![Ski_season_begins_in_Zau[:ber:]g_this_weekend](/picture/kweu7c2k.jpg/Ski_season_begins_in_Zau[:ber:]g_this_weekend "Ski_season_begins_in_Zau[:ber:]g_this_weekend")
![Ski season begins in Zau[:ber:]g this weekend](http://www.austriantimes.at/thumbnails/j/jn460i0l_tiny.jpg)
© Franz Zwickl
16. 12. 11. - 11:36
Ski season begins in Zau[:ber:]g this weekend
By Rebecca Musgrave
The ski resort Zau[:ber:]g in Semmering, Austria, will welcome visitors to the 2011/12 winter season on Friday 16 December. The snowy paradise which is located less than an hour from Vienna will open its slopes to all winter sports enthusiasts this weekend with numerous activities planned in the run up to Christmas.
Both the FIS-World Cup slope Panorama and the family ski run will be open over the weekend with night skiing on offer on Saturday. The endless snow fun continues with the opening of the three kilometre long Zau[:ber:]g adventure toboggan run in the coming days.
The resort will also be catering to the needs of the less experienced skiers this weekend. The Panhans-Wiese slope will open on Saturday giving all beginners a chance to don their skis and give the sport a go even if it is for the first time.
The resort continues to work on the remaining slopes and intends to open them to guests as soon as there is sufficient snow. Whilst the resort may be smaller than others, visitors can look forward to 14 kilometres of ski slopes during the day and a further 13 kilometres of night slopes when the season is in full swing.
If it is the children that need entertaining this weekend then "Skikids" will also be offering free introductory ski and snowboard courses on Saturday and Sunday. The offer courtesy of the Lower Austria Ski Association is available to all children between five and ten years old who are at a primary school in Lower Austria.
All snowboarding enthusiasts planning on buying a new board must be sure to get to Zau[:ber:]g on Sunday. On World Snowboard Day, snowboarding company "Hangloose" will give visitors the opportunity to test various boards from several companies. The boards can be taken for a spin for the entire day, completely free of charge.
From Friday 16 December until Sunday 18 December the price of all lift passes will be reduced by 20 per cent at the resort.
For more information visit: http://www.zauberberg.at/en/zauberberg/