Advice needed for Mayrhofen - Looking for Tony H!!!!

Thought I would put this out there rather than as a PM, as I'm sure I wont be the only one visiting Mayrhofen this season!!

Just booked unbelievable deal from local airport and looking for general advice on best routes up the mountain, ski buses, apres etc.

Also, we have a huge mob of friends going the same week who will be staying in Lanersbach. Will it be possible to hook up with them fairly easily?

Not TH here, but I did spend 2 seasons working in Mayrhofen, TH has been more recently than me so can correct any rubbish I spew out.

Where abouts are you staying in Mayrhofen? The main lift (Penken) is a bit of a rugby scrum in the mornings, however you could always get a bus to Finkenburg and get up the mountain that way. Although will probably take about the same amount of time. The Ahorn is the other side of the valley, better for beginners (apart from the black run down to resort).

Lanersbach is at the glacier end of the valley, buses are fairly frequent but don't run after a certain time. There's also a train that runs out of the valley in the other direction for some smaller quieter resorts which are skiable on the Zillertaller super ski pass.

In season there is a night bus that runs from Mayrhofen to Tux, stopping everywhere between every hour until the wee small ones for a Euro.

What a bargain!

Brucie wrote:Thought I would put this out there rather than as a PM, as I'm sure I wont be the only one visiting Mayrhofen this season!!

Just booked unbelievable deal from local airport and looking for general advice on best routes up the mountain, ski buses, apres etc.

Also, we have a huge mob of friends going the same week who will be staying in Lanersbach. Will it be possible to hook up with them fairly easily?

Hi Brucie

Ok, so you are going to be in Mayrhofen itself? Skibuses around the town are regular, efficient and well signed. They all run on colours, and you will soon work out which colour you want. They ALL go to the Penkenbahn. My best suggestion is if you are a few minutes walk, walk it. And make sure you get to the Penkenbahn early doors and dont get caught up in the 9am queue. First lift is either 8.15 or 8.30am.

If you are out of town, take the lift up from Hippach or Finkenberg as its less busy and fairly quick up the mountain.

If you go up Penken first, head down to the left where the nursery slopes are and head up the 6 man Penken Express rather than heading for the more obvious 3 man SB Penken lift, and have a couple of warm up runs on red 11 before heading over the back down red 3 or 5 into the bowl. My favourite run is red 7 which means heading up the Schneekaar lift over black 17 which is fantastic on a sunny morning as well. Dont go half way down red 7 and take the Gerent lift back, go all the way down and stop for a drink at the hut further on - some lovely sunny views from there.

Also, head across past the board park and up the 150 man cable car and have some fun on the quieter slopes and off piste over at Rastkogel. We like to spend an hour or 2 there and then take the Skiroute across to Eggalm (this is where your friends at Lanersbach will hit the slopes first thing) and there is some terrific tree skiing and decent reds to attack over there. You can ski/lift back across to Penken from there, heading back up the Rastkogelbahn gondola and working your way back up Rastkogel.

One word of warning - red 16 which takes you down to the 150 man cable car base from the top of Rastkogel can and does get very busy and mogelled later in the day, and dont let beginners or timid skiers on this slope, they can take the 150 down, it is not for the feint hearted!!!

As for some apres, the obvious place is the Ice Bar directly off the bottom of the Penkenbahn. You need to ride down at the end of the day, and you will hear the bass pumping from what looks like a conservatory attached to the Strass Hotel, its a fun place for some beers and a dance. If you prefer a talk about the day, head over the road to the small but buzzing Happy End directly opposite. This is the place owned and run by Uli Spiess, the first go to do the Camel Bumps in 1 jump at Val Gardena, he is a top bloke and will chat to anyone.

Just up the road over the river is the Schlussel bar which goes on until the early hours if you want a nightclub environment. For the more civilised and contemporary atmosphere, head down hill to Coupe and Moore on the right, the instructors seem to find this popular so you know its good.

There are plenty of bars and restaurants on the next 1/2 mile stretch, and we always drop in at Mo's on the crossroads. facing downhill, turn right here and there are a couple of other decent bars, including Piccadilly and Cohi Bar with a late night bar downstairs with music and a nightclub atmosphere.
You might also find Scotland Yard, although we have found its full of pretentious Austrian kids who think that wearing your pants round your ankles and drinking a litre of jaegermeister and flicking cigarettes onto peoples ski jackets is cool.....make your own mind up!

Its a great town, but despite what people say its not in your face. Every bar is behind a closed door so its not intrusive. The only morons you are likely to come across are the 9pm Germans and Dutch who have been booted out of the Ice Bar without having anything to eat, but they are only likely to ask you where they can get a beer!

If you have any more specific questions give me a shout on PM. I have missed not going there since Feb 2008. You'll love the place.

mayrhofen is a cracking resort that good we are heading back for second year in a row :D. going to give the glacier and kaltenbach a visit this time round .Went along on the train this year to zillertal arena for a day didnt take long and some excellent runs over there especially down into gerlos well worth doing for a change one day its included in the superski pass train and buses too. :!:

Dunk wrote:mayrhofen is a cracking resort that good we are heading back for second year in a row :D. going to give the glacier and kaltenbach a visit this time round .Went along on the train this year to zillertal arena for a day didnt take long and some excellent runs over there especially down into gerlos well worth doing for a change one day its included in the superski pass train and buses too. :!:

Yep, I took the train to Zell for a day and there was some nice skiing there, sadly the link to Gerlos was shut due to wind. The area has so much to explore though.

Thanks Tony and other contributors for all the advice. My holiday is an allocate on arrival, so I dont know where I will be in the village, but will soon get my bearings and find my way about.

Sounds like I will also be avoiding the Penken gondola, as I am not a first gondola type skier. It is a holiday after all!!

Will let everybody know how it goes. Looking forward to a new resort, and new experiences. :D