Mayrhofen

This quaint Tyrolean village, framed by beautiful mountains, is located just 43 miles from Innsbruck and welcomes hoards of holiday makers every year. It offers the largest ski area in the Ziller valley and is linked with Hippach, Tux, Finkenberg and Eggalm/Rastkogel and all together offers 142km of pistes. The highest peak is only 2500 metres so in later months it can suffer from poor snow conditions, but there’s plenty of snowmaking to cover the main trails. The Zillertal superski pass allows you to visit other resorts in the area such as the snow sure Hintertux glacier and extends the available terrain to an impressive 506km.

In the early days, Mayrhofen had the reputation of being a bit of a hard boot carver’s place; this has changed dramatically and today there’s a large crowd of freeriders and freestylers checking out the terrain. The world class Penken Park located in the centre of the resort helps attract a healthy freestyle crowd. For the not so advanced freestylers they have some smaller kickers and rails just next to the one for the pros. 

For those staying in the centre of Mayrhofen, the only way up and down is the Penkenbahn gondola as it is not possible to board back into Mayrhofen. Even though the lift is high speed, there can still be big queues early in the day. To avoid the crowds you can take the free ski bus to the Finkenberg or Mühlbach Gondolas or stroll over to the 160-person cable-car that’ll take you to the Ahorn a beginners haven. 

Lots of people who head to Mayrhofen also check out the  other local mountains in the area. The Hintertux Glacier is a 20km drive further down the valley, this is the only resort in Austria to be open 365 days a year. It offers snow sure conditions if you hit a patchy snow week in Mayrhofen it’s more than worth a visit but bare in mind in peak season the crowds do flock here. 

Another nice place for a day trip is the small resort of Kaltenbach, this place often has lots of untracked powder after a dump because no one goes there! You can also take the same train to Zell am Ziller, and then a bus or taxi to their lifst. It’s well worth a visit as it is a large area linked to Gerlos and Konigsleiten, which is famous for its tree runs.