In the heart of Styria, south-eastern Austria and also at the top of Enns Valley, the picturesque resort of Schladming is ready to welcome you. It is 90 km from Salzburg and 220 from Munich. The settlement is more than 600 years old so its history is also of interest though ski now dominate the life of people there. Schladming was a site to the Alpine World Championships in 1982.
In a peripheral valley above Schladming there are the ski areas of Ramsau and the all-year round working lifts to the Dachstein Glacier. All sites are linked by bus service which transports skiers with lift passes for free. The Top Tauern Ski Check extends the "your pass" ski territory to more than 700km (437 miles) at 30 ski areas in the greater area of Schladming - this is one of the world's biggest lift pass scheme.
Above Schladming itself, visitors can enjoy two big ski areas, connected by the Planai West chair lift which even goes through a tunnel. The lifts are 23 (2 tram/gondola, 8 chair, 13 surface). The number of pistes is 24 with a cumulated length of 50 km. You can join a cross-country network of 250 km.
Snowboarders will also spend their time agreeably - there is a snow park with halfpipes.
Each summer skiing season, the Dachstein Galcier is one of the first to open in Europe. It remains open for nearly 11 months up to (usually) the first week after Easter holidays.
The lifts, which are open in summer, are one double chair and three T-Bar surface lifts; they work daily from 9am to 4 pm; serving 2 km of ski runs.
Apart from skiing and snowboarding guided walks on the glacier are organised every week.
Schladming is one of those resorts that whenever you go, in each and every day of the year, you will have plenty to do and enjoy. The activities offered at Schladming during the year are as much as thirty-tree! Officially, these are: Alpine skiing, fishing, asphalt/alpine Curling, ballooning, beach volleyball, canyoning, hang-gliding, ice-skating, cycling, workout (fitness), paragliding, golf, inline skating, hunting, canoeing/kayaking, bowling, climbing, miniature golf, mountain biking, rafting, horseback riding, tobogganing, snow-shoeing, swimming, nordic skiing, squash, tennis, table tennis, trekking, fishing.
And if you still have some energy left in the evening, there's plenty to do - in the local pubs, piano-bars and discos.
What more can you want from a resort?