When given the chance to visit another resort and a different ski area for a week, I immediately jumped at the chance. In recent weeks slight cabin fever has started to set in, having been in St Anton for over two months and the opportunity to experience a new town and ski some different runs seemed like the perfect cure.

The town of Kaprun is about a three hour car journey from St Anton. It is situated at 800m in the middle of the Europa Sport region ski area. The town’s lift pass gives you access to the ski areas in the town itself as well as to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and the slopes in Zell.

The Maiskogel ski area runs right into the centre of the town itself and is a fantastic place for those learning to ski. However with just two chairlifts and a very limited selection of easy blue and red runs as well as a single fairly relaxed black run, this provides little more than a mornings skiing for more experienced skiers.

It is in the areas around the town were the attraction to skiing in Kaprun and the surrounding region really lies. The town of Zell am See and the ski area above it is about a twenty minute bus ride away and provides a huge variety of blue and red runs. As well as this the area also has several challenging and fairly long tree-lined black runs for those looking for more of a challenge. In addition to this, right at the top of the ski area, is the stunning 200 peaks view, a 360 degree view over the mountains in the surrounding area which is definitely worth taking in.

A 20 minute bus ride in the opposite direction is the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier. With a peak above 3000m it provides some of the highest skiing in the Alps as well as year round snow and some fantastic powder opportunities. The glacier has a wide range of on piste runs as well as five designated free ride runs, which provide some challenging marked off piste. These are accessed by the high-speed 24-person Gletscherjet gondola, which whisks you up to a ski bowl from where it is easy to get to the rest of the ski region. The area round the glacier and especially the off piste bits also enjoying some fantastic powder days as between the months of November and April the average snow fall in the area is an astounding 11 metres.

Both the glacier and Zell also have their own snow parks and half pipes for those looking for a bit of a change. In addition the ski area surrounding Kaprun is also surprisingly well known for its cross-country skiing with over 200km network of marked trails in the Europa sport ski area.

Kaprun and the Europa Sport region is a fantastic ski area with many opportunities for both beginners and more advanced ski areas. The week that I spent in the area proved to be the perfect cure for the cabin fever that had started to set in, and although at the end of the week I was pleased to return to St Anton, Kaprun is definitely a ski area that I would visit again.