Ski Mayrhofen

65cm snow on the Hintertux Glacier

admin — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:08:04 +0000

Not at all bad for the first week in September! The Hintertux Glacier continues to trump the local glacier skiing areas in Austria with continuous skiing throughout the summer and lifts running to take advantage of the 40cm of snow that fell over the last weekend. 8 ski lifts are currently serving the 22km of skiing that are open for visitors, many of whom are just getting over their summer holidays. 3.2km above the beaches and loungers of the coast, a whole different world exists and is set to get colder and whiter as the days pass by. Good times in the Zillertal 3000 ski region south of Mayrhofen!

Summer skiing on the Hintertux Glacier

admin — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:26:54 +0000

For those needing a break from the unrelenting warm & sunny conditions of the summer season then the Hintertux Glacier comes to the rescue with skiing throughout the summer months. Skiing beneath the stunning Olperer peak over the summer is absolutely possible with the terrain park offering soft landings in the late morning and skiing right down to the Tuxer Fernerhaus.

Piste View in Mayrhofen

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:01:47 +0000

This weekend we had our Piste View camera in Mayrhofen, over on the Ahorn side of the area to film the slopes in perfect spring sunshine. The camera is designed to capture the experience of skiing down the ski pistes from the perspective of the skier or snowboarder. As you can hopefully see the Piste View camera offers a real unique perspective from the slopes:

The Piste View film was taken from the blue 2 ski piste over on the Ahorn side of the ski area.

Snow pummelling the Zillertal Valley – avalanche level 4 arrives

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:42:44 +0000

After the great Christmas and New Year conditions in Mayrhofen and the Zillertal Valley, the start of January is set to bring more of the same, or rather more of the more – a huge weather system is camped over the Austria Alps and the Zillertal Valley is one of the regions that is set to get serious amounts of snow over the coming days – the avalanche level is already at 4 from a possible 5. Heavy snow is forecast for the coming 5 days so if it ever breaks then mid-next week should be a very fine time to be skiing or snowboarding in Mayrhofen – so long as the avalanche risks drops off of course

Mayrhofen opens tomorrow

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:28:00 +0000

After the heavy snow of the last few days the Mayrhofen ski area is set to open tomorrow. With the Hintertux Glacier just south down the valley taking the pressure off the Zillertal Valley ski resorts during the dry autumn, the cash tills will have been ringing at the offices of the glacier. Now the opening of Mayrhofen and the other Zillertal Valley ski resorts should start to spread the ski and snowboard crowds through the valley. Snow has been falling hard from Fugen at the northern end of the Zillertal Valley, right down to the Hintertux Glacier at the southern end of the valley. Snow is forecast to fall in varying degrees for the whole valley for the coming week.

Gefrorene Wand gondola opened today

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:26:11 +0000

Just squeezing into the scheduled November opening slot the new 10 person Gefrorene Wand gondola opened today on the Hintertux Glacier after 6 months of construction. Glacier construction is fraught with challenges but for the last month the work crews haven’t had to contend with shovelling snow! With the heated seats of the gondola set to be tested by winter weather over the coming days at 3033m, the real job of the new gondola is to now increase comfort and capacity on the upper sections of the Hintertux Glacier that offer year-round skiing – the only glacier in Austria to offer this. At €10m the Gefrorene Wand gondola is a pricey but welcome addition to this great area of Austria glacier skiing. I am looking forward to parking myself on the heated seats and watching the mighty Olperer coming into view.

New snow forecast – hopefully reaching Mayrhofen

admin — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:34:55 +0000

The weather forecasts are finally indicating new snow on the horizon, some are suggesting Wednesday for new snow, most looking at Friday when the weather finally breaks and the next instalment of winter arrives. The system seems to heading in from the North West and whilst Mayrhofen benefits from many southerly systems rolling in, there is hopefully some left in the tank for Mayrhofen and the Zillertal Valley. Mayrhofen and the region have been subject to the same weather system that has dominated the whole of the Alps, the one that has brought incredibly dry, sunny and cold to mild conditions to almost every ski holiday resort. With 100m or so of ice beneath the ski on the Hintertux Glacier then there has been little danger of it running thin during this period but the new snow will be hugely welcome there as well as the glacier looks to open the runs back to the resort of Hintertux.

Skiing back to Mayrhofen

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:44:11 +0000

With an enormous rock face between the ski holiday resort of Mayrhofen and its primary ski area – the Penken, generations of skiers and more recently snowboarders have had the task of getting back to Mayrhofen interrupted after a day in the superb Mayrhofen-Penken ski area. The options still and probably always will remain a run down to Hippach, Finkenberg or a download on the Penken gondola. As well as being part of the whole apres ski culture of Mayrhofen, the apres ski scene around the top station of the Penken gondola also serves as a queue buster, with superb views and great hospitality on offer to kill some time before the descent into Mayrhofen by ski lift. For those looking to return to the fantastic resort of Mayrhofen on skis then the best option is to ski or ride the Penken ski area in the morning and early afternoon and then ski to one of the two resorts – Finkenberg or Hippach or else download on the Penken gondola and either take the ski bus or stroll across Mayrhofen to the Ahorn cable car and head up that side of the ski area. The skiing is not as tough on the Ahorn side as Penken or nearly as expansive but they do have lots of sun and the White lounge over that side of the valley – as well of course a run directly back into the centre of Mayrhofen. With a bit of planning the time around 16:00 could be about deck chairs, great sounds, equally superb views and a glass of the local Zillertal Beer before a run back to Mayrhofen. In this superb Zillertal 3000 ski region it seems right to end the day on skis or a board, kick them off and go and find some action in Mayrhofen!

The Harakiri – how steep is steep?

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:11:27 +0000

Well it has an average incline of 78% and there aren’t any steeper groomed slopes in Austria. There are numerous signs warning of impending steeps but nature contrives on 2 levels to draw skiers and snowboarders in – curiosity and a strangely gentle approach! The flats end and the shelf drops off – there are a number who can deal with the ignominy of walking back up this gentle section carrying skis or a snowboard. Many others tackle the Harakiri – some very well, others manage a turn or 2, go steel-like rigid in fear and succumb. There a few trees on the left side as you descend and avalanche barriers on the other – the fact is if you are still on your edges then these will be avoided and if not then gravity is kind enough to fire the remnants of skiers and snowboarders past and directly down the slope as gravity intended. The great aspect of the Harakiri is that it is completely forgiving under-ski – there are runs everywhere with half the pitch that get moguls for the season – not the Harakiri, it is groomed daily and what exists is a carpet, a very steep one for sure but a very forgiving one. That makes the Harakiri a mind game – if you can deal with the pitch then it is straightforward, the moment though that doubts start to arise then the gradient becomes a very big hurdle. A few each day straight-line the Harakiri and get incredible speed before disappearing for autographs or treatment, most get down conventionally with many turns and a good numbers fall short and are spat-out at the bottom of the Harakiri, helped to their feet by those watching and waiting for such outcomes. Equipment inevitably follows down the Harakiri and before long the victim is re-acquainted with gloves, sticks, skis, goggles….a classic piste and spectacle.

How steep? Try it.

Gerlos gets solar ski lift

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:23:47 +0000

The ski area of Gerlos in the Zillertal Arena ski region of the Zillertal Valley is installing a photovoltaic system at an altitude of 2055m that will deliver around 35 000 kWh of clean energy per year. During the times of operation, this clean energy will power the Vorkogel ski lift. In addition to powering the Vorkogel ski lift with zero carbon emissions, the solar array will feed the Austrian national grid during the hours when the ski lift is not in use. Known as the ‘Alpin Mover XL’ the dual axis solar system will align itself to the most solar intensive angles throughout the day – this solar tracking is estimated to improve the performance of the system by 40% when compared to static solar systems. The ski lift is projected to carry up to 160 000 skiers and snowboarders per year using this entirely clean solar energy source and perhaps demonstrates the future strategies needed to keep these peaks white and pristine in winter months.