Austria: Zillertal 2023/24

A snowHead

@Pejoli, plenty of restaurants in town that aren't too fancy nor would you like out of place by yourself. Mo's and Edelweiss spring to mind.

Trains, no need to book ahead. Either buy at the kiosk, or download the ÖBB app and buy them while you're in the airport.

You need bus F from directly outside the terminal to the Hauptbahnhof. There's machines outside the airport to pick up these tickets as well if you don't use the app, then you can get the train tickets at the station.

A snowHead

Other hotels we liked but without an indoor pool

Perauer.
Bruck
Berghoff
Waldheim
Ferienhof
Schneekar (up the mountain)

Good BnBs

Der Siegler (mikes sports bar)
Eder
Brugger
Monika
Windschnur
Glockenstuhl
Birkenhof (but a bit far out)

Self catering

Gasser
Romantica
Blumenhaus
Huber
Rabner

Other places that we wouldn't go back to.

Roscher
Cristal
Obermair
Mari Theresia

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Handy cut-out-and-keep guide there, @JimboS. I suspect the Neuhaus would be eye-wateringly expensive to book outside a package (we went with Crystal), particularly if they put their prices up after the new 25m pool, etc., which they might, so it's always handy to have other options to look at.

Which of those had saunas? I do like a sauna at the end of a hard skiing day, helps refresh the legs for another go in the morning.

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Pretty sure that the first four hotels in the list had good saunas/spas as well as the ones I mentioned in the post above.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

For hotel with saunas, Booking.com came up with Hotel Maria Theresa (at £452), and the rest at 700 and north for a four day stay - feeling flush as I’m not paying for the rest of my tribe for once, I also booked Neuhaus (and glad now I saw that comment about the M.T. - Neuhaus was the next cheapest surprisingly)

Thanks for all the advice - perhaps I’ll even get to bump into one or two of you while out there.

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@Pejoli, deeply envious, looks like you should be on for some decent new snow. Should freshen things up well.

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@swskier, I’m trying to use the OBB app (on the way to Gatwick) but which ‘Mayerhofen’ do I choose - I can’t see a way of being sure I’ve got the right one, and none are an obvious match

After all it is free

It's Mayrhofen, not Mayerhofen. It's in Tirol, if that helps.

@Pejoli, you want Mayrhofen im Zillertal

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Anyone wanting to know what it would be like to stay in one of these tiny mountain huts that you see dotted around the pistes can get the experience in Mayrhofen itself.

Family Brugger transported one of their huts from the mountain to their back garden, it's very quaint but also pretty tight, low doorways and ceilings etc but very fun if you have kids with you. Ours loved it.

CHALET RABNER

663 Rauchenwald
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AWeEDBRzhk7VYMRN6

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Sign of having had a good holiday, though, I would say.

You know it makes sense.

So navigated the airport in all of five mins, now trundling up the Zillertal valley in Austria's equivalent of the dlr (there’s a stop every three mins)

What is the situation with ski lockers - Brundl sport seemed to want €66 for a double locker for me (I’m renting from them) - are they the only game in town? I’d rather store at the bottom so I have an easier option of going elsewhere.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Pejoli, there are lockers at the Penkenban lift station, too, which I used when I was there two years ago. Not sure how much they cost. Where are you staying? The thing to remember is you probably won't want to be using Penkenbahn every day. We did 3 days at other places in the valley, going there by rail, and the railway station is a bit of a hike from Penkenbahn. I would be inclined to use the ones at the Penkenbahn on an ad hoc basis, when you know you're going to be using the gondola the next day.

A snowHead

The lockers in the gondola station were about €55 for a double last year so €66 for this year doesn't sound crazy given the ski resort typical inflation. You get the ticket for the gondola station lockers in the Brundle hire shop above.

A snowHead

Unless you have already booked and paid, the ski/storage is likely to be cheaper at Kaplenig /Rentforfun across the road. Have a look on Google maps, you can't miss it. Next door to the Happy End.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Kaplenig was €30 for a week, for a single locker, don't know how much as double is.

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@Pejoli, if you're planning on skiing other places than just Mayrhofen, I wouldn't both storing the skis in a locker. Presumably Neuhaus have lockers? And as the hotel is next to the train stop that's the best place for buses and trains to wherever you choose to ski.

Given the forecast, if I were you, i'd head to Hintertux tomorrow.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@swskier, that's what I did. Wasn't far to walk to the bus stop for Penkenbahn (just one stop), or to take the train. What I ended up doing was actually walking in normal shoes carrying my boots and skis, and then leaving the shoes in a locker at the top of the gondola which is free - 1 euro deposit. The trudge from the station at Kaltenbach to the gondola is less arduous in normal footwear.

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I seldom go to Katenbach (only twice in 25 years), but do visit Zell most trips? What am I missing out on?

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@JimboS, I can only really speak for the Kaltenbach side, but some beautifully wide pistes perfect for practising carving.
Across the whole area, lots of good easily accessibly off piste plus a transceiver park to practise in.

And of course, the chance of bumping in to @SaraJ!!

After all it is free

We normally do 4 days in/around the Hof, a day in Zell and a day at Hintertux. So weather dependent we will give Katenbach a try again next week.

Thanks - on the green line bus to hintertux!

@JimboS, Recommend you bring some eye masks for sleeping - my curtains in the hotel room are rubbish

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A nice blue-bird day up on the glacier. I think there’d been 15cm overnight, so the snow was in good shape, and there was fun to be had off the sides. Of course with all the fresh, it meant the pistes were bumped up quite quickly (certainly by the time I got up the top just after 10). Also, I wasn’t getting on with my hire skis for some reason (user problem), so swapped them when I got back for some deacon 84s that I’d enjoyed at Xmas.

Now the big question - where to go tomorrow? I’ve 2 1/2 days, the last will be Mayrhofen so I can make a sharp getaway after 2, and if the promised snow shows up I was thinking the same for Sunday. I’m not sure I can face another day at hintertux, nice as it was - so maybe zell am Ziller?

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Do the Hof tomorrow, first thing get a couple of runs in up to the Schneekar, then head up the 150 man and down to the Vogelnest, a few runs around Eggalm, then back up to Finkenberg before heading down the Harakiri and back up the Penken.

If you want some OP then search for my Mayrhofen OP guide.

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@JimboS, fantastic small area. Prefer the runs down into Hochfugen over the runs at Kaltenbach. Can be busy at the weekend. Better mid week.

Arrived with no big issues. Currently chucking down in town and snow line now visible from our accommodation and colder. Will be up early tomorrow to make the best of it!

You know it makes sense.

@Matrix, it's great when you can see the snow line coming down. Enjoy tomorrow!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I spent most of the day above the snow line. Day started blue bird, so up the Hof per the recommendation - but it was a late start compounded by dropping a glove en route to the bus, and having to backtrack to find it (I’m glad I spotted it missing when I did). Runs down to schneekar a bit shiny as expected with the recent weather, but more pleasant at the top there - did a couple of laps of 15 which was in good shape. At this point it had clouded over and light flattened, so headed down and up 150 Tux, where the snow had started, and all viz disappeared.

I preserved up there for quite a while, as the snow kept turning to hail, so was worried it would be rain at the bottom of the lift. Viz at time was down to a few metres, but then there would be pockets where it would improve to a 100 - but I did have one of those comedy stationary falls where I stared into the abyss a bit too long trying to spot a feature, and my brain decided a different way was up. I mainly lapped the 60/67/68, as they were in decent nick, and not too bumped up so you had a fighting chance when there was nothing to see.

Took the rope lift of shame and came back down in the gondola - where to my slight annoyance it was snowing quite nicely and viz not quite as awful - and grabbed a pizza. It was then about 3pm, so went back up with plan to head home, as my gloves were wet and icing up. Enjoyed the run down to the Penkenbahn so much, I then did it four times. There was maybe about 7cm of snow at this point, so also cruised down the blue 29 to the larchwald lift as a nice distraction. Got the pb back down at about 4.15, which given I was contemplating throwing in the towel at 1pm I was quite pleased at.

A snowHead

I was in Zell am Ziller this morning with my friend that lives in Rosenheim. Skied over to Konigsleiten, lapped the gondola Falschbachbahn a few times skiing black 42, popped in to Almbar for a quick drink before skiing back over to Zell and back down by 1 so my mate could get his €12 refund as the weather was coming in and skiing wouldn't have been great in the afternoon.

I then popped over to the Horbergbahn and spent the afternoon in the Unterbergalm, before skiing down at the end of the day. I reckon up to around 10cm at the top there. Nice little top up. snowHead

A snowHead

@swskier, let us know your wife's name and we will say hello tomorrow.

Just got to resort after hours of delay.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@JimboS, bit late, she's Fran. She'll be the only English person working in the Unterbergalm.

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If I'd have known I'd have popped in to say hello. Those slopes were one of my favourite areas in Mayrhofen last week.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Last time when I was in Mayrhofen I was speaking to Ian Kilgour, of Rent For Fun, and he said the best time to come there was late January, when the snow was often at its best and there were fewer people. What are others' experience of this? Certainly wouldn't have been the case this year (or indeed last, as far as I can tell), but maybe there is something to it? I'd love to go some time when there's a better chance of powder sticking around. Both times I've been there it's been in mid-March, and that's lovely for a number of reasons, but any new snow which does fall tends to degenerate very quickly in the higher temperatures. There are all kinds of areas to the sides of pistes which I'd love to explore.

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I almost only come here at the end of March and 9 time out of 10 get a few good powder days. We were also here last Jan and got great powder then, of course,it's always a lottery, especially with the warm winters we get these days.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Ok we did see Fran at about 10 but didn't explain who we were as we weren't sure. Also felt a bit daft saying are you married to swskier. Embarassed

if it wasn't the right person.

Just after then, things took a turn for the worse. Kim was coming down the steep slope just above the Schneekar Hut and caught at edge as she was slowly making her way down. As she went down, her left arm was caught in the snow, and fractured at the shoulder, the left leg then extended and she did some ligament damage to he left knee. Evacuated off the hill to a clinic in Ramsau, £800 later she was discharged and told to get another scan when she gets home.

We are now booked on the Tuesday flight from Munich to Edinburgh, £500 and another £400 for the taxi.

Bummer!

After all it is free

Really sorry to hear that @JimboS - I hope insurance covers most of that expense (ours did when my wife did her acl last year in VT, so worth asking) but of course no way makes up for the injury and holiday being ruined.

@JimboS, oh, that's bad news! Hope she gets good treatment when she gets back and recovers quickly.

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Thanks guys.

Help!!

Austria: Zillertal 2023/24

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