The sizeable resort of Kaprun is around 8km away from Zell am See and, like the Skicircus, covered by the lift pass. It has its own small ski area, Maiskogel, linked directly to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier ski area, and experts and intermediates alike will enjoy the good snow on the glacier, where there are also black runs (the steepest is Black Mamba), ski routes and off-piste. Plus there’s some steep stuff (on and off-piste) over in the Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-Fieberbrunn area.

The terrain park at the top of the Hochmaisbahn chairlift on Schmittenhöhe has beginner and advanced lines and there’s a 1.3km fun slope (the longest in the world) with tunnels, banked turns and lots more. Keen freestylers should head for near the top of Kitzsteinhorn, where Glacier Park at 2,900m has expert as well as easier lines and a 160m-long superpipe.

Snow quality can suffer on the front face of Schmittenhöhe because of its sunny aspect and relatively low altitude (755m to 2,000m). But grooming is good and the back side is shadier. And there’s normally guaranteed good snow on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, where pistes start at 3,000m.

There’s a good choice of ski schools and English is widely spoken. The biggest is Ski School Zell am See, founded in 1945 and with over 120 instructors, one of the biggest schools in Austria.