Tony H from UNITED KINGDOM writes:
I have just returned from my 4th visit to Mayrhofen, so you can work out for yourself what I think of the place. I have spent time in Mayrhofen in early Jan (2006 and 2008), late Feb (2007) and Christmas (2006). On each ocassion we were able to get in plenty of skiing, irrespective of how good or bad the conditions were, because the ski area is some 1200m above the village, and they do look after the slopes very well.
If you want to avoid queues at the Penken gondola lift in the morning, get down there between 8 and 8.15, or leave it until 9.30, but for me the idea of a ski holiday is to max the time on the slopes, so we were often up the top well before 8.30. Alternatively, take the free ski bus round to Finkenberg and take the gondola up from there, it is never busy.
Once at the top, the place is huge. I like to take the chair up the top, and ski down the front on red 1 or 11 a few times to warm up, and then head over the back into the bowl. Red 3 and 5 are lovely wide open but challenging runs down into the valley, from where a variety of chairs will take you in different directions. The Schneekaar chair takes you to the top of the Horberg, where red 27 is best first thing in the morning as it tends to get busy and cut up later on, and red 7 is a long and varied run back down into the bowl, with a good and popular cafe half way down. This is one of the best reds in the region, in my opinion.
The 150 man cable car, which you can get to by skiing through the board park, thus avoiding another chair and a drag, takes you to Raskogel, and it's much quieter over here, as well as usually being in the sun all day. The slopes are wide and long, reds and blues, and lovely cruising runs. If the conditions permit you, take the run all the way down to the track, red 2, which will lead you to the Vogelnest restaurant at the bottom of Eggalm, from where the chair takes you to the top of another quiet but spectacular ski area. There are some awesome reds to blast down here, and then you can make your way to the bottom of the blue, and back up Rastkogel on the gondola. However, the only other way back to Penken skiing, if you don't take the 150 man cable car back down, is on red 16, which is notoriously hard and busy. It's known as The Ridge, and in 3 trips I have had 2 accidents on here: once when a border went over my tips and sent me crashing into a woman who had stupidly stopped right in the middle of the slope on the dark area which is often icy and never sees the sun, and this year, when an out of control skier snapped my ski pole in half, lucky it wasn't my leg. You need to be confident and a good intermediate skier to make it over red 16. Beginners should stay well away from it, as it's always busy and steep in patches, with lots of bumps of moguls. Having said that, it's a good feeling to get to the bottom again, and then take the chair back up over the Hara Kiri, from where I strongly recommend a run down towards Finkenberg on a mix of reds and a black. Testing but not hard, but a long and slow 2 man chair back up (Katzenmoose).
Over on Ahorn, the new 8 man chair which replaced the 2 T-bars has opened the place right up. The blues are lovely for a warm up cruise, or for beginners, and this place never seems to get busy. The 160 man cable car up offers some great views of the valley.
Further down is the spectacular and enjoyable Ebbenwald, a red because in places it is very steep. It has a tendency to ice up in the afternoons when the sun goes and I have seen a number of beginners tackle it unsuccessfully, but it's wide enough to traverse if you get into trouble. The 2 man lift back up is not the quickest, but isn't too long.
At the end of a day on Ahorn, take the red (which really should be a black), Abfahrt, off the mountain. It's very challenging but well worth the effort, provided it isn't too icy or too warm, as conditions have to be good to make this doable. It brings you back to the bottom of the cable car.
This year we took the train 2 stops down to Zell, where there is a good ski area, for the first time, but sadly it was too windy to take the link to Gerlos. It's nice for a change for a day, or half a day, but be warned, it does seem to take an age from leaving Mayrhofen to hitting the slopes in Zell - around an hour and a half to be precise!!!!
If the snow really is bad, you always have Hintertux, but it is really cold and windy up there, so only go if you really have to. It isn't a pleasant trip out!
As for places to stay, the hotels all seem to be pretty good, traditional Austrian with lots of pine wood. I have stayed in snow-homes with Inghams and Neilson, all of which are 5 to 10 bedroomed pensions. Breakfast will be limited, but enough to keep you going until a mid morning coffee and mars bar on the slopes. I have also stayed in the Landhaus Roscher, which is part of the Strass Hotel, and food in the Strass is good. The only place I would not recommend is the Brucke, as it is on top of the Schlussel nightclub, which pumps away until 4am. The buses around town are excellent and frequent, and there are 2 good taxi services too.
Eating out and drinking? Well, the only place to go after the slopes is the Happy End. This is a small and friendly bar opposite the Penken Gondola, and opposite, you will find the local butchers. They do amazing rolls for a snack. Opposite is the Ice Bar, full of German and Dutch people who appear never to have seen beer before, or heard music either - you will know what I mean when you have seen it. Go in one night for a laugh, but thats' probably as much as you can handle. It's loud, cheesy, and takes an eternity to get a 5 Euro bottle of crap Dutch lager.
Alternatively, enjoy the ambience of Coup & More just down the high street. Not so much apres-ski as pre or post dinner. Nicely fitted out. Also, MO's diner on the crossroads further down is excellent for both food and drink, tex mex and pasta in the main, but lots to choose from and huge portions. I also recommend the Neuen Post hotel, a massively varied menu with very reasonable prices, and usually some form of traditional entertainment going on. It's right down the bottom past the church.
There is also an Italian called Ciao, very reasonable but limited menu, mainly pasta, which is just off the main street near the Seeker boarding shop. Also, try the Kagelbahn - a small bowling alley tucked away round the back of the top end of the town, next to Landhaus Roscher, take the road up behind Happy End and the right hand fork...Good food, cheap prices.
As for shopping, Mayrhofen has a good selection. The Spar supermarket is popular and has all you need for essentials, and there are tons of ski and board shops for clothing and hardware. Best places to buy are Wegscheider, up towards the Penken lift, Inter Sport down the bottom of town, and Hervis - a warehouse (turn left down the hill at Mo's.) Hervis is particularly good for deals on skis - I bought mine out there in last years sale saving over £200!!!
Innsbruck Airport is only 1 hour 15 minutes, Salzburg a good hour longer, and Munich 2 hours 30 mins. If you are umming and arring about Mayrhofen, dont. Just go there.
2008-01-24 |
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