It was an hour into one of my most enjoyable mornings snowboarding when I realised I had no real idea where on the mountain we were.
By just after 10am on a blue-sky morning we had flown down countless empty corduroy-lined pistes, punctuated by rides on queue-less chairlifts to swiftly take us back up.
We’d clearly covered a lot of mountain. But if you’d asked me to show you where we’d been in Austria’s expansive Ski Welt Wilder Kaiser area, I would have been stumped.
As someone who somehow inevitably ends up the default mountain guide whenever I go away skiing or snowboarding with family or friends, this was a wonderfully liberating feeling.
My wife and I were spending the best part of a day snowboarding with Arnoud, an instructor from Scheffau. This attractive under-the-radar village in the Austrian Tirol is one of the six that make up the Ski Welt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental, with its immense 275 kilometres of pistes.
And the Wilder Kasier can offer even more than that, especially at this time of year, when it has winter on one side and spring on the other.
While the north-facing side of the valley features that substantial ski area, on the Kitzbuhel Alps, the sunny southern side has the rugged Wilder Kaiser range, where you can hike, mountain bike, or just put your feet up and relax in the sunshine.
Corduroy Club: Perfectly groomed pistes above Scheffau in the Ski Welt made for a fantastic morning on the mountain
Behind the village of Scheffau with its elegant church spire sits the rugged Wilder Kaiser mountain range, where the south facing slopes are idea for spring hikes and biking
Although the name Ski Welt may ring a bell with some skiers and snowboarders, for many it remains an unknown quantity. Yet, it now covers a skiable area that compares favourably to the 300 kilometres boasted by Austria’s far more famous Arlberg, home to St Anton and Lech.
While the likes of those Arlberg resorts may be illustrious, their big-name skiing comes at a price. In contrast, the modest Ski Welt Wilder Kaiser can offer classic Austrian charm and a big, interlinked area with more bang for your euro.
In investment terms, it’s what would be known as a quality value opportunity.
Our first day there had got off to a good start. We were delighted to discover our instructor and guide was a passionate snowboarder in his mid-20s. On the other side of the equation, Arnoud seemed pretty pleased to have been tasked with taking two experienced snowboarders around the mountain for the morning.
He asked us what we wanted to do. We said: ‘Take us where you like and let’s have fun’. And so began our whirlwind tour of the best the Ski Welt had to offer that morning: the perfect piste at the right time, barely a wait for a lift, and some fantastic hard charging down immaculately groomed slopes.
I’ve not been out with a guide or an instructor in years, but it reminded me why doing so is so often recommended, even if you don’t ‘need’ the lessons. Next time you are away, try at least a couple of hours with an instructor, it may feel like an expensive treat but will be money well spent.
Of course, Arnoud did point out where we were going – and the different village areas we were whistling through – as we chatted on the lifts. But I’d taken the rare opportunity to disengage my brain from thinking about where I was going. Instead, I indulged in simply enjoying a fabulous morning flying around the slopes.
Simon Lambert, left, with instructor Arnoud, after a great morning snowboarding
And there are certainly plenty of those in the Ski Welt. With 275 kilometres of pistes, combined with 81 lifts, it’s a huge area. But without the glitz and self-promotion of the Alpine mega-resorts, it’s got a laidback feel and is considerably less expensive too.
For example, a single day pass for the Arlberg area will cost you €81.50 compared to the Ski Welt’s €68.50. Meanwhile, a six-day pass for the Arlberg is €450 to the Ski Welt’s €356.
While skiers may not know the Ski Welt well, many may recognise the names of some of its constituent villages: Westendorf, Brixen, Hopfgarten-Itter, Soll, Scheffau and Ellmau-Going.
Strung along the valley floor, each has a slightly different character, and they are home to accommodation ranging from affordable to luxury.
Popular with Austrians and Germans, the Wilder Kasier is easily accessible and just 1 hour 30 mins from Munich airport, 1 hour 15 mins from Salzburg airport and an hour from Innsbruck. Those short transfer times add a vital ingredient for making the most of a long ski weekend.
The area features a selection of black runs and what looks like some good accessible off-piste, snow permitting, but its strength is a network of blue and red runs, ideal for intermediate to advanced skiers looking to cruise the mountain. Each of the villages also has its own beginner areas.
We stayed in Scheffau, a village with a pretty church in its centre and a handful of hotels, restaurants and shops.
Scheffau is set slightly up the mountain from the main valley road, on the opposite side to the ski area.
You can ski straight down to the main cable car lifts, when the snow allows, but need to get one of the regular free transfer buses for the five-minute journey back up.
What Scheffau misses in being able to walk a few steps to the lifts, it more than makes up for in atmosphere, tranquillity and views.
Nestled against the rugged Wilder Kaiser mountain range, on the opposite side of the valley to the ski area, it also offers access to walking trails and the Hintersteiner See Lake.
Our visit was at the start of February, when snow covered the ground on both sides of the valley. At that time of year, away from the downhill runs there was plenty of opportunity for snowshoe walking and winter hikes.
But now that March has arrived, Scheffau would be an ideal place to stay to benefit from the best that the mountains in spring can offer.
In places like this, I’ve previously enjoyed the magic of spending a day snowboarding or skiing on the snow-covered north-facing side, followed by a late afternoon or evening walk on the trails through the meadows and woods of the south-facing mountains. It’s a fantastic two seasons in one day feeling.
The Kaiser Lodge is built around a natural swimming lake. In winter it’s iced over…
…but in summer you can take a dip in the crystal clear water from the gardens and terraces
Our hotel in the heart of Scheffau, the Kaiserlodge, was a classic example of how Austria does what often gets termed ‘quiet luxury’ so well.
The wooden framed building looks attractive from the front and impressive when you walk into its huge vaulted central area, but it is only when you see what’s out the back that you full appreciate it.
The hotel is built around a substantial natural swimming lake, with grounds stretching beyond it. Rather than individual rooms, it is mainly made up of well-appointed apartment-style suites, with some overlooking the water, with balconies, decks and even ladders in for those who fancy a dip.
The snow and ice covering the lake in February meant that was not on the menu, albeit I didn’t actually ask if I could crack through and take a very cold water swim, but in summer it would be glorious to dive in.
The accommodation is beautifully furnished, with big comfortable beds, seating areas and kitchens. Smaller suites sleep one to four people (from €340 per night), while large suites sleep up to six (from £600 per night) and a few options will accommodate eight people. Some double rooms are available, from £175.
Some of the Kaiser Lodge apartments have decked areas with stairs into the swimming lake
Inside the spacious apartments are stylish, spacious and comfortably furnished
It’s a place that can combine the pleasures of staying in a hotel with the home comforts and money saving benefits that an apartment brings. We saw numerous people carrying shopping in from the supermarket to make their own meals.
The hotel also makes things easy for families, with a kids club, indoor and outdoor play areas, and family pool.
But one of the highlights of the Kaiserlodge for us was the recently built wellness and sauna area, where children aren’t allowed. Free for guests, the Natürlich Spa area has an infinity pool, another warm outdoor pool with jets, and different steam rooms and saunas.
There’s nothing better after a day on the slopes than spending an hour or more relaxing like this. Enjoying the restorative powers of the heat of the sauna and steam bath, then cooling down in the freezing air on the terrace, looking at the night clad mountains, watching the blinking lights of the piste bashers working, and gazing at the stars.
The Ski Welt runs down towards Brixen have spectacular views across the valley floor to Westendorf and beyond
After our Friday snowboarding with Arnoud, we spent the next two days exploring the mountains ourselves. Some of that involved trying to solve a nice problem to have, navigating a piste map for an area with so many runs.
Fed up with seeing me try to read that jam-packed paper map, moving it back and forward to focus with my middle-aged eyes, my wife eventually said: ‘I can’t watch this anymore. Just take a photo of it and then zoom in and out on your phone.’
Once I worked that out, our highlights included sweeping down from the top of the HartKaiser through the forest to the village of Ellmau, the red rolling runs from the Zinsberg peak down towards Brixen, with a spectacular view across to Westendorf, and the pistes threaded round the 360 degree slopes of the Hohe Salve.
One of the best runs of the weekend was saved for last though, when we had to head down the mountain early at lunchtime on Sunday.
On the previous two days we had done the long top-to-bottom blue piste back down to Scheffau right at the end of the day. It had been a shaded mix of chop and hard pack snow. A busy ‘just get down the mountain’ run. But in the middle of the day, the slope was empty, bathed in sunshine and still perfectly groomed – it was transformed into one of those runs you finish and then want to go straight back to the top to do it again.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. A transfer back to the airport beckoned. But seeing as in two-and-a-half days it felt like we barely scratched the surface of the Ski Welt – and didn’t even think about taking advantage of the link into Kirchberg and Kitzbuhel – we’ll just have to go back.
Maybe next time, I’ll get try to remember where I’ve been though.
Simon Lambert travelled as a guest of Wilder Kaiser and Austrian Tirol