PlanetSKI Hits Innsbruck & Four of its Ski Areas

third February 2025 | Jane Peel, Innsbruck, Austria

Surrounded by mountains, Innsbruck is a skier’s paradise however an excellent place to go to in its personal proper.

To come back right here and head straight for the slopes can be a mistake.

A giant mistake, in my humble opinion.

I may spend hours, days, weeks even, wandering the colorful streets.

Appreciating its structure, outdated and new.

Immersing myself in its lengthy historical past.

Taking outing to benefit from the metropolis’s café/espresso tradition.

Absorbing the night-time views.

And for a morning deal with, consuming the limitless brunch accessible within the restaurant on the the highest of the Bergisel ski leap overlooking town….

…earlier than seeing what skilled ski jumpers see as they put together to launch themselves down the 120 metre leap.

I’m sitting on one thing they name the ‘tremble bench’.

It’s effectively named.

Regardless of the protection harness, it’s surprisingly scary shuffling throughout to the beginning place.

The report distance jumped right here in competitors is 138 metres.

It’s attainable to leap 150m, I’m instructed, however, in the event you do, you’ll land on the flat and also you’re lifeless.

Which is little question why there’s a strategically sited graveyard on the backside.

I’m extra comfy again on the backside, on agency floor trying up on the leap and its spectacular tower, designed by the late Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid.

In my opinion, a go to to Bergisel is a should in the event you’re spending any time within the metropolis.

Try the climate forecast earlier than you ebook to take advantage of the views.

Though I’m packing rather a lot in to a brief keep, to be able to totally expertise all the pieces Innsbruck has to supply, I’m going to should return in the summertime, as soon as the snow has melted.

As a result of one in every of my essential causes for being right here is to pattern only a handful of the various ski areas little greater than a stone’s throw from Innsbruck.

THE SKIING

There are 6 that encompass town and 12 in complete which are formally within the Innsbruck area.

I’m snowboarding in 4 in 4 days.

Axamer Lizum

First up is Axamer Lizum, which hosted nearly all of the alpine occasions at each the 1964 and 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics.

It’s 19km from town centre and simply accessible on the free buses that include my Ski & Metropolis go.

My route takes me from Innsbruck railway station to the village of Axams.

Then it’s a change to the ski bus that winds up the mountain to the resort base.

The entire journey takes round 50 minutes earlier than I arrive on the automobile park at 1,560 metres altitude, simply by the principle gondola.

It’s clear there’s no scarcity of snow.

A 6-minute journey, with a view again all the way down to Innsbruck within the valley under, takes skiers to the highest at 2,340m.

I’m conscious that PlanetSKI’s editor, James Cove, was greatly surprised when he first visited Axamer Lizum.

Would I be suitably impressed?

Sure. Wow, simply wow.

It could have little greater than 40km of marked runs however who cares after they’re simply so, so good.

And, on a midweek afternoon, virtually empty.

I assume I’m fortunate that my go to comes simply 48 hours after a snowstorm blanketed Axamer Lizum – and the opposite areas I’m to go to –  in 50 centimetres of snow.

The largely north-facing slopes listed below are in excellent situation – grippy, chalky and quick with loads of steep pitches.

It’s most likely the very best on-piste snowboarding I’ve had up to now this winter.

Many of the pistes are crimson and blue with only one black, nevertheless it’s the form of place the place I may simply spend the entire day lapping the very best of them again and again.

After a full afternoon blasting round, it’s a really comfortable skier – and one grateful to discover a seat on the bus – who’s returning to Innsbruck.

Rangger Köpfl

Day two and I’m off to a ski space that I’ve by no means heard of.

Like Azamer Lizum, it’s one in every of Innsbruck’s native ski hills.

And a hill is de facto all it’s.

Rangger Köpfl has a handful of family-friendly runs from the highest at 2,000m to 1,400m.

Simply often, if there’s sufficient snow, they’ll open up a run all the way down to the village under at 812m.

It’s well-liked with ski tourers who can climb up the facet of the quiet slopes with out interfering with these coming downhill.

Rangger Köpfl has undergone important modernisation this 12 months.

A 50-year-old T-bar carry has been changed with a brand new, mixed gondola and chairlift.

I report my first impressions for the PlanetSKI Snow Report after a morning’s snowboarding on Friday 31 January.

And right here I’m on a corduroy piste late morning with not one other skier in sight.

Kühtai

Subsequent up, I journey somewhat farther from town to the best ski space within the Innsbruck area.

Kühtai is 35km from Innsbruck however, once more, you will get there by bus from town.

It’s a scenic drive.

Even higher when there’s snow on the bushes.

Though certainly not large, the snowboarding is extra intensive than the opposite areas I’ve visited, with 49km of slopes.

You possibly can nearly double that to 90km because the carry go takes in each Kühtai and Hochoetz.

It’s also extra of a vacation vacation spot, although locals come right here too, lots of them to ski tour or use the cross-country tracks.

It’s the best ski village in Austria at simply over 2,000m and the snowboarding rises to 2,520m.

There are many difficult runs with the resort most suited to skiers and snowboarders who’re at the least good intermediates.

Nearly all of the runs are reds and blacks.

Even on a ‘busy’ Saturday afternoon on 1 February, there aren’t any crowds and the snow is great.

There may be loads of accessible off-piste however, three days after the newest massive snowfall, it’s effectively tracked out.

Muttereralm

And at last, one other of Innsbruck’s native hills.

Muttereralm is a small ski space above the village of Mutters.

It’s lower than 10km away from town centre and a 15-20 minute drive.

There are solely round 15km of pistes from 1,800m all the way down to round 950m.

There may be one brief part of black with the remaining blues and reds, so most people you’ll see are households with babies.

Actually, native kindergartens are the principle shoppers of the ski faculty right here.

There are two lengthy runs from the highest.

One takes you all the way in which all the way down to the Nockspitz gondola at Götzens and the opposite again to the Muttereralm base station.

It’s a wise place to finish my journey, as I handle to see your complete ski space (a few of it greater than as soon as) within the 90 minutes I’ve earlier than making the brief hop to Innsbruck airport for a day flight dwelling.

Leaving the slopes when the sky is blue and the solar is shining is all the time a wrench however I’ve totally loved my Innsbruck Ski & Metropolis expertise.

It’s made me hungry to return.

In spite of everything, there are various extra ski areas within the area that I’ve but to see.

The Ski & Metropolis Move consists of all 12 ski resorts within the Innsbruck area with a complete of 265 km of pistes. It additionally consists of 22 sights and points of interest.

Extra details about all of the snowboarding and all the pieces on provide within the area might be discovered on the Innsbruck web site.

 

 

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