Some ski areas only reveal their off-piste delights gradually – in some cases it can take a day or two of cruising around on the marked trails to work out where all the good stuff is hiding, particularly at lower altitudes where trees can conceal the best powder stashes from view. Obertauern, by contrast, situated in the Radstädter Tauren mountain range in Austria’s Salzburgerland, is so stacked with obvious, in-your-face lines that it can be hard to process it all, even if you’ve been visiting for years.

Pull into the car park near the bottom of the Grünwaldkopfbahn chairlift, for example, and look to the south and you’ll see half a lifetime’s worth of steep, tantalising chutes dropping out of the trees. Arrive on a powder day, and you might even be able to watch a few locals getting stuck into one or more of these while you put your boots on. That’s nothing, though, compared to what’s on offer higher up. Survey the peaks of this huge, snowy cauldron from the top of one of the “Super Seven” lifts, accessing the resort’s seven highest points, and the true potential of the place becomes clear. Officially Obertauern has 100km of pistes, but that starts to seem like a fairly arbitrary number when the off-piste possibilities staring you in the face are almost endless.

Of course, for freeriders mouthwatering terrain is only half of the equation – a reliable supply of the white stuff is also a prerequisite. (After all, the Pyramids could have been the world’s most perfectly symmetrical ski area if only the Egyptians had thought to build them a little further north.) The good news is, Obertauern enjoys a spectacular snow record. In fact, since 1908 it has frolicked in an average maximum snow depth of 256cm, making it Austria’s snowiest non-glacier ski resort. This season they started skiing on 24 November and they won’t be turning off the lifts until 1 May.

The view form the start gate, Freeride World Tour qualifier, Obertauern, April 2024 PIC: Flo Gassner / Freeride World Tour

Under the circumstances then, the only surprising thing about the Freeride World Tour’s decision to hold a qualifying event at Obertauern for the first time earlier this month is that it took them so long to get round to it. Sadly, the skiers and boarders ping-ponging their way down the col between the Hundskogel (2,239m) and the Plattenspitz (2,294m) didn’t have any fresh snow to soften their landings, but that didn’t stop Juan Aracil from Andorra winning the men’s ski category with an enormous cliff drop, nor did it prevent French snowboarder Noemie Equy from securing her spot on next season’s Freeride World Tour with some super-smooth gully surfing. If a freeride event here can look this good on spring snow, the organisers must be licking their chops at the thought of what a bluebird powder day might look like in 2025.

The arrival of the Freeride World Tour in Obertauern marks the start of a new chapter in the resort’s already rich history. The first skiers came to the Tauren mountains in 1902, but it wasn’t until after the First World War that skiing really started taking off here – Obertauern was used for military training, so soldiers led the way.

In March 1965, with the resort growing fast thanks to the post-war skiing boom, Obertauern benefitted from a major PR coup when The Beatles arrived in town to make their second feature film, Help! The Fab Four weren’t much use on skis, so local skiers were hired as stunt doubles for the snow-sliding scenes. Gerhard Krings, a ski instructor at the time, was invited to be a double for George Harrison. In a recent interview, he admitted that “many people here didn’t even know who The Beatles were” but the locals soon got to know their music, as the band played a concert at the Hotel Marietta – the only live show they ever performed in Austria. These days, pilgrims can visit a large metal Beatles sculpture at the top of the Kirchbühellift, close to the scene of some of their most iconic goofing around.

Obertauern is also home to some notable athletes. Snowboard racer Doresia Krings (daughter of Gerhard) comes from one of the first families to operate a ski tow in the area. In a pro career that ran from 1997 until 2010, she achieved 43 podium places in World Cups and World Championships, including 11 victories, and received the Golden Medal of Honour of the Republic of Austria for her efforts. Her cousin Heidi Krings, who also racked up several World Cup podium finishes, now runs the exclusive Seekarhaus Hotel, while another top pro, ski racer Heinz Schilchegger (sixth place overall in the 2000/01 World Cup rankings) runs the Sunshine apartments in the centre of town.

Elevator drop at the FWT Challenger event in Obertauern PIC: Flo Gassner / Freeride World Tour

For all the successes of its racers, however, you get the sense that Obertauern’s commercial future – or at least a significant proportion of it – probably lies in its off-piste offering.

There’s now a “Freeride Checkpoint” near the top of the Hochalmbahn lift, where riders can check avalanche forecasts and make sure their transceivers are working properly, and this season’s official Obertauern brochure devotes four lavishly illustrated pages to ski touring, recommending guided tours to the Seekarspitze (2,053m), the Sichelwand (2,050m) and the Lackenspitze (2,459m).

If the Freeride World Tour qualifier does becomes a regular event, Obertauern’s reputation as an off-piste paradise can only grow, so if you’re planning a trip, sooner would probably be better than later.

To watch all the action from the Open Faces Obertauern FWT Challenger event, visit www.freerideworldtour.com/challenger/events/2024-open-faces-obertauern-fwt-challenger/

For more on Obertauern, see https://www.obertauern.com/

Travel: The Beatles’ favourite ski resort eyes a new era