How to try luxury ski touring in Austria

Forget hut-to-hut – touring doesn’t have to be rustic, says Colin Nicholson

Ski touring between spa hotels? Yes please (Carinthia Tourist Board)

Ski touring sounds like it should involve leisurely drives from one grand resort hotel to the next. In reality, it involves forgoing the luxury of lifts to hike up slopes in your skis in an off-piste wilderness. And all the great ski tours, from the Haute Route to the Gran Paradiso, involve ending a day of sweating your way uphill by staying in remote, rugged mountain refuges.

Until now. The Nockberge Trail, in the southern Austrian region of Carinthia, eschews huts in favour of spa hotels – and your luggage is even transported for you.

I was so sold on the whole idea of touring meets luxury that I stopped reading, skipping over the bit about fitness, ski expertise, etc. After all, with a spa, four-course dinner and comfortable bedroom at the end of each day, what could there be to worry about?