The dachstein Ice Cave is AWESOME. It can be visited by taking the gondola up to a station and then…read morea 10 minute walk up paved trails or one can hike from the base in Obertraun about 2 hours (I think). There is an admission charge even if one hikes up. They discourage photography inside the cave itself. Open year round I think, I was there in the summer. Definitely something that should be on the itinerary if you're going to the Salzkammergut

After a long bus ride from hot & muggy Venice, the mountain town of Cortina was like a breath of…read morefresh air (literally). After checking into our hotel, we decided to continue our upward trend and ride a cable car to the top of Cortina's most famous, nearby mountain - the Tofana, at over 3200 m (10,500+ feet). It was pricier than expected (40 Euro to the very top) But Hey - it was a clear summer's day! And when would we be coming back?! The full business name appeared to be: Tofana Cortina - Freccia nel Cielo (or "arrow in the sky"). And it was actually three different legs: one gondola and two cable cars, with transfer points at mid-level peaks. Restaurants with bars were available at each point, but we needed to complete our round trip in under 2 hours due to our late start. And again, the top (Cima Tofana) was our focus. After reaching the final station at 3191m the views from the giant deck were astounding. The town of Cortina was laid out below us like a toy village, and we could see several prominent points in the surrounding Dolomites (some of which we would walk by in the following days on the AV1). We had the opportunity to climb another 50m further up to the peak from there, which a few of us started to do. But when the path became narrow and sketchy, and the dropoffs became potentially fatal, I turned around due to poor shoes. (That, and half the people around us were dressed in climbing gear). It was a sweet but short visit. After spending about 20 more minutes at the top station we rode the last cable car down; no time to grab a snack or cocktail. Despite knowing what we were in for, my primary complaint is still the early closing time: 5 pm (i.e. over three hours before sunset in early August). The lower transfer stations closed down soon after. (Why?) If I ever do return to Cortina, I'd come back, but with an earlier start. Tips and tricks: - Bring an extra layer - The top can be much cooler (and windier) than the base - Wear good hiking shoes if you fancy some extra excursions - Give yourself plenty of time!

these guys know how to operate dem cables, man! from the…read morevintage gondolas to the ultramodern 20-seat on-demand cabins across a 2km valley, this is a top notch lift operator. wifi is provided for free at a few of the lifts (albeit with an annoying login process required every time), their maps are very clear and accurate, the online lift status is swiss-like... with the exception of one single lift, there was no wait at all during my weeklong ski vacation, an incredible feat in the world's #1 ski resort. Their foray into the world of online app geotracking, automated picture taking and crowdsourced competion needs a little more work (compared to say Epic's colorado resorts install) but works decently, just needs more coverage and timed race courses.

Obereggen is my favorite ski resort in the Dolomites!!! I snowboarded with my friends for 5 days…read morestraight and had a blast!!! The slopes have lots of variety and there are plenty of piste rosse (red slopes = medium hard. Equivalent to blue squares in America) for intermediate snowboarders like myself. They have 18 lifts, and the altitude goes as high as 2,500 meters. The snow condition is amazing, all fresh natural snow perfectly groomed! The best of all is the view..... mamma mia, the panoramic view of the Dolomites is priceless!!! The ski pass for the whole day (giornaliero) is €40 and half day afternoon pass (pomeridiano) is €27, which is good from12pm till 5pm. The first day I bought pomeridiano because we got there around 11am, but on the following day I decided to buy 4 day pass ( €148) not only to save money but also to skip the hassle of waiting in line to buy the pass every morning. The snowboard rental for 5 days was €81 including boots (Again, you save money and time by doing a long-term equipment rental instead of renting it daily) . I recommend to rent a locker together with the snowboard rental because you get a big discount ( €18for 5 days ) when combined with the equipment rental. Having a locker by the ski resort made our lives so much easier!! The locker was big enough to put 1 set of ski and 1 snowboard and 2 sets of boots, but at one point we even managed to squeeze in 2 sets of ski, & 1 set of snowboard, and 3 sets of boots (!!) which we called it " lo stile Italiano", haha. There is a special piste only for "Slittini" (sledges) and I highly recommend trying it if you've never done it! It's only €4 to rent a sledge and it's super fun!!! There are plenty of "refugio" (mountain hut) to take a break and sip some delicious bombardino (warm egg nog + brandy served with whipped cream) or calimero (bombardino with a shot of espresso) to warm up your body. At the refugio you can enjoy local cuisines like goulash, strudel, polenta with sausage, etc.... This part of Italy is heavily populated with German-speaking italians so the food also reflect the German heritage. I don't think there is twilight skiing but by 4pm I was already tired anyways. I hope to go back again one day!!!

Great ski resort! Whether you are skiing, snowboarding, sliding or simply are an Apreski fan. The…read moreresort is accessible from 3 villages which are connected with cable cars: Obereggen (closest to Bolzano), Pampeago and Predazzo. The slopes in Obereggen tend to be less crowded and more suitable for beginners, whereas Pampeago is the place to be in case there has been little snow fall. Prices for an adult day pass range from 39 to 44 Euros, depending on the season. The best about this ski resort is its proximity to Bolzano. It only takes 40min by public bus (departing from the Bolzano bus terminal, 400m from the train station) to reach Obereggen.

Jesus Christ! Only idiot crazy suicidal adventure seeking death wanters would consider skiing here…read more I stuck to the bunny slope, while watching my fearless boyfriend head up the mountain and ski down at a demons pace. He absolutely loved it. I however am still pissed beyond belief and wonder who in the fucking HELL he is still alive? The town is beautiful, the scenery is spectacular and the food options (my thighs will attest) exceptional. I love Austria, and thank you for not killing my wonderful (but foolish) boyfriend.

Really enjoyed skiing here. the runs were super long. there were little booze huts and restaurants…read morein key areas on the mountain, which came in handy to take breaks and fully enjoy the day. absolutely gorgeous scenery, cute town, and great night life. different for skiing in the u.s., in that establishments stay open and people stay out passed 8 pm, and the slopes arent as fluffy and powdery as skiing in the west. quality of the snow is more synonymous with east coast. can be scary at times.