Schladming

I'm going to be spending a long weekend in Schladming in early March. I've never been to that particular of Austria before but generally love skiing in Austria and have always enjoyed Tyrol. Accommodation is booked so just wondering if anybody with knowledge or experience of Schladming has any tips to offer for making the most of a shortish visit there. Thanks!

Hi
I have been to Schladming many, many times and see it grow from a fairly basic place to the super resort it is today. There are 4 mountains in all that you can see across as they are all linked. You don't say where you are staying. If you are in Schladming itself, the Planai lift will connect you to Haus and to Hochwurzen and from Hochwurzen (Rohrmoos) to Reiteralm. The skiing is fantastic with modern lift systems ncluding heated chair lifts and very few drags. Mountain restaurants are plentiful with very few self-service. My favourites are:
Planai: The Holzhacherhuette on the main slope down into Schladming. It's just above the start place for the Night slalom race so only go there if you are a confident skier as the descent down to the gondol is pretty steep. Also worth considering is Willi's Huette which has a great atmosphere.
On Haus the best restaurant is the KrummholzHuette or you can try out Hoeflehner's donuts at the Knapplhuette. On Rohrmoos/Howchwurzen we always head for the Jagastubl, which also has a terrace for when it's sunny.

On Reiteralm I like the Preuneggstuberl.
To be honest, though, you can't go worng with any of the huts A list can be found at: http://www.skiamade.com/en/winter/skiresorts/slopespanorama
The town of Schladming has lots going on as it's now become a real party place.
There are lots of places to eat out. The Brauhaus, which is an actual brewery, is good and very Steirisch but can be a bit smoky. The Alte Post is a good hotel in the town where you can eat really well. It's not cheap but great for something a bit special. There are loads of bars and the apres-ski tends to centre on the hotle just above the main gondola statio - I think it's calle the Tenne. Plus there wre a few umbrell bars dotted around. As you can tell, I love the place!

Thanks for this really helpful reply, Buntycake, much appreciated! I'll be staying in a small guesthouse about a mile from the Planai Talstation, and near a ski bus stop, so hopefully near enough to enjoy the town, as you make it sound really nice. Looking forward to discovering the difference between "Steierisch" and the "Tyrolisch" I've experienced previously . Thanks again for a very helpful reply to my post.

Have a great time and if you think of any more questions, let me know. Which side of town are you on? East or West?

It is 2 km NE of the railway station, so north of the river and slightly to the east of the centre I guess.

Just returned from Schladming last weekend. They had the black run home closed as they were preparing it for the world downhill racing. The only way down was the red run and it was not for the faint hearted as you got to the bottom, it was steep, icy and narrow. I think the black should be open now though so that might ease congestion a bit. You can leave skis/boots in the Planai base station in the heated lockers. We hired a locker for 2 which easily held 2pr skis and boots and cost in total 24 euro for 6 days. Much easier than walking in boots and carrying skis. Be aware that if you are going to ski down to Pichl and Gleiming you will spend about 2hrs on lifts with very little skiing between lifts. This is because on some you cannot ski down to the bottom, so you need to get lifts both up and down. This is not the case on the return journey as you can ski down to the valley on the way back. If you get the bus to Gleiming it takes about 20 mins, so much faster. Bus leaves from the Planai base station, but they only run about once an hour and the 9.30 bus is often full, so you might not be able to get on. In terms of apre, to be honest I was not that impressed. The umbrella bar at the Planai lacked atmosphere in my opinion and it took ages to get served. We found the best place was Tenne which is opposite the Planai gondola. Not cheap though. They don't serve large beers, so you pay about 3.5 euro for a small one. Expensive when you consider its 3.20 euro in Soll for a large one. We found the visibility poor on a lot of the tree lined runs even on a bright sunny day. Also I would not recommend Schladming for beginners as most of the runs are red and they are quite steep in places compared to many other resorts I have skied.
Overall, we enjoyed it, but it does not rate that highly in my personal list of favourite ski resorts. That said, if you are a competent skier I think you will enjoy it.
Pistes were hard packed snow when we were there, but hopefully should be better by now as they have had more snow. Overall not been a good year to date for snow in the alps.
Anyway, enjoy.

Hi
Sme more positive things about the resort. It's highly unlikely you will want to bother going to Gleiming if you're just there for a weekend. As for the level required, yes, the run down to the gondola is not for the faint-hearted but there are plent of easier runs, especially on the Rohrmoos side. Also, if you don't like the lower runs, you can easily get the gondola back. Good tip about the ski lockers, though.
Do try Rohrmoos/ Hochwurzen if you can.