With four separate ski areas within a stone’s throw of each other, the Zillertal is one of Austria’s most popular ski areas. You can ski from Tyrol to the Salzburgerland and back again and for every kind of winter sports enthusiast there is the perfect village in the Zillertal with accompanying ski area. During spring break you can easily get away in parts of the Zillertal without speaking a single word of German, but it is even more fun here outside of this holiday, as I have done. At the end of January it is wonderful!
One of the great advantages of a winter sport to the Zillertal is that all four ski areas are super close to each other and that you can choose where the snow is best every day, because you are there in no time. It was not the first time I was in the Zillertal. Years ago I went on holiday with a group of friends to Mayrhofen and Gerlos. Those were both unforgettable holidays where not everyone was ready in the morning to take the elevator up in time. So it’s nice to come back years later and experience it in a completely different way. Exploring the entire Zillertal Arena in one day and still occasionally relaxing on a terrace, that was the plan. Together with guide Johann I set out to see if we succeed.
And we’re lucky, because even though it hasn’t snowed for a few days, the snow is still very good. Nice and soft, the sun is shining and it is not very busy. I could have left my fleece sweater in the hotel, because at the elevator I see that it is about 7 degrees. I don’t mind, because skiing in the sun on very soft snow is what it should be as far as I’m concerned. So… let’s go!
Zell am Ziller
We take the gondola up and pass the fun park of Zell am Ziller where you can also have your speed measured. The slopes here are lovely, mainly red runs, but really doable. And we are early, at 9.10 am we were at the top, and then all descents are of course still perfect. Don’t worry about it and just pop down, oh how much fun skiing is!
At the top via the Übergangsjoch you can make the crossing to Gerlos and once there you are in the center of the Zillertal Arena ski area. The slopes in the Gerlos area are a lot flatter and therefore mainly blue. It is also slightly lower than the Zell am Ziller area and with 7 degrees above zero you can immediately feel the difference in the quality of the snow. Time for a cup of tea at Seppi’s! Now that the sun is shining so nice, it is wonderful here. Seppi’s is also really the place to be for afternoon après-ski, but it is still a bit too early for drinks. We want to see the whole area and so ski further to Köningsleiten. On this side (the right side of the piste map) it is nice and quiet, most people are probably sitting on a terrace enjoying the summer weather, because it almost feels like that.
Lunch at the Rössl Alm in Gerlos
When it’s time for lunch we ski almost all the way to Gerlos and stop just before the valley at the Rössl Alm, a really lovely place to relax and fill your stomach again. The Rössl Alm is a cozy hut where you can have a very cozy (and delicious!) lunch, but now that the sun is shining we go out on the terrace. With our faces in the sun, a nice hearty goulash soup and Diet Coke it is quite difficult to leave this terrace again and the people next to us think so too, because they all stay in their loungers enjoying the sun. And we drink schnapps because that’s how it should be according to Johann!
The ‘return’ to Zell am Ziller does take a while as you do need a few lifts to get there, including the Krimml-X-press which the locals call ‘the lift from hell’. And to be honest, even with this high temperature it was not really a nice ride, because exactly at this point the wind blows very hard. So make sure to zip up your collar extra well!
Valley run to Zell am Ziller
It was always a disadvantage of Zell am Ziller: there was nothing to complain about skiing in this area, but it was not possible to descend to the village. There was simply no valley descent to take and so you had to take the elevator down or go down somewhere else and take the elevator. This season, however, that has changed and a brand new valley run has opened, which is good news!
It took quite a while before the valley run was allowed to be made, although the desire to create it was more than 20 years old. And even when approval was finally given, the construction of the descent took another five years. This mainly had to do with permits to cut trees that were at the location of the desired descent and things like that. But finally the time has come and you can now ski all the way to the village.
Austria’s longest run
And of course I also tried the valley run. The best way to ski it is to first go all the way to the highest point of the Zillertal Arena, the Übergangsjoch at exactly 2,500 meters. From there you can descend in one go to Zell am Ziller at 580 meters. A descent of almost 2,000 altimeters and that is really so nice to do! With the arrival of the new valley run to Zell am Ziller, it is therefore the longest run in Austria. You can go down in different ways and we took the route via the Rosenalm. If you don’t want to go all the way down, it’s still worth stopping here for a drink along the way, because from the sun terrace of the mountain hut Rosenalm you have a really nice view from your sun lounger in the sun!
The very last part of the descent (from the Wiesenalm) is a black descent and you will not find much blacker in Austria. After a whole day of skiing in the Zillertal Arena you will really feel this descent in your legs and a drink in the bar at the bottom of the new descent will taste just that little bit better. It is therefore not a slope for beginners and you should actually do it first thing in the morning to really enjoy going down here.
It makes a difference that Johann was born and raised here and knows the whole area like the back of his hand, so we don’t have to wait anywhere to look at the piste map, which is why we manage to see the whole area in one day. In any case, it was a lovely day and of course the sun helped a lot!
Tip: You can also scan your ski pass at the lifts in the valley in the Zillertal Arena and you will receive a printout of all the data for that day: the number of slopes you have skied, the altitude meters you have covered and the time you have spent have done about it. Of course I also want to see how we did it!
Our ski day is over, but of course you don’t necessarily have to go back to your hotel or apartment here, because Gerlos in particular has famous – or let’s say infamous – après-ski, but I tested it extensively years ago and today I have much more excited about my hotel pool and heated hot tub. With a glass of wine of course!
