Love Mayrhofen? Where to go next for the evenings, the steep or the family week
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20268 min read
Mayrhofen is a lively, welcoming town in the Zillertal, and the people who love it tend to love it for one of three things. Nightlife is first on our list of what it does best, then families, then the snow park. Above the town sits a red mountain with a steep signature run, and it climbs a long way above a valley floor lower than almost anywhere we cover.
So the next trip depends on who is asking. The group that goes for the evenings wants the same nights with surer snow. The strong skier wants more of the steep. The family wants more room to ski together. Each has a different answer, and only one of them leaves Austria.
Mayrhofen, measured
It sleeps low and skis high. The town is at 630 metres, the second lowest of the 55 resorts we cover, and then the skiing climbs hard. Half the piste we measure lies above 1,829 metres, 55 percent is at or above 1,800, and the top of the skiing is 2,412 metres, measured. The longest piste we measure is a 4.3 kilometre red with 1,161 metres of vertical, which is the whole place in one run. On our snow sure test Mayrhofen passes the first half, more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres, and misses the second, because the skiing stops short of 2,500. So we do not call it snow sure, and nobody can promise snow anywhere.
It is a red mountain. More than half of what we measure is red. There are 28.5 kilometres of blue and easier, the least of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, but what blue there is, is kind: it averages 12.7 percent, the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against an Austrian average of 16.4. And 32 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 26 at the median resort we cover. Those are average gradients per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch. The 14.1 kilometres of black is exactly the median of the 55.
The area is the 142, not the pass. Mayrhofen's own domain is 142 kilometres, a figure we trust. The bigger Zillertal pass figure you will see quoted counts some slopes twice and spans four areas that are not joined by lift.
Our matching's closest resort to Mayrhofen anywhere is Kitzbühel: the same lively mood, but skiing that tops out 444 metres lower. That is a change of town, not of mountain, so it is not one of the routes here.
Sölden: if it is the evenings, with the snow above them
- VillageVillage
- 1,368 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,340 m
Sölden: 135 km of piste we measure. 77 km blue and easier 57%40 km red 29%19 km black 14%
If the best part of a Mayrhofen week is the town after the lifts close and the worst part is watching the forecast, Sölden keeps the first and takes most of the worry out of the second. It is lively by our read, and nightlife is on its list of what it does best, next to glaciers and snow sure skiing.
The village sits at 1,368 metres, 738 above Mayrhofen's, and the skiing reaches 3,306 metres, measured, 894 higher: the fifth highest top of the 55 resorts we cover and the highest of the 13 Austrian ones. Eighty nine percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, so it is snow sure on our measure, and the season runs from late November to May, longer at both ends.
There is more to ski, and the balance shifts. We measure 135 kilometres around Sölden, 45 more than around Mayrhofen, with 77 kilometres of blue and easier against 28.5 and 19 of black against 14.1. The red drops to 40 kilometres against 47.9, and the steep share barely moves: 30 percent against 32.
The trade is the gentleness of the easy runs. Sölden's blues average 17.3 percent against Mayrhofen's 12.7, so a nervous skier who copes at home may find them sharper. We class Sölden as lively but not as a family resort, and the snow park is on Mayrhofen's list of strengths, not Sölden's.
St Anton: if it is the steep run, and far more like it
- VillageVillage
- 1,304 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,811 m
St. Anton: 155 km of piste we measure. 66 km blue and easier 42%65 km red 42%24 km black 15%
Plus 70 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
If what you remember is the steep signature run and you want a whole mountain in that spirit, go to St Anton. Forty three percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, the joint second highest share of the 55 resorts we cover and the highest of the 13 Austrian ones, against 32 at Mayrhofen. Its reds average 25.8 percent against 23.3, and its blacks 34.1 against 27.5.
Then it adds what Mayrhofen lacks. There are 70 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the most of any resort we cover, where Mayrhofen has none in our data, and 24 kilometres of black against 14.1. We measure 155 kilometres around the village, 65 more than around Mayrhofen. It keeps the evenings, too: lively, energetic and social by our read, with nightlife on its list. The village is at 1,304 metres, 674 above Mayrhofen's, and 71 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,799, measured. Snow sure on our measure.
The trade is the gentle ground. Only 24 percent of St Anton's piste is gentler than 15 percent, the fifth smallest share of the 55 resorts we cover, against Mayrhofen's 32, and we class it as expert, not family. Go with people who are on the reds by Tuesday.
Saalbach-Hinterglemm: if it is the lively family week, on a bigger circuit
- VillageVillage
- 1,003 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,096 m
Saalbach-Hinterglemm: 192 km of piste we measure. 122 km blue and easier 64%58 km red 30%12 km black 7%
Plus 12 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Saalbach-Hinterglemm is for the Mayrhofen regular who loves the mix, a lively town and a week that works for the children, and wants more of it. It keeps both traits we give Mayrhofen, lively and family, and its list of what it does best reads the same way: the ski circus, nightlife and families.
The gain is space. We measure 192 kilometres of piste around Saalbach, the seventh most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Mayrhofen's 90.5. There are 122 kilometres of blue and easier, the sixth most of the 55 we cover, against Mayrhofen's 28.5, and 12 kilometres of marked itinerary. Black is close: 12.4 kilometres against 14.1.
The trade is height, and it runs the opposite way to the village. Saalbach's village is at 1,003 metres, 373 above Mayrhofen's, but its skiing tops out at 2,090, measured, 322 lower, and only 19 percent of its piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 55. Neither is snow sure on our measure; Saalbach's skiing simply sits lower.
It is also steeper than the family label suggests. Forty two percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the fourth highest share of the 55 we cover, its reds average 27.8 percent, the steepest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and its blues 17.8 against Mayrhofen's 12.7. The children get far more blue, and less of it is as gentle as the blue they know.
La Clusaz is the one route that changes country and keeps everything. It is our matching's second closest to Mayrhofen anywhere, a whisker behind Kitzbühel, and the only one of the five closest that loses none of Mayrhofen's traits: we class it as lively, traditional and family, with a weekend feel. The nearest airport is Geneva.
It is close to the same size. We measure 96.6 kilometres around the village, six more than around Mayrhofen, and the skiing tops out at 2,458 metres, measured, 46 higher. Green is reliably mapped here, so the easy figure is green and blue: 56 kilometres, against Mayrhofen's 28.5.
French and Austrian grades do not line up, so go by the measured shares, and they say La Clusaz is gentler at one end and steeper at the other. Thirty eight percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, against Mayrhofen's 32, and 39 percent is steeper than one in four, joint sixth of the 55 resorts we cover. Its reds average 29.0 percent, the steepest of the 55 we cover, and its blacks 37.3, the second steepest, though there are only 8.9 kilometres of black against 14.1.
The trade is where the snow sits. The village is at 1,100 metres, 470 above Mayrhofen's, but only 18 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 55.
So, which one
the evenings are half the point and you want the snow far higher, with more blue for the group, and nobody needs Mayrhofen's gentlest runs or the park.
the steep is what you go for and you want a mountain full of it, with more marked itinerary than any resort we cover and the nights to match.
it is the lively family week you love, you want far more piste and blue, and you can live with lower skiing.
you want the same size, the same mood and the same mix of traits in a new country, and you can give up most of the piste above 1,800 metres.
It keeps the lively Austrian week, takes the top of the skiing 894 metres higher, makes it snow sure on our measure and gives you more blue and more black. What you give up is Mayrhofen's gentlest blues and its family label.