Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all. Somewhat whimsically, the wife and I are going to Mayrhofen for Christmas - flying out on the 20th and returning on the 27th. Skiworld had a stonking deal going at Chalet Stoanerhof, so it seemed rude not to!
Having never skied over Christmas, or in fact anywhere other than France, I'm not quite sure what to expect - will everything be open as normal on Christmas day? Anything special going on for the Christmas week which we should check out?
Haven't skied for a couple of years now, so am really looking forward to getting back out on the pistes!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Evening of the 24th is the main Christmas celebration in Austria, so expect shops to close early that afternoon (lifts will run as normal). If you want to eat out 24th/25th you'll likely have to make a reservation. 25th will be like another normal day.
If you're not aware snow conditions aren't great anywhere in the Alps atm - which means Mayrhofen was a great choice as you have the Hintertux glacier just up the road included on your lift pass! Though I assume Mayrhofen itself will have plenty of pistes open with man made snow.
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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?
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Brilliant, thanks.
Yes, was vaguely aware that conditions weren't great, but most lifts at Mayrhofen appear to be open, so wasn't overly concerned.
We bought what's described as a "full area" lift pass, so does that mean we can ski anywhere on this map? http://winter.intermaps.com/zillertal_uebersicht?lang=en
We'll be walking distance to the Penkenbahn lift, but should we expect to get buses between different areas? Not quite clear how much you can do just on skis and lifts.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@tjdcollins, yep, your pass will be for the whole of the Zillertal valley, so all of the areas on the link you posted. There's a free bus that runs between Mayrhofen and the Glacier, and I think (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) the train to the other areas (Zillertal Arena / Hochfuchen / Kaltenbach / Speiljoch).
It's definitely worth spending a day at the Zillertal Arena and aother at Hochfugen / Kaltenbach.
Oh, and enjoy the local Zillertal beer - it's lovely stuff
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yes the train is free as long as you have a lift pass.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The train station is about a 10 minute walk from the Penken lift although there is a bus stop to take you to the station there too. Trains to Zillertal resorts (nice area) from there and I got the bus to Hintertux from there too.
The other mountain in Mayrhofen (5 mins from Penken) has a good fun black running down back to the village/bars. However if this run does not have enough snow I would not bother going up as the rest of the runs are almost flat.
Enjoy!
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hawkesbaynz wrote: |
The other mountain in Mayrhofen (5 mins from Penken) has a good fun black running down back to the village/bars. |
That would be the Ahorn. The run back down used to be shown on piste maps as a red, but it was a very steep red imv and I can well understand why they have reclassified it as black.
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The Ahorn is a nice quiet area, spent Christmas Day there a few years ago. Not much chance of the valley run being open. In the Zillertal. Think the most fun Piste skiing is at Kaltenbach.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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There is also a ski jump on Boxing Day which is in the field behind the Stoanerhof.
Point to note on the trains is that are only free if you have winter sports equipment as well. If you have a day off then you cant get free travel if you are not skiing.
In terms of conditions then they are fine. They have done a great job managing the snow and there is more than enough open.
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A friend is in Mayrhofen now and he says ....."great snow".
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