The end of the Winter show - March 1st to March 24th
Getting there -
Just the two ski holidays for us in Winter of 2025/2026. For our March trip we trod the familiar path from home to Gatwick on then hopped on BA to Salzburg. On arrival in SZG we thought we had enough time to get through immigration and get the bus to the Train Station. Wrong! We made a big mistake. On arrival we were ushered to towards one of the new scanning machines just inside the door where we queued to have our finger prints and photos taken. This took us ages but, suitably photographed and finger printed, we then had to line up again for the immigration police. This queue was even slower! It seems that going to the entry machine was optional and many of our fellow passengers by-passed them and were being laboriously scanned at the Arrivals desk. This was extremely tedious. Kids also need to be given the face and finger treatment and a wretched child in front of us kept sticking out his tongue at the nasty selfie machine just as it was taking his photo. Very amusing - Not! Grumpy old man muttered and fumed and then moved to the back of the adjacent line. We escaped but had to get a Taxi to the Station to avoid missing our train. This whole EU Schengen business is Bureaucracy gone mad. We are scanned when we arrive and scanned again when we leave, what's the point of the Passport?
With the help of our speedy Taxi driver we caught our train and were soon heading for Bad Hofgastein and then the 558 Bus to our little place. We arrived a week earlier than normal to overlap with some friends and as we sped through Town we could see that things were busier then we are used to. The first week in March is pretty much still High Season.
Ski Report
Where skiers meet - the junction of H1 and H2
Going Up
I picked up my ski's and boots, safely stored as usual at Sport Fleiss. It's a bit of a luxury but with an arthritic knee cap it best to avoid carrying too much to and from the Apartment. Keeping my equipment there means I can take the exceedingly pleasant 10 minute 'warm up' walk across the fields to the lift station unencumbered and avoid the busy 552 bus.
Happily, the Piste conditions were excellent. I am pretty selective on when I ski these days. The snow and the visibility both have to be good. Fortunately both were within specification for a good number of days on this visit. I had some excellent runs in the morning in both Bad Hofgastein and Dorfgastein. My mantra these days is to start early, finish early and stay high. I only skied down to the Valley once, the snow was too heavy under the death arches. Of course, I usually found time for a coffee and perhaps a strudel at the Haitzingalm.
My ski fun ended at the Middle Station, often with a lunch at the Baerstein Alm, our favourite, where I would meet up with TW who can access on foot.
Hirsch und Maus, we call it Cat and Mouse, is a recent addition to the Schlossalm. We used to go pretty regularly to the previous Kleine Scharte Restaurant at the top of the old cable car. The Cat and Mouse is very functional, nice terraces with splendid views. It will be useful for us in both Summer and winter and I know we will get used to it. The menu is not traditional but it is already a very popular venue. On one Saturday, when no-one could sit outside, it was absolutely bursting with humanity, it seemed a bit like an Airport Terminal with lots of delayed flights. We beat a hasty retreat!
Birthday Treat
It was an out of valley experience for TW's Birthday. A scenic drive to Dienten! It takes about 30 minutes in total by car from Bad Hofgastein. We picked up one of the shared e-cars for the day. The car share has worked well for us so far. We book it on-line on an App on the phone. We walk across the park to the Therme, where the vehicle lives, unlock it with the App and head off. Remembering, of course, to remove the charging cable first. When we return we lock it and set it charging. We get a bill on the day for the car usage and a monthly bill for any power charging. For our trip Dienten the charge cost was 16.27 Euros and the usage 48.10 Euros for about seven hours.
Dienten is a lovely little community, and just before you reach the village, its church stands proudly on a hill. A little earlier on the road there’s a winding path that leads up to the Grunegg Alm. We usually park by the roadside and walk from there — it takes around 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how often we stop and how slowly we wander. The path doubles as a toboggan run, so I imagine it gets a bit lively in peak season, but today it was sunny, quiet, and not too slippery. The first half is on tarmac before it turns more natural. There’s also a cable car that goes up, though we haven’t tried it yet.
The Grunegg Alm itself is a wonderful spot — traditional food, warm atmosphere, and a superb setting. A perfect reward at the top.
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