I had my first skiing holiday last year (took the wife and a pair of four year olds - never again). We went to Saalbach, and, after some VERY unsatisfactory ski lessons, I finally ended up at the top of the mountain were I began to ski. I did about a day and a half of nursery/easy blues (only 2 falls), and I can ski parallel and stop with a sideways flourish (ploughing is for tea drinking chimps). Still not hugely confident about going down steep slopes as I'm not to sure about the brakes.
Anyway, I'm off to Mayrhofen on 3rd Jan with 3 other skiers (1 black, 1 red, and 1 blue). Is there stuff I should avoid? Should I go up Penken/Ahorn, or would I be better down the Zillertal?
I want to come away from this trip a confident skier who's not afraid of a few hairy reds.
Ta
Michael
(BTW Playing with the train set with my son has left me with a ongoing sore knee)
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
avoid harakiri. actually let the black run skier do that while you watch going up the lift.
ahorn is good for beginners.
definitely recommend Zell am Ziller or Kaltenbach, both a bit further down the valley. both have good easy terrain. Oh and Gerlos has an ace wide open blue but that's a little bit of a trek from Zell am Ziller.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Gerlos sounds cool, I want to spend a day and a half getting my sea legs right before I go mad.
marodo2712, the Ahorn suggestion is a good one - some very benign blues that you can go up and down, repeatedly, to hone the technique and get the old ski legs back. There is a red from there, back to the town....it does have some challenging elements, but is a fabulous run (fairly long, too).
There are plenty of runs around the top of the Penken lift that are great and you should be fine.
The suggestion to go to Zell am Ziller is sound. Blue 16 from the top of Karspitz is a superb run with a really nice bar restaurant at the end....the drag lift back up is a bit punishing and long, but worth it IMHO.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I would definitely have a look down the valley. The other thing I would recommend is the trip over to Eggalm. If you look at the piste map, you will see the 150 Tux which links up to the Rastkogel ski area and you can work your way across to the ski route (bottom of lammerbichl chair) that takes you to Eggalm. There are a nice mix of runs and it is often a bit quieter as people don’t always know how to get there.
Ahorn is lovely, I'd go over there on your first day to get your ski legs.
As said, do NOT do Harakiri, even if egged on by friends. It's extremely steep and you will slide a very long way and potentially badly injure yourself if you fall. Don't do the black opposite either (17), the bottom pitch is also very steep. These two could really damage your confidence.
The red home run gets very mogully, but take it slowly and you'll be OK.
I skied Zell Am Ziller in heavy snow so I don't really know what it looked like, apart from the cool insect sculptures. There was a nice wide open section of blues though.
Have fun, I really liked the 'hof.
(ps ploughing's not for 'tea drinking chimps', sometimes it's a very useful technique!)
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
i`d get the bus to the horberg gondala . there is a nice easy blue 8 there to ease back into it. there are a couple of great red from the top of the horberg . get the schneekar chair lift to the top and do red 27 down the back , then back up to the top again and do red 7 all the way down to the horberg bowl. just make sure you dont do what i did a few years ago and stray on to black 17 . map here http://www.piste-maps.co.uk/Piste-Maps/Austria/Mayrhofen-Piste-Map-Large.jpg
After all it is free
After all it is free
I quite liked Black 17 - wide and pretty consistent...consistently black, that is
Great views
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that was a few years ago . done a few blacks since . but not that one . going bank in jan ,so on my to do list
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I liked Black 17 too actually. It's only steep at the end.
Harakiri scared the sh*t out of me! I like how they've put a skull and crossbones on it on the piste map, lol!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I've skied Maxyrhofen a few times and you'll love it. I'd definitely start with Ahorn as the undulating blues there are brilliant confidence builders. The red run down from Ahorn is great but there are some fairly steepish bits off the top that might prove tricky on day one. Maybe play on the Ahorn blues for a couple of hours then get the gondola back down and try some over on Penken in the afternoon. Kaltenbach is a must later in the week and also head to the very top section of the Hintertux Glacier and do some of the motorway wide reds which are definitely no harder than a lot of blue runs you will find elsewhere. If you do Hintertux watch out for the blue run that everyone heads for on the bottom section (Blue 17 I think). Its a lovely short run but there is one very steep drop near the start which causes total carnage with all the beginners Finally, as others have said, Harakiri.......don't do it.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Maxyrhofen? Where's that? Newbie typing error I guess.....
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I was wondering if I might bore you with such a question - obviously not! The best advice comes from experience, so I'll be able to plan for me and the other blue.
I don't think I did say maxyrhofen, but I think the Mayrhofen tourist office might like the idea.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
You didn't type maxyrhofen... I did Have a great trip.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
HoneyBunny wrote:
Ahorn is lovely, I'd go over there on your first day to get your ski legs.
I agree, the Ahorn blues are ideal for your first day.
HoneyBunny wrote:
I skied Zell Am Ziller in heavy snow so I don't really know what it looked like, apart from the cool insect sculptures. There was a nice wide open section of blues though.
Don't you mean Kaltenbach? There are certainly insect sculptures at the top there (near to the Kristallhütte) as you can see at the start of this video:
Don't you mean Kaltenbach? There are certainly insect sculptures at the top there (near to the Kristallhütte) as you can see at the start of this video:
Ahh my mistake, yes that's where it was! We did three day trips from Mayrhofen - one to Hintertux, one to Zell Am Ziller and one to Kaltenbach. It was snowing so much for the last two trips I can't remember much about either place!
Zell is the one with the mini roller coaster at the bottom isn't it? We ran out of time to have a go on it, gutted.
I liked those big insects, very unusual. There was a big dragonfly near that bar.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:
Zell is the one with the mini roller coaster at the bottom isn't it?
yup that's the one.
never been on it myself.
(ignore the lack of snow in that pic. still got a full day's skiing in)
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Ahorn is great, Kaltenbach even better. At Kaltenbach head towards the left hand side of the piste map for some really nice long blues and the Kristalhutte.
If you do use the big 150er Tux cable car then don't be tempted to ski the red back - come back down on the cable car. It's a long hard red.
It's a good point re the 150 tux, it's not the best run back. The skiing up there is however some of the best in Mayrhofen. Another option is to ski around in the rastkogel area then finish off by skiing over to Eggalm and get the ski bus back to Mayrhofen from eggalm village centre.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
the ahorn is good for beginers but a bit limiting for your mates . the horberg area has a good mix of blues/red/blacks all dropping in to the horberg bowl .
kaltenback , zell am zillar and hintertaux are all worth a visit . first 2 by train last one by bus. there is a good route from zell to gerlos . bit of a pain on a board as there is quite a long flat bit.nornally end up having to walk some of it . should be easier on skis. try to aviod the penken gondala on the first morning between 8.30 and 10 . very busy. there are 3 nice red runs from the top of the penken 6 , 1 and 11 . 6 and 1 get a bit steeper at the bottom but not too bad . up to there they are nice cruising red.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
what hotel are you staying in? might influance which lift is easyest to get to .
After all it is free
After all it is free
If you're going with a tour operator, they'll probably have bookable trips to all the places mentioned. That's what we did, and went by coach. It didn't cost much.
If you go anywhere, at least go to Hintertux, it's a fabulous glacier with spectacular views. Wonderful, vast wide pistes. Make sure you pick a sunny day though.
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HoneyBunny wrote:
If you're going with a tour operator, they'll probably have bookable trips to all the places mentioned. That's what we did, and went by coach. It didn't cost much.
But going to Zell am Ziller or Kaltenbach on the Zillertalbahn valley railway is free as it's included in your lift pass (and the trains run every 30 mins too)
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last time i went crystal were charging $20 for a day in kaltenback .free on the train and not tied to their times.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Hi,
We're going with Crystal Ski, and staying in the Hotel Obermair. (we bought the lift passes through Chrystal and they magically increased in price from @185gbp to 202gbp.)
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
blimey. and Kaltenbach is the station that's most convenient for any lifts in the entire valley. 200 meter clomp.
I could understand a paid excursion to Königsleiten since that's at the far end of an offshoot of the main valley, and on the same area pass, and quite a trek for a beginner. Zell-am-Ziller to Gerlos and back is easily do-able. Gerlos-Königsleiten is a black run there, but an ace easyish red-blue back.
Funky 3 part chairlift on the Zell-am-Ziller to Gerlos route, where both dismounts are a midstation, and the other midstation snakes round and turns 90deg, and also lets more people on.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
From the sounds of it @marodo2712, I think you might want to have a chat with your mates so that in the first few days you don't find yourself a little bit out of your depth. I love Mayrhofen as a resort but it is fairly red run heavy, there's not too many blue runs (although there are some, they are very much outnumbered by reds and the reds are by far the better runs). The Ahorn is a good area but very limited, anyone above beginner level will want to move on within an hour or two of skiing. But it's probably a very good place for you to start and get some confidence.
You're going to a beautiful resort with some fantastic pistes, but I wouldn't classify it as ideal for a beginner / early intermediate. You'll be able to find a way around with some gentler runs but make sure you study the piste map if you're still not overly confident, there's a few lifts that don't have anything less than a red coming down from them.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
[quote="andy".
Funky 3 part chairlift on the Zell-am-Ziller to Gerlos route, where both dismounts are a midstation, and the other midstation snakes round and turns 90deg, and also lets more people on.[/quote]
isn`t there one like that between kaltenbach and hochfugen? as you leave the middle station there are normally loads of ski poles in the snow . because skiers forget to lift them up as the lift aproaches the ground and end up snapping them in half.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
i`ve stayed in the obermair a couple of times . it`s at the bottom of the resort . opposite end to the penken lift . bus stops right outside. has a pool (freezing) and a sauna/steam room. couple of mins walk to the train station. from the hotel it`s as easy to get the bus to the horgerg lift as going to the penken . bus to the penken carries on to the ahorn cable car.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@tim000, don't recall a midstation on kaltenbach-hochfugen. just 3 conventional uplifts, a green, a blue and a red run to get there. the gerlos-zell midstation does usually have an array of bent and snapped poles on display, and more than enough signs telling you to keep skis+poles up.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
cheers . must be zell - gerlos . is it on the way back to zell? im normally knackered by then trying to keep up with my mate . he`s been sking for years 30+years i`ve only been boarding for 10 . as a snowboarder i always have i little chuckle at all the poles .
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sat 22-11-14 19:24; edited 1 time in total
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
bus idea sound like a good idea. I usually get to the top of Königsleiten before heading back. bus would give more time to play at the far end.
i'll be there in Jan for a weekend somewhere. and funnily enough, Mayrhofen was exactly where I went as a 2nd weeker, but went in at the deep end on Penken reds, and found out the hard way that the first 3 turns of the new season are nothing like what you remember from the last afternoon as a complete rookie.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
For warming up the old ski legs you can't beat the runs from the top of the 150 (and the other chair on that side that I can't remember the name of) down to the Vogelnest. I'm not sure I would go up to Eggalm until I was confident on easier reds, the top section can be a bit off putting if it is icy and busy.
After all it is free
After all it is free
i found Königsleiten an excellent place for beginners....but didnt try it from Zell Am Ziller...
from Zell Am Ziller is really easy to go until Gerlos with skiing...but in order to go to the other side Königsleiten and Gerlosplatte you must go down a black one and i avoided . However you could go with bus and start there. Especially Königsleiten - Wald - Krimml - Plattenkögel are EXCELLENT and compare to other area in Zillertal relatively empty
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
. map here 
Finally, as others have said, Harakiri.......don't do it.
Have a great trip.
