Skiing In Europe -- Austria Still Friendly And Relatively Cheap

France may have larger ski areas, Italy better food and Switzerland more dramatic scenery but Austria remains a favorite of many skiers.

They are drawn by the charm and friendliness of Austria's alpine villages.

It was after World War II that Austrian villages learned how to cash in on the white gold that blanketed their mountain pastures each winter.

Many of these alpine farming communities were ideally situated up the sides of the mountain valleys at around 3,300 feet, the height at which Austrian farmers were exempted from taxes and their sons excused from compulsory military service.

With the tree line throughout the Alps running at about 6,600 feet, there is plenty of open skiing but it is reassuring if the winds start to howl and visibility drops on the high open slopes, that your village is lower in the valley.

You can still ski the hard-packed runs through the snow-laden fir forests. And there will often be snug little schnapps huts nestling among the trees.

The attraction of Austrian skiing is not just the picture-postcard charm of its villages. Ever since Hannes Schneider established his ski school at St Anton in 1921, Austria has led the world in its standards of teaching.

Ski techniques have changed over the years as equipment and runs have been improved but you can still recognize a skier who has been schooled in the Austrian manner.

There is a certain laid-back style to his or her skiing coupled

with determination to keep the skis parallel and close together; this despite the emphasis on a wider stance in other countries.

The warmth and friendliness of an Austrian ski village comes as a startling surprise to anybody whose previous experience has been in the frigid purpose-built resorts that have sprung up throughout the Alps. The Austrian secret is that the locals everywhere believe in making their guests welcome.

It is little wonder that many go back year after year to the village where they first began skiing, often long after they have outgrown the challenges that the slopes offer.

One big attraction of Austrian village skiing can be its cost compared to say, Switzerland.

It was a fellow American in Paris during the 1920s who advised the young writer Ernest Hemingway that he would find skiing in Austria's Montafon valley just as good, but much cheaper than that in Davos, a Swiss resort just on the other side of the High Silvrettas peaks.

Hemingway took the advice and with his wife and young son traveled by rail to Schruns for a couple of winters.

It was there in that Montafon village that Hemingway finished the final draft of his first best-seller, "The Sun Also Rises."

And from there he used to boast in letters to friends how cheap it was to stay and ski.

The cost of living and skiing in Austria is not such a relative bargain today, but small Austrian villages are still cheap compared to larger Swiss resorts.

Over the years, I've taken ski holidays in many of the great resorts in France, Switzerland and Italy I invariably think first of Austria when asked where it is good to ski in Europe.

There are hundreds of villages with ski lifts in Austria and more than 400 ski schools.

Here is my very personal choice of the 10 friendliest Austrian ski villages, in strictly alphabetical order. These are all small places, but they are recognized village ski resorts.

Alpbach: Perhaps the prettiest of all the Tirolean villages. Fine nursery slopes for beginners who soon graduate to the local "mountain" a short bus ride away. The runs there are best described as benign.

Great apres skiing, which starts with tea in the Jakoberwirt before the keller-bars and discos.

Brand: A lively though rather straggling Vorarlberg village. Nursery slopes are quite central and instructors soon start taking their classes up to the pleasant, not at all frightening, more difficult runs on the valley side.

Tea dancing in the Scesaplana Hotel, named after the mountain which dominates all.

Filzmoos: An old Salzburgerland farm community in the Dachstein Mountains, which has quietly developed into a popular, very sunny ski village.

There are three little ski areas linked by a free bus service. None is at all forbidding and beginners soon gain confidence. Modest but very cheerful apres ski life.

Galtur: Old ski touring center still in touch with its past. Modern developments include a worthwhile sports center and choice of two ski areas, both reached by bus, its own at Wirl and the much larger Silvretta area above Ischgl. Can still be cut off by avalanches. At its best on long sunny spring days.

Gaschurn: The old village clusters around a high-spired church, the newer part stretches out along the Montafon valley road. Much more skiing than you might expect. Snow lasts well on its north-facing slopes.

Skiers of all standards can enjoy this area. Deceptively quiet bars. Watch out for pepper schnapps.

Mayrhofen: Made its name with one of the first ski schools especially for youngsters. Two cable cars reach up the cliffs on either side to straight-forward ski slopes on the Penken and Ahorn. Latter is best for beginners. New gondola has eased the lines. Lively nightlife.

Niederau: Make sure you take plenty of duty-free for the parties which are a feature of life here. While not extensive, the skiing can be as testing as you care to make it. Short runs, however.

It's the sort of place where if you leave your lift pass in one of several apres-ski stopovers it will be waiting for you next morning.

Solden: Another well-tried favorite. Better for early intermediates rather than complete beginners. Lots of action after the lifts close. And there's a toboggan run for those not afraid of the dark. Stretches out along the road up to Obergurgl. What it lacks in beauty, it makes up for with zest.

Soll: This comparative newcomer to the ski scene is very popular with younger skiers who pack the night spots. Has the advantage that besides the skiing on the Hohe Salve it is also plugged in to the extensive Grossraum circuit, inaccurately referred to as the Wild Kaiser orbit.

Long walk to lifts past excellent indoors-outdoors swimming pool.

Westendorf: Pleasant little Tirolean village clustered around its onion-dome church. Has the widest, flattest nursery slopes in the Alps and is a great place for uncertain starter skiers. A two-stage gondola opens up the rest of the runs for essentially leisurely skiing.

Good value for those who want a quiet ski life.

For information on skiing in Austria, contact a travel agent and the Austrian National Tourist Office in Los Angeles, phone 1-310-477-3332.