 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, does anyone have any views on Maria Alm as a ski area? Our favourite resorts are Corvara and Lech. We have two young grandchildren in tow this year. How easy is it to access different ski areas?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@erica2004, Maria Alm is at one end of a large connected ski area (Hochkönig). For decent intermediates it's a fairly full day's work going from one end to the other (Mühlbach) and back. Both areas of Maria Alm (Natrun and Aberg) are now connected. The only part that isn't connected is Hinterreit which just has two T-bars.
I can't comment on the accommodation or ski schools there, I've only ever been a day visitor, but I haven't heard any negatives.
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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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Depends how well the grandchildren can ski, quite a lot of red run skiing if you are going to explore the full area.
The Gabuhel piste into Dienten, Red 21 can be fairly difficult from late morning onwards and will be probably worse this season as the new Gondola will mean more traffic. Downloading by lift here can be sensible for less confident skiers.
Other than this piste there is nothing overly difficult and there are some pleasent blue's over at the Muhlbach end.
I have skiied this area several times always staying in Dienten at the centre of the area.
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@3offthetee, I'm hoping the new gondola at Gabuhel will ease the problem of the lower part of red 21, as there no longer needs to be two way skiing across the road bridge. In fairness I haven't skied there yet this season, but that was part of the local information about the new lift.
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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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| Quote: |
@3offthetee, I'm hoping the new gondola at Gabuhel will ease the problem of the lower part of red 21, as there no longer needs to be two way skiing across the road bridge.
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You have to survive the final 1/3 of the run before reaching the road bridge 
Gets a lot of sun and cuts up very quickly and the final pitch below the Almhausl can be survival skiing at certain times.
Going back 10 or more years when the village was served by the two man chair and the Burglalm T bar and very little through skiing traffic Red 21 was always a challange on the lower section.
Still it will be interesting to see how the piste is routed to the new Gondola, maybe get back there in a couple of years. Heading to Alpendorf this year with my son in tow for the first time.
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I ski there quite frequently on days out from other resorts nearby. I think that it is a fantastic area, especially for intermediates, as there are a lot of really good reds - very wide and even pitched. The lift infrastructure is excellent and the mountain restaurants are very good. I start at the Maria Alm end and usually do the Konigstour which is very pretty and a nice days skiing, not covering the same lift or run more that once!
There are 120km of pistes (mainly blues and reds) which is excellent compared to better known Zell am See down the road which, until recently, had fewer than 80km.
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Thanks for your replies. The grandchildren are only 3 and 5 so we take it in turns, with their parents, to babysit. But we like long ski runs and scenic areas. It looks fairly quiet and close to Salzburg so not too much travelling time. Last year our plane approached Innsbruck airport then took off again and landed in Munich. We were headed to Corvara. I do love Corvara though.
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| queenie pretty please wrote: |
| @3offthetee, I'm hoping the new gondola at Gabuhel will ease the problem of the lower part of red 21, as there no longer needs to be two way skiing across the road bridge. In fairness I haven't skied there yet this season, but that was part of the local information about the new lift. |
Skied that run two weeks ago. No difference at all heading in the Mulbach - Maria Alm direction. Coming back however is a whole new ball game. If you know how cut up that run gets you can download and miss it out. You ski directly past the top of the new gondola and can download from there. But you miss out on the best hut in the whole region in my opinion. Problem is unless you know the area well you'd be unlikely to download, so the piste will be as choppy as it's always been ! The two way bridge was never really an issue, the problem was always the botton half / third of run 21. Faces the sun all day and chops up as bad as any piste I've seen.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| erica2004 wrote: |
| Thanks for your replies. The grandchildren are only 3 and 5 so we take it in turns, with their parents, to babysit. But we like long ski runs and scenic areas. It looks fairly quiet and close to Salzburg so not too much travelling time. Last year our plane approached Innsbruck airport then took off again and landed in Munich. We were headed to Corvara. I do love Corvara though. |
I skied one day at Maria Alm last year. Quite a small traditional village with that long linear ski area that connects through to Dienten & Muhlbach. Scenic in a wooded way and the view across to Hochkonig does have a similarity to some of the Dolomite peaks as its composed of similar limestone rock.
I wouldn't say it would compare to your fave Corvara in terms of the variety of skiing, size/quality of resort or quite as spectacular scenery, but would probably be a nice quiet place to take the grandkids. There were other young families there. The short transfer to Salzburg would be an advantage.
Have you considered Cortina? That's a good place with an extensive beginners area, long runs, spectacular Dolomite scenery and a shortish transfer (2hr?) up from Venice or Treviso using the A27 motorway for 2/3 of the way.
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@erica2004, If you're considering Austria and the Ski Amade area (of which Hochkonig is a part) I would base yourselves more central, somewhere like Flachau or St Johann. That way you can access more than one area if you choose to. Flachau has the shortest transfers (50 Mins) and probably the most to do when not skiing, including an excellent Swimming Pool at the Therme Amade in nearby Altenmarkt. Ski Amade also does a Two Parent pass for those only doing half a day with 1 child. I think the three year old would meet the criteria. They also do great family packages at the Fischis Ski School: https://www.fischis-skischule.at/en/
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Flachau is probably not the best for the OP family reqt. Whilst flachau is very central for getting about it is nothing like Corvara, which is mellow skiing and nowhere like as busy.
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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.
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@Gary Fat Fingers, fair enough, I thought it was the narrow gate to the two-way skiing over the road bridge that was the problem. The bottom of piste 21 gets bumpy and slushy on a sunny day, but some of us call that fun! 
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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| Flachau is probably not the best for the OP family reqt. Whilst flachau is very central for getting about it is nothing like Corvara, which is mellow skiing and nowhere like as busy. |
Not been to Lech then? Madness getting in and out of the valley and more challenging then Flachau plus even more expensive. The twin blue runs back in to Lech (200 and 201 I think) are similar in gradient to the easiest run back into Flachau under the Achterjet lift but usually much more crowded than I've ever seen in Flachau. If you can hack Lech then Flachau is a breeze.
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You know it makes sense.
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Would we need a car if we stayed in Maria Alm or are there buses and such? Is the town good for wander around ? We thought about the new hotel Magic Mountain Resort - very Disney sounding but looks good for kids. Or we could stay in an apartment but am concerned about getting about, restaurants in village etc.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| RedandWhiteFlachau wrote: |
| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| Flachau is probably not the best for the OP family reqt. Whilst flachau is very central for getting about it is nothing like Corvara, which is mellow skiing and nowhere like as busy. |
Not been to Lech then? Madness getting in and out of the valley and more challenging then Flachau plus even more expensive. The twin blue runs back in to Lech (200 and 201 I think) are similar in gradient to the easiest run back into Flachau under the Achterjet lift but usually much more crowded than I've ever seen in Flachau. If you can hack Lech then Flachau is a breeze. |
No I haven't been to Lech hence I didn't mention it. My view on comparing Corvara to Flachau stands. It seems odd that the OPs 2 favourite places are so totally different
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Poster: A snowHead
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@erica2004, there are buses from Maria Alm to Saalfelden (larger town nearby) and Dienten, but if you wanted to visit other parts of Ski Amadé away from Hochkönig, then you would need a car and it's quite a lengthy drive.
Maria Alm is a sizeable village so I expect there are many restaurants and facilities there.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We've been going to Maria Alm every year since the boys were 4 and 5 I think ( now 18 and 19) and absolutely love it. We have seen some incredible changes over the years, including the new lifts linking Natrun and Aberg last year and looks like a new one awaits with the new gondola back up to Gabhuel. I'll miss that old 2 man coming round the corner ready to take you out like "Chopper" Harris in his heyday!
And another change I can see is the new Magic Mountain Resort is the old Thalerhof with the best steaks anywhere, ever. We eat there at least 3 times during our week and my sons would eat there (or the Dengle pub next door, same menu) every night if left to their own devices
Other food highlights are the Moserwirt in the middle of town,Baunernkasten at the bottom of Natrun by the T bars and the Jufen, up the mountain on the other side of town to the Magic Mountain. You can organise to be picked up at the bottom and be taken up to the restaurant on a sled dragged by tractor, then sledge down the track after your meal
The mountain restaurants/huts are also excellent with our favourite being Wastalm on Aberg
As for getting there and getting about, a car is ideal although, as mentioned above, there are buses to Saalfelden and Dienten. Salzburg is teh nearest airport, although I have found prices and availability to be limiting during school holidays. We always fly to Munich and it's a 3 hour car journey from there albeit a very scenic one across country through Germany and Austria. We gave up on the motorway many years ago as it was SOOOOO busy, especially if our holidays coincided with Dutch and German holidays
The skiing is not challenging, other than as previously mentioned Red 21, and I would suggest there's probably enough to do on Natrun to keep a 3 and 5 year old occupied for a while. The ski school do lessons there as well, or at least they used to when mine were that young
If you stayed in the Magic Mountain, the T bars are right behind you but it is then a traverse across to the main gondola and other t bar so it depends on the children's ability. There is a ski bus which picks up outside the Magic Mountain to take to Aberg if required, and it's a 2 minute journey from there
I didn't used to tell anyone about Maria Alm, as I didn't want it to get too busy, but it seems the secret is out and so I can't recommend the place highly enough
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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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| erica2004 wrote: |
| Would we need a car if we stayed in Maria Alm or are there buses and such? Is the town good for wander around ? We thought about the new hotel Magic Mountain Resort - very Disney sounding but looks good for kids. Or we could stay in an apartment but am concerned about getting about, restaurants in village etc. |
By the sounds of your later posts, the lowest common denominator is the Grandchildren, so I'd revise my earlier recommendation as you seem fixed on Maria Alm. There's more than enough to keep them busy and you will all enjoy the Hochkonig. Do try and get the kids up to the Abergalm Restaurant which can be accessed via Red 23. They have a small petting area with Goats and Rabbits, kids will love it. You can walk up from the lift if you have time. No car needed if your timings and itinerary are driven by the youngest as you won't be going far. Would recommend an apartment as you'd struggle to meet Austrian regimented meal times unless you were in a full on "Family Hotel".
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| erica2004 wrote: |
| Would we need a car if we stayed in Maria Alm or are there buses and such? Is the town good for wander around ? We thought about the new hotel Magic Mountain Resort - very Disney sounding but looks good for kids. Or we could stay in an apartment but am concerned about getting about, restaurants in village etc. |
If you were getting transfers from the airport and were staying near the lifts up Natrun you wouldn't need a car. It might pay for itself if you're looking at shelling out for private transfers and it would be handy if you wanted to visit other resorts or do some trips out. Zell am See is a nice town to visit, there's good skiing up at Zell, Saalbach, Leogang & Lofer. There's a huge indoor Spa/Swimming complex near Kaprun that the kids might enjoy.
There is not much of a town to wander round at Maria Alm. It's a village that has grown due to tourism, a few restaurants & shops in the centre, not as developed (or chi-chi) as Lech or Corvara though.
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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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@robandliza, where do you recommend for self catering?
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@erica2004, the tourist information will have all the accommodation listed
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Thanks for all your replies. We've now booked an apartment in Maria Alm.
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