Another extended weekend skiing in the Alps, only this time we chose to change it up a bit. We kept with the same country, Austria, but this time we headed east to a really cool valley about an hour from Innsbruck. The Zillertal is known for being the biggest valley branching off the Inn valley in the Tyrol region and is just south of the world famous ski area of Kitzbuhel.
The plan included meeting up with our friend from Munich, Mike, and his friend "Ihop". It's a long story on the name. Anyway, we chose to stay in a great little village called Alpbach.....which proclaims to be the most scenic village in all of Austria. Not sure about that designation during the winter time, but I will say that the people of Alpbach were very friendly and made us feel at home during our stay.
The advantage of staying in Alpbach is the location to other ski areas. In addition to the local ski hill, you can venture down the road a bit and hit one of the many outstanding ski areas located along the Zillertal valley. It was funny.....driving down the Zillertal valley reminded me a lot of skiing in Colorado in how there are so many ski areas located off of I-70.
Unfortunately the weather on our first day was not ideal: cloudy and snowing. It was what I refer to as "skiing blind". But hey, those are the breaks sometimes....not every ski day can be perfect. Besides, it was snowing and the forecast was calling for blue skies before we headed home. So no pictures were taken on the first day...there was nothing to see really. On the second day however, we drove to an area called Hochfugen. This lovely area boasted a 2,000+ meter vertical with several lifts to get you anywhere your heart desired. Well our hearts desired to ski lower on the mountain out of the clouds......
Shortly after lunch Andrea declared the day "done". I negotiated for a few more runs to "check out" this bowl to see if the fresh snow was any good. Uh yeah......it was the BEST powder I have ever skied. Waist. Deep. Some views of the area.......
The third and final day was spent at the Zill am Zillertal. Here is the view of the area from where we parked. Yes, we parked a good distance away from the area.....did I mention that the entire country of the Netherlands was on mid-winter break and chose to spend their time in the Alps? Just a few people here......
The plan included meeting up with our friend from Munich, Mike, and his friend "Ihop". It's a long story on the name. Anyway, we chose to stay in a great little village called Alpbach.....which proclaims to be the most scenic village in all of Austria. Not sure about that designation during the winter time, but I will say that the people of Alpbach were very friendly and made us feel at home during our stay.
The advantage of staying in Alpbach is the location to other ski areas. In addition to the local ski hill, you can venture down the road a bit and hit one of the many outstanding ski areas located along the Zillertal valley. It was funny.....driving down the Zillertal valley reminded me a lot of skiing in Colorado in how there are so many ski areas located off of I-70.
Unfortunately the weather on our first day was not ideal: cloudy and snowing. It was what I refer to as "skiing blind". But hey, those are the breaks sometimes....not every ski day can be perfect. Besides, it was snowing and the forecast was calling for blue skies before we headed home. So no pictures were taken on the first day...there was nothing to see really. On the second day however, we drove to an area called Hochfugen. This lovely area boasted a 2,000+ meter vertical with several lifts to get you anywhere your heart desired. Well our hearts desired to ski lower on the mountain out of the clouds......
A great first sign: a lodge named after one of the best colleges in the country (University of Montana). Not sure about the blue and gold color combo though.....too Montana State like.....
Our favorite lodge to eat.....and get warm
Hanging out just below the clouds......
Shortly after lunch Andrea declared the day "done". I negotiated for a few more runs to "check out" this bowl to see if the fresh snow was any good. Uh yeah......it was the BEST powder I have ever skied. Waist. Deep. Some views of the area.......
....of course to access said area you had to billy goat over this fence....which is not a problem for a country with no ski patrol coming along telling you where to go and not go all the time (no offense to the ski patroller's in the audience).
The third and final day was spent at the Zill am Zillertal. Here is the view of the area from where we parked. Yes, we parked a good distance away from the area.....did I mention that the entire country of the Netherlands was on mid-winter break and chose to spend their time in the Alps? Just a few people here......
The views from the top....well worth the effort.
Not sure how they "drove" that up here......we were at 2,600 meters.
Our view during lunch.....not too shabby.
Andrea is all smiles after a warm meal and a short break in the warm sun.
Our final run and one last view of the area.
It was another great trip to the Alps and we are looking forward to returning to the area this summer for some hiking and biking. The owner of our hotel invited us down to enjoy the summer activities and promised us a good ol' fashioned BBQ if we made the trip. Who am I to pass up such a generous offer??!!! But there is one more ski trip to the Alps on the books before we officially close the winter chapter.....a trip that promises to truly be 'once in a lifetime'.
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