Birgit Pototschnig

“Skiing and spa – a little bit different“ in Ski amadé DAY 2

“Skiing and spa – a little bit different“ takes place in Sportgastein today and that means getting an early start, as we are meeting at 8am at the bottom lift station in Sportgastein. A day filled with pleasure for both the eyes and the stomach awaits us. 

Accompanied by employees from the Gasteiner lift company, we “conquered” the summit on foot. This peak is the highest viewing point in Ski amadé: the Kreuzkogel. Here, I recommend that you take your ski poles with you to support yourself, as the conditions are somewhat icy. After only a few hundred meters, we reached the summit cross and were in awe of the sunrise in this unique 360° panoramic view of numerous three thousanders.

So early in the morning, the icy wind was quite strong. Therefore, after taking a few photos and enjoying this moment for both the eyes and soul, we carried on to another Ski amadé highlight. The sunrise breakfast for true mountain climbers in the Space Shuttle, as we affectionately call it. In truth it is an architecturally interesting glass-steel construction, which once served as a lift station and of which there used to be four. Three of those are still standing in the ski resort of Sportgastein and are used as a kind of ski bar.

The summit breakfast, with local dishes and homemade cake is probably one of the most impressive experiences of our enjoyment journey through Ski amadé and is on offer every Wednesday for a minimum of six people. A personal “butler” welcomes you with a glass of fizzy wine, freshly cooks your eggs and takes care you for the duration.

Only this truly unique mountain view tops this culinary experience. As it is the highest lying ski resort in Ski amadé, Sportgastein is not only a real insider tip for carving freaks, freeriders and powder lovers when there is fresh snow! For this reason, we dragged ourselves away from the tasty mountain breakfast and enjoyed the wide slopes, the stunning panorama of the region and the wellness for the eyes, soul and our hearts for the next few hours!
 

Later that afternoon, we were starting to get hungry again, so we decided that after the next run we would take off our skis and to go into the Valeriehaus directly opposite the bottom station down in the valley.

This refuge was built in 1889 by the German-Austrian Alpine Club for mountaineers and hikers and was named in honour of the youngest daughter of the imperial couple Franz Josef and Elisabeth Valeriehaus. Today, it is a popular meeting point for cross-country skiers and alpine sportsmen in Nassfeld-Sportgastein. The reputation of having the nicest hosts, and a down to earth and very tasty cuisine, made us hurry there.

We decided to have the infamous and super fluffy blueberry Topfenschmarr’n (curd cheese chopped up pancakes) with vanilla ice cream, which is made with the recipe of Johanna Maier and we certainly did not regret our choice. After a short chat with the host Otto, we headed back into the valley.

 

This article was created with the kind support of viennissimalifestyle.com

Birgit Pototschnig

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