Goodtims Snowcamp Tauplitzalm
The cradle of Goodtimes Snowcamp – How I got into skiing
I’ve been skiing for as long as I can remember. Okay, I actually learned a bit later than that, but winter holidays shaped my childhood and early youth. And once I started deciding for myself how I wanted to spend my winters, I always made sure to spend as much time in the mountains as possible. Skiing and later snowboarding too, on the slopes, off the slopes, and in all its variations, became my great passion. At some point, my dream came true: I got to gather my first experiences in the ‘real’ backcountry. A mountain guide had taken me along one morning before the course started, during a study trip of the German Sport University Cologne, which I was accompanying as a tutor. He strapped skins under my skis with the words: ‘It’ll be fine, you know how to ski.’ I will never forget that tour.
Over the years, my priorities regarding snow holidays changed slowly but steadily. The size of the ski areas with all their lifts and gondolas soon became less important to me. What counts for me today are above all the people I’m travelling with, the location of the mountain huts for overnight stays, and the distance to the nearest lift. There has to be a sauna, good food… my standards have definitely risen. Of course, the snow reliability of the area has to be right, if possible there shouldn’t be an après-ski bar on every corner, and I want varied slopes and plenty of freeride options.
The creation of the Goodtimes Snowcamp
So much for my backstory, but now to the camp. The suggestion to develop an offer in the snow originally came from Malte, the co-founder and technical designer of our
The search for the perfect hut in the snow
We thought and spun together for weeks – would our ideas and fantasies be feasible? We enquired about over 200 houses and cabins and rejected almost all of them. In the end, there were only 3 options left that were even worth considering: so we went and had a look. We were immediately impressed by the two huts on the
A DAY AT SNOWCAMP ON THE TAUPLITZALM
So, what can you actually expect from our snow camp? What does this perfect day that we have wished for ourselves and which we have realized here on the Tauplitz look like?
Wake up in the middle of the ski area
You get up in the morning and hear nothing at all – well, in some rooms you can briefly hear the skidoo that brings the bread rolls in the morning, because there is no other way to reach the camp. Otherwise it’s quiet. You get up and walk to the kitchen, crunching the snow that has frozen overnight under your shoes on the way there. Everything is white. A hot cup of coffee or tea is waiting for you in the kitchen – if you feel like it (and it’s not snowing too hard), you sit down in front of the hut and enjoy the view of the snow-covered trees, the glistening, untouched blanket of snow, with the Dachstein towering behind you.
If you get cold, you can come inside for breakfast: there are fresh bread rolls, homemade spreads, cheese, cold cuts, a muesli bar… depending on what you prefer. Maybe you’ll strike up a conversation with like-minded people and make an appointment for the slopes or powder – or maybe not, not everyone likes to talk in the morning.
The start of a day on the slopes – just five minutes to the ski lift
We set off after breakfast. The first lift is easy to do every morning. Sure, you might have to get out of bed a little earlier, but there’s no rush. You don’t need 5 minutes and you’re already there, no car, no ski bus, no gondola – we live in the middle of the area, snowed in at 1500m, and yet quiet and secluded. That was my personal condition right from the start: the camp has to be on the mountain, in the middle of nature, it has to be dead quiet here after the lifts close and especially in the evenings and early mornings. And you have to be able to ski to the lift in the morning. Ok, in reality you have to walk about 100m, then put on your skis – that’s the compromise. But you can ski down to the hut when you come back in the afternoon. And enjoy coffee and cake in the sun in your ski boots, more on that later.
Ski touring on the Tauplitz – the mountain guides come to the snow camp
Back to the topic – the piste groomers are at the lift. For those taking part in our freeride and touring program, it’s even more relaxed: the mountain guides come right to the hut to pick us up, and they also bring all the equipment. It couldn’t be easier – you don’t have to worry about a thing: that was important to me too. Depending on the snow conditions, you might have to get up early for it, but I personally don’t mind that if I can expect dry powder or great corn snow in return. The beginners take part in a full course over the week, which not only covers learning off-piste riding techniques but also specifically practices handling safety equipment, discusses alpine hazards, and takes the natural aspect of touring into account. So if you want to learn freeriding from the ground up without any prior experience, then this course is perfect for you. But above all: it’s all about riding, riding, riding!
Ski tours with local know-how – maximum time on skis or snowboard
This also applies to the advanced group: the absolute priority is time on skis or snowboard. Originally, we briefly considered whether we would like to familiarize ourselves with the region and set up such an offer ourselves – together with Matthis, the third Goodtimes founder, this would have been possible. But we very quickly rejected this idea, because the motto should be: what does the perfect vacation look like for us? And it looks like a local showing you the best slopes in the right conditions. You can never do that yourself. So we set out on a search and found two absolute pros (and friendly people) in Stephan and Holi, who know the Tauplitz and all the surrounding areas inside out. And if there are more than a handful of people on the tour, a third guide joins us so that we can be out and about in small groups.
The Goodtimes Snowcamp – Jan’s Happy Place
Honestly, this setup is a dream come true for me – I don’t have to worry about anything, don’t need to read avalanche reports, don’t need to plan tours (unless I want to, because if you feel like it, you can chat with the guys about everything). The only thing I have to do is have my gear ready in time and remember my lunch pack, so I have something to eat on the summit. Stephan and his crew take care of the rest, and we’ve already had some truly fantastic days with them.
After a day on the slopes – relaxation and good food at the snow camp
In the afternoon, we head back to the hut and our chefs start whirling. When we get back to the hut, we have something to eat, a snack, cake, quiche, something like that – because it’s almost impossible to keep going until dinner “without”. Coffee and cake in the sun in front of the hut, maybe a beer or a shandy afterwards. The sauna is already on, if I’m still motivated I might go to yoga – ok, then I’ll have a beer later. Anyway, I love ending the day here, chatting a bit and then maybe going to bed for a very short time.
Dinner is rich, creative and varied. Of course, there have to be a few Austrian classics, but it also has to be healthy, fresh and full of energy – the demands on the kitchen are high. Because even if the best yeast dumplings may be found at another hut (we’ll tell you when you’re here 😉), our claim is that you will not forget the food at Goodtimes.
After dinner, we sit together cozily – we’ve equipped the huts with plenty of board games, so you can play chess or Doppelkopf, watch a movie on the projector, or lie outside under the starry sky and look for shooting stars for as long as you can stand the sub-zero temperatures. Inside, it’s warm and snug, the huts are rustic, with ice crystals on the windows – you’re right in the middle of nowhere, with nice people, totally relaxed, it’s snowing… and tomorrow, the next powder day awaits, and it all starts over again!
Yes, that’s how I imagined it.
