New Year's Eve back home is perhaps the biggest night of the year. In St Anton it is no different. Most of the bars in town charge admission prices to get in. This can range from €90 for the Ibiza imitation style Picadillys (to keep away seasonairres) to €20 for quite a few bars including the English run Scottys and Cuba. As a result of this, we all decided to spend the night wandering the streets of the St Anton (with a few beers in our pockets). This was absolutely fantastic fun. The streets were packed with friendly people, especially when the clock struck midnight, as many of the bars force people outside to watch the numerous firework displays that go on all over the town.

These firework displays, whilst being really fun, can also be really dangerous. The Austrians seemingly have a penchant for setting off fireworks absolutely anywhere with no regard for their own or other people's safety. Setting off fireworks in the middle of a crowded street is par for the course, and I even saw one person lighting a firework out of a glass bottle on the main street. So whilst these celebrations are really good fun, they can also be risky and it is important to bear in mind your safety at all times. One person that I was out with came home the following day with a firework related injury to prove this.

The next day, turning up to go skiing in the morning was a slightly surreal experience. The area surrounding the main Nasserein lift, which is usually a hub of activity from 9am onwards, was absolutely deserted. Everybody it seemed, including myself, was feeling the effects of the night before. This means that new years morning is a fantastic time to go skiing. It is one of the very few opportunities you will get to ski almost untouched and recently pisted slopes. It also meant that the runs stayed fairly nice and free from moguls and icy patches even into the late afternoon.

The night before new years also brought with it the first ski show of the season in St Anton. This happens every Wednesday night in town, throughout the season, on a flood lit slope in the middle town and it is a great spectacle. The new years ski-show is made into an even bigger event as many additional bits such as fireworks are added in to make it that extra bit special.

All in all, despite the element of danger, New Year's in St Anton is a fantastic experience. Everything including the fireworks going off all around, numerous friendly strangers wishing you a happy new year on the street to being giving a glass of champagne at a ski school restaurant on the slopes on new years day made it a fantastic start to the new decade.