characters.

Every skiing parent will know that, once you’ve committed to a holiday that involves snapping ski boots onto wriggly kids, you’ll want to make the rest of it as easy as possible. Obertauern does just that, with ski-in/ski-out accommodation and guaranteed snow on your doorstep. Buses ply the road between chairlifts, but it also helps enormously to book a hotel from where the ski school runs a pick-up service.

We chose [PLACES] Obertauern, a Valamar hotel. When a blizzard blasted through the valley (and our kids went from only experiencing fleeting snow to not being able to see for the stuff), we hid in the hotel’s low-lit spa pool, in the dry heat of its family sauna and in its cavernous games room. With instructors picking the girls up each morning and a ski hire shop at ground level, all we had to do was quit the breakfast buffet in time for lessons.

Later each day, once we’d clattered into the boot room with tired legs, we could borrow toboggans to sledge close to the hotel. At other times, the children had table tennis, arcade games and an entire soft play at their disposal. This all lay handily opposite the hotel’s rooftop lounge bar.

There was so much to do, we almost didn’t find the hotel’s adult spa and outdoor sauna huts – reached by crunching through the snow in flip flops. For families who might want to take a day off skiing, the hotel’s “experience concierge” told us about a dedicated toboggan run 4km away at Gnadenalm, where you can also take a scenic ride in a horse-drawn sleigh.

On the slopes, our skiing progressed well. Compared to a decade ago, I may have conquered fewer red runs but the only thing I really struggled with was reading the tiny print on the piste map. Our cry for “help!” in Obertauern came, in the end, just after we’d carved our way into town and stopped for a glühwein at the Lürzer Alm – a popular bar for après-ski, with wooden balconies and cosy little nooks to sink into after a day on the mountain.

With thumping Europop in my ears I took a call from the ski school to say that my eldest had hurt her knee and given up on her group lesson. We hastily arranged a route back up and down the mountain to retrieve her in record time – no emergency alarms required.

Essentials

Natalie was a guest of [PLACES] Obertauern by Valamar Hotels, which has doubles from £225 per night, half board. Flights to Salzburg from London Stansted with Ryanair cost from £100 return, including a 10kg bag. A day’s group lesson at the Skischule Koch costs £108 per child. For more information see obertauern.com.

Plan your own trip with our Obertauern ski guide.