Goodtims Snowcamp Tauplitzalm

The cradle of Goodtimes Snowcamp – How I got into skiing

I’ve been skiing since I could walk. Well, I learned a little later, but vacations in the snow were part of my childhood and youth. And when I started deciding for myself how I wanted to spend my winters, I always made sure to spend as much time as possible in the mountains. Skiing – and later snowboarding – on the slopes, off the slopes and in all its variations became my great passion. At some point, my dream of gaining my first experience in the “real” backcountry came true. A mountain guide simply took me with him one morning before the course started on the occasion of a study trip at the German Sport University Cologne, which I was able to accompany as a tutor. He strapped skins under my skis with the words: “that’s fine, you can ski”. I will never forget that tour.

Over the years, my priorities when it came to snow vacations changed slowly but steadily. The size of the ski resorts with all their lifts and gondolas were soon no longer so important to me – what counts for me today are the people I’m out and about with, the location of the mountain huts where I can stay overnight and the distance to the nearest lift. There has to be a sauna, good food…my expectations have definitely risen. Of course, the area has to be snow-sure, if possible there shouldn’t be an après-ski bar on every corner and I would like to have a variety of slopes and lots 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 surf camp in Portugal. Himself more of a surfer than a snow sports enthusiast and responsible for the design and creative equipment of our camps at the time, he had the idea of transferring our surf camp concept to a camp in the snow. For us, in business jargon, this meant: a unique location, first-class catering and a professional sports program, complemented by a competent yoga program and a massage option. Malte asked me back then what my perfect vacation and location would look like – he might be able to make our joint ideas a reality. What a unique opportunity for me as a passionate winter sports enthusiast!

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 Tauplitz – even though we looked at them in a snowstorm. But guaranteed snow is also important 😉

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 skiers are at the lift. For those who take part in our freeride and touring program, it’s even more relaxed: the mountain guides come to the hut and pick us up, they also bring all the equipment. It couldn’t be easier, you don’t have to worry about anything: that was also important to me. Depending on the snow conditions, you may have to get out early, but personally I’m happy to do that if I can expect dry powder or great firn. The beginners do a complete course during the week, in which, in addition to learning off-piste skiing techniques, they also practise how to use safety equipment, discuss alpine dangers and also consider the nature aspect of touring. So if you want to learn freeriding from scratch without any previous experience, then this course is perfect for you. But above all: it’s ride, ride, ride!

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

In fact, this constellation is a dream come true for me – I don’t have to worry about anything, I don’t have to read avalanche reports, I don’t have to do any tour planning (if I don’t want to, because if you want to, you can talk to the guys about everything). The only thing I have to do is have my equipment ready in time and remember my packed lunch so that I have something to eat on the summit. Stephan and his crew take care of the rest, and we’ve already had some really 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 comfortably, we have equipped the huts with lots of board games, 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 it in the sub-zero temperatures. Inside it’s warm and cozy, the huts are rustic, with ice crystals on the windows – you’re here in the middle of nowhere, with nice people, completely relaxed, it’s snowing…and tomorrow the next powder day awaits and everything starts all over again!

Yes, that’s how I imagined it.