Rauris

The praise is for snow and for the view: the valley sits in the Hohe Tauern, specialist rankings place Rauris among the most snow-sure spots in Salzburg province, and the upper slopes look out over the national park as far as the Grossglockner. The runs lie above the treeline on wide open fields. Snowmaking is modern, grooming is well regarded and the practice areas suit children.

Queues are the standard complaint: lift capacity is limited, ski school groups are let through first, and reviewers describe waits that stretch towards an hour. The upper T-bar has an unfamiliar mechanism, with a lever you push down to get on, and it leaves first-timers baffled. Apres-ski is essentially absent, with visitors complaining there is nowhere to sit down for a beer. Freeriders find little here.