Fageralm - Forstau

What wins people over is the grooming and the calm: every run is pisted daily, the slopes are wide and forgiving, and the trees along them save the day in flat light and wind when open mountains are unskiable. It suits families and learners, with large gentle nursery fields and a well-regarded school staffed by multilingual instructors. The rustic huts with home cooking and the modest prices also get warm mentions.

The thin choice of terrain draws criticism: there are only blue and red pistes, no blacks at all, and a confident skier runs out of ideas in half a day. Snow cover is unreliable because the altitude is low, and snow-sureness scores poorly. Apres-ski is essentially absent, there is nothing to do in the evening, upmarket hotels are few and non-ski activities almost nil. Trade reviewers give it a middling mark precisely for its size and lift fleet.