Cocaine replaces mulled wine at Austrian ski resorts

Austrian police have been swamped with the wrong kind of snow at ski resorts this winter, with lines of cocaine replacing mulled wine at chalet parties.

This Christmas has been whiter than usual. Police say that cocaine and Ecstasy consumption at the bars of après-ski establishments has risen steeply at premium winter resorts, with recorded drug offences rising 60 per cent in some areas popular with British tourists.

Police say that even ski instructors and bartenders are turning into part-time drug-dealers at the peak of the season.



“It has become normal to get not only drinks but also cocaine right there at the bars of the establishments,” Major Christian Voggenberger, of the Salzburg criminal police, said. According to him, the worst-affected hot-spots are Obertauern and other popular ski resorts around Salzburg.

Obertauern, one of Europe's top resorts, has a glitzy reputation dating back to 1965, when the Beatles travelled there to make their film Help!.

Today it is advertised as a family resort, but its slogan, “It's Snowtime”, could assume an entirely new meaning as snorting cocaine seems to be replacing alcohol to combat the cold. Similar trends are being seen in other regions.