Gamsleiten Kriterium 2025
Austrias largest treasure hunt
In April 2025 Obertauern is staging the probably funniest and largest treasure hunt in Austria for the seventeenth time. This unique event is one of the biggest winter highlights every year at the resort.
Where else can you live a gold-digger's dream as you scrape through the snow in the midst of the Alps, to the sound of music, with a magnificent view – and win a luxurious BMW.
A total of over 30 chests are hidden – all of them containing prizes, and all of them exciting reasons to participate in the quest. The car from BMW is the first prize, obviously. But there are over 30 other treats for ambitious diggers, including non-cash prizes and travel vouchers.
TIMES AND DATES
Friday: 12pm - 12am
- Registration & drawing of starting numbers at the tourist office
Saturday: Treasure hunt
- 10:30 am Meeting point at the valley station of the Gamsleiten 1 ski lift
- 11:00 am START of the treasure hunt – participants may enter the area in accordance with their starting number (the lower the starting number, the earlier you start)
- 1:30 pm END of the treasure hunt
- 4:00 pm Opening of the treasure chests at the Gamsleiten parking area
Austria's biggest treasure hunt in the snow – this is how you find the key to your brand-new BMW.
Equipped with shovels, which the participants receive at the start, the roughly 1,200 treasure hunters reach the football pitch-sized area. This is where you first need a bit of luck, as the race starts strictly in the order of the starting numbers drawn the day before. The "gold diggers" have 2 ½ hours to dig around the area, searching for more than 30 valuable treasure chests. When you find a treasure chest, the security staff will accompany you to the notary outside the search area. The notary ensures that the chests are kept safe until they are opened at the subsequent award ceremony and that each chest is assigned to its discoverer. A prize with a minimum value of €500 is hidden in each chest. After all the chests have been opened and the brand-new BMW has been handed over to its new owner, the day will be brought to a close with an appropriate after-show party, including a concert.