Winter wonders

Good evening.
“As the sun creeps over the shoulder of the mountains, the valley shimmers under a fresh blanket of snow. Wisps of cloud lift from dark veins of spruce forest to reveal a day like cut crystal.” There’s a particular kind of magic to an Alpine landscape in winter – a magic that Kerry Walker captures perfectly in her evocative piece on the Austrian resort of Bad Gastein.
We asked six writers to pick their favourite mountain boltholes for a snowy getaway and Kerry chose this historic spa town for its combination of dramatic natural beauty and the opportunity to soak away any winter chills in the mineral-laced thermal waters, which have been attracting visitors ever since their healing properties were discovered in the 19th century. Best of all, for those of us who are not winter sports enthusiasts, you don’t need to strap on a pair of skis to appreciate the theatrical mountain vistas. You can enjoy it all from the picture windows of your room at the Haus Hirt, “a cool revamp of an Alpine lodge” perched high above the treetops.
Other picks from our writers include a cosy wooden guesthouse in the Swiss Alps which can only be reached via snowshoe in the depths of winter, a self-catering cottage overlooking a fjord on Norway’s wild Vesterålen archipelago, which is perfect for aurora spotting, and a tiny stone-built refuge in France’s Savoie region, where days spent ski touring, dog sledding and tobogganing are followed by communal singsongs with the owner and starlit soaks in the hot tub. Though just a short hop from some of Europe’s most sought-after pistes, these places offer something you won’t necessarily find in the glitzier ski resorts – a chance to slow down and immerse yourself fully in the pristine beauty of the mountains in winter.