maria alm a couple of days

A snowHead

hi all a new season beckons we have booked saalbach beg march again but on the way in or out like to try somewhere that weve never been to before and with independent travel means we can either extend our stay or cheapen the cost last year we went to fugen this year looking at maria alm any thoughts out there on accomodation or any where else on route spring to mind cheers

A snowHead

The Hochkonig area is very nice and has a decent amount of skiing - mainly intermediate. The skiing in Maria Alm itself is limited and you need to get the ski bus to get to the main area - just 5 minutes down the road. We stayed at The Hotel Thalerhof which was excellent and right by the ski bus stop. Would definately recommend for a couple of days. Usually ski in Courchevel so the Austrian prices were very refreshing!!

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@ski for fun, I ski there regularly, entering the Hochkönig (the name of the ski area) usually from the Maria Alm end. There is plenty of skiing, and it is not all intermediate cruising, although there is plenty of that too. The Königstour is a challenging trip from one end of the system to the other and back again (no buses linking Mühlbach and Maria Alm), The runs down to the middle section at Dienten are not for the faint hearted if taken at speed. There are some nursery slopes in the village (Natrun area) but these really are just for the first couple of days with absolute beginners. The real skiing starts at the Aberg lifts which is a few minutes along the road from the main part of the village. There is a great Freeride area at the top of the Aberg as well as a couple of ski routes.

The Hintereit section is frequently used for training by the US, German and Austrian technical teams and the slopes down from Gabühel to Dienten and the slope the other side from the Wastlhöhe down to Dienten are regularly used for GS and Super-G training. Josef Schild (Marlies Schild's brother) is one of the top race trainers and Maria Alm is his base!

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Get in touch with Thom & Kate at skifix.co.uk, they have use of loads of hotels/apartments in Maria Alm, including this rather nice one

http://www.apartmentamade.com/ Laughing

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Apologies for the slight thread wander...

Where do most people tend to stay when holidaying? Is it usually in Maria Alm itself, then get a bus to the Abergbahn or do people tend to stay in Hinterthal/Hintermoos?

We visited Maria Alm for a morning in the summer and drove through the others (they looked pretty quiet). We're thinking of coming for a week to ski. It'll help us move closer to getting somewhere more permanent!

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I usually stay in Dienten, Hotel Post is excellent and is about 20 yards from the Gabuhel chair so right in the centre of the main area.

Choose in the morning which direction to head. Dienten is very quiet with exception of Thursday night party downstairs in hotel Post.

Also to be aware run down from Gabuhel to thevillage can be very tricky late in the afternoon.

I have stayed in Maria Alm and it is a bit of a pain in my view getting the bus to and from Aberg although the plus side is more in the way of speed ski but its certainly no Saalbach in that regard.

Wherever you stay the Hochkonig is a lovely ski area and deserves to be more widely known ( or maybe not because we want to keep it secret ).

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@hammerite, I use my car and would find the Hochkönig area an ideal resort if I were driving from the UK. I used to drive out all the time when I lived there - France, Switzerland, Austria all easy to reach with 2 drivers.

The Maria Alm end of the Hochkönig seems to have lots of pluses and very few negatives over other resorts in the Amadé region. You don't "need" a car, the buses from the village and Saalfelden (5 minutes away and a proper town) are frequent and comfortable - there is a shuttle bus from the centre of the village (Natrun) to the Aberg lifts. The buses between Saalfelden and Hintermoos are also pretty regular along the main road. But having a car means you can be in Leogang in about 15 minutes; Zell am See and Saalbach in less than an hour (depends on the traffic along the main road from Saalfelden to Zell); the other sport Amadé resorts are also within easy reach.

Another big advantage of this end of the Hochkönig is the lack of a need for any kind of tolls - access from Germany is via Siegsdorf and Lofer from the A8 and over Niederndorf and Kössen if you come from the A93 (Inntal motorway).

I like it because it is a rather restrained quiet location, but the Après scene is there if you want it and know where to look for it. It just is not the Mooserwirt thumping or Hinterhag Alm boozing type. Lots of choice of hotels and apartments of all categories and sizes, especially if you include some of the ones in Saalfelden, same goes for restaurants and clubs!

I'm looking forward to skiing it again this coming season!

After all it is free

If the snow is good you can ski from the top of Natrun down to the Aberg base too.
Maria Alm has more going on at night, Steak on the Stone at the Dengl Alm is excellent. There's a nice wine bar in Hotel Eder, even a nightclub (ish) in town.

Thanks all.

For the type of property we're looking to buy (1-2 bed apartment) more seems to be coming up in Hinterthal/Hintermoos rather than Maria Alm - especially for 2nd home ownership. Maria Alm seemed to have more going on than the other two, plus it is a slightly easier drive if the conditions aren't great. Am I right in thinking this? Are Hinterthal/Hintermoos a bit too quiet (we like an après/evening wander/drink/meal)?

We'd much prefer the Maria Alm side as that would give us easier access to Leogang to ski and to mountain bike in the summer.

Currently tossing up between having a Christmas holiday in Maria Alm or Bad Gastein to check them out a bit more. BG is an area with lots of apartments available at the moment.

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@hammerite, there are quite a lot in Saalfelden as well which is not so far away and would give you more bang for your buck so to speak! There is a lot more going on there all year round too and only about 5 to 10 minutes by car to the Aberg bottom station.

I get the impression that Hinterthal has more going for it than Hintermoos. The problem in terms of regular shuttles etc, seems to be the pass (Dientener Sattel) which separates you from the Dienten/Mühlbach side of things. It often needs chains in winter so they stop the buses etc at Hinterthal on one side and Dienten on the other.

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Yes we've looked at Saalfelden too. The OH would like to buy in a ski resort to give it a bit more of the holiday feel every time we go out. The pass is one of the reasons to stay lower in the area, the less fiddling with chains the better - even though those ocassions might be rare.

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Hintermoos is really a small sub village of MA, I think there is one bar there. It would be a nice quiet place and great location for starting your ski day, but you'll spend your summer biking into the main MA village. Also, most of the properties that come up for sale in Hintermoos have crazy monthly fees as they have indoor pools.
Hinterthal is beautiful but a ghost town in summer. There's the bar in the Urslauerhof hotel which has just been done up and burns your eyes inside, Amelia's corner which is very nice and the food is excellent. Then the Alm bar which is your only real apres ski.
It's very rare for a 2nd home property to come up for sale in MA on the open market. Occasionally they come up through word of mouth. Prices have shot up in the last 4 years too.

You know it makes sense.

@ColP, thanks, you've confirmed my suspicions about Hintermoos and Hinterthal. One has just come up in Schlossberg that we're interested in. Unfortunately being teachers we can't drop everything and head out for a viewing, so it will probably have gone by the time we could head out.

@Jagertee, that would be a good idea, and we'd definitely do it for a summer holiday. But I think 3 days in each at Christmas might be pushing it. Jnr loves skiing, but also moans about being away from home/family/friends at Christmas. Curtailing the skiing a bit to do the things suggested would really annoy him! At least having one base means we can have a good look around that area.

We might do one at Christmas, the other at half term. At least then Jnr will be elsewhere skiing with school.

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

Mine's on Schlossberg, is the one you are looking at a newish build, around 60 metres?

A snowHead

@ColP, 69m, 1984.

A snowHead

@hammerite,

Are you on Singletrack too?

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

Yes! One of the reasons we're looking at Maria Alm to buy is its proximity to Leogang and the bike park there. We stayed in Wagrain over the summer and tried out the bike park there (another place we're considering). Are there lots of cheeky trails around Maria Alm?

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Not really many trails, but they have just clicked onto MTB.
The ex deputy mayor (owns one of the big hotels) is getting really behind it and got a flow trail built on Natrun (small mountain in front of Schlossberg) this Summer. It's quite good, hit it fast and get some air.
They're hopefully putting one in on Aberg next year.
I've got Thom & Kate from Skifix into biking too now, Kate's on a Mega and Thom just bought a Gambler.
Leogang is the reason we bought. Me & the lad are into DH. Wouldn't want an apartment in Leogang itself, there's no real village centre there and the ski lifts are too busy.
MA is perfect, 15mins to Leogang or around 30 to Saalbach.
Drop me a message if you need any help or have questions.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks for the offer @ColP, how often are you out there? We had a look at the flow trail on the Natrun in the summer just before it opened.

I ended up getting a full susser a few weeks ago following the session in Wagrain. 140mm travel which should be enough for the more tame stuff which suit my lack of skills!

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Out there every school holiday.
140mm will be fine for everything in Leogang except the World Cup downhill, and everything in Saalbach/Hinterglemm, X-Line will feel a bit rough though!

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

We aim to be out there each school holiday too.

After all it is free

Got flights booked. Going to wait until there is snow on the ground before booking accommodation. Might get a hire car, but any recommendations for transfers?

Eder Reisen taxi have regular shuttle buses (Transporter) to and from Salzburg airport, think they are about 50e each. I always get a hire car as it usually works out cheaper. It's only an hour drive if you go the Lofer route. Depending on what time of day you land, there is bus from the airport to Saalfelden. Check out the Scotty app (OBB) which lets you plan journeys with trains & buses.

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@ColP, thanks.

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Am going to Hinterthal for a weekend only. Can anyone recommend any bergfuhrer/IFGMA guides in the area please?

Help!!

maria alm a couple of days

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