In the heart of the three valleys, and just off Autobahnen 66, the Austrian farming community of Flachau is full of traditional rustic chalets. But Flachau is also a large ski resort, and is part of the Sportwelt Amade, Austria's 'three valleys' ski area with over 300 kms of skiable pistes.
Linked directly to Wagrain, Kleinarl and Flachauwinkl, Flachau ski resort is part of one of Austria's largest lift-linked ski regions. It is an intermediate skier or snowboarders paradise; its own ski area has 60 kms of ski runs, all of them graded blue or red, and the linked area of Salzburger Sportwelt Amade has over 300km (200 miles) of pistes, most of which are intermediate runs with the remainder for experts.
If this isn't enough skiing, Flachau ski resort is also a part of the Skiverbund Amade, which offers more than twice as much skiing again - in total there are nearly 1000km (700 miles) of trails on the pass, served by more than 250 lifts.
The skiing near Flachau ski resort are so good, that it is a regular destination for the worlds best skiers, when it hosts world cup ski races (on the famous world cup trail, the Grießenkar) and was the venue of world cup ski finale in 2002. For the 2004 / 05 season it will host world cup skiing on the 21 and 22 December 2004.
Flachau ski resort is at a fairly low altitude, but it has modern snow making facilities covering 70% of its pistes.
Resort ratings summary (out of 10):
Overall: 8
Skiing: 8
Snow: 8
Apres Ski: 7
Suitable for: beginner / intermediate / expert / non skier
Resort Summary:
Population:2600
Currency: Euro
Language: German
Resort Altitude: 925m (3035ft)
Winter Season: December to March
Number of beds:
Nearest Airport: Salzburg 70km (43 miles), Munich 250 km (152 miles)
Nearest Town: Altenmarkt
Nearest rail station: Radstadt, 11 km (7 miles)
Getting there by road: easy
Snow:
Snow reliability: Fair to good (plus snowmaking 70%)
Current snow conditions: snow conditions from the BBC
About the ski runs:
Total piste length: 350km
Vertical Drop: 1055m (3461ft)
Number of ski runs: 55
Beginner %: 30
Intermediate %: 60
Advanced %: 10
Snowboard parks: 1
About the ski lifts:
Highest Lift: 1980m (6496ft)
Lowest Lift: 925m (3035ft)
Number of Lifts: 100
Lift Capacity: 60000 per hour
Lifts open: 08:30 - 16:00 (there is a a floodlight slope too)
The cost of ski passes (2004 / 05):
Adult 1 day: 29 Euros
Adult 6 days: 145 Euros
Child 1 day: 16 Euros
Child 6 days: 80 Euros
Restaurants, Apres ski and non skiers:
This is a busy resort, plenty of apres-ski in quaint little Austrian huts, also two discos and sufficient going on to please the non-skiier.
Resort contact details:Tourismusverband Flachau, Dorfstrasse 172, Flachau, Austria, A-5542
Telephone: +43 (0)6457 22210
Fax: +43 (0)6475 2726 27
E-Mail: bergbahnen@flachau.at
website: www.flachau.at
