Mayrhofen or Schladming: the higher mountain or the gentler one?
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Mayrhofen and Schladming are two Austrian valley towns with a lot in common. Both are low: Mayrhofen's village, at 630 metres, is the second lowest of the 55 resorts we cover, and Schladming's, at 745, is the fourth lowest of the 55 we cover. Both are on our family list, both run from December to April, and our matching puts Mayrhofen closer to Schladming than any other Austrian resort we cover.
Above the towns they part company. Mayrhofen's skiing climbs a long way, and most of it is red. Schladming's stays lower, and it is gentler, with far more blue. So the real question is which your group would find harder to live with: a mountain of reds, or skiing that sits low in a lean winter. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Mayrhofen | Schladming |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 630 m | 745 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,412 m | 2,001 m |
| Ski area | 142 km across Penken, Ahorn, Rastkogel and Eggalm, on the Zillertal pass | 123 km on four mountains linked end to end, on the Ski amadé pass |
| Piste we measure around the town | 90.5 km | 134 km |
| Blue and easier | 28.5 km, 31% of the piste | 59 km, 44% of the piste |
| Red | 47.9 km, 53% | 62 km, 46% |
| Black | 14.1 km | 12.9 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | None in our data | 2 km |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 32% | 27% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 32% | 39% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 55% | 7% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Innsbruck or Salzburg | Salzburg |
Schladming takes our measured piste and the easy rows. Mayrhofen takes the height rows above the town, by a long way, and the steep share. On black they are close: 14.1 kilometres against 12.9.
Altitude: the towns are close, the skiing is not
Schladming's town is 115 metres higher than Mayrhofen's, which hardly counts when both sit this low. The gap that matters is above them. Mayrhofen's skiing tops out at 2,412 metres, measured, 411 higher than Schladming's 2,001. Of what we measure at Mayrhofen, 55 percent is at or above 1,800 metres and 91 percent at or above 1,500. At Schladming the same figures are 7 and 37 percent. Half of Mayrhofen's piste lies above 1,829 metres; half of Schladming's lies above 1,384.
29 km blue and easier 32%48 km red 53%14 km black 16%
59 km blue and easier 44%62 km red 46%13 km black 10%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Schladming 2 km.
Neither passes our snow sure test, which asks for more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres and skiing that reaches 2,500. Mayrhofen clears the first part and falls short on the second. Schladming misses both, with the third smallest share above 1,800 metres of the 55 resorts we cover. Nobody can promise snow anywhere. But if your dates are early or late in the season, Mayrhofen has far more of its skiing well up the hill.
Size: the area figures and our measure disagree
Mayrhofen's own domain is 142 kilometres across Penken, Ahorn, Rastkogel and Eggalm, the figure every source gives. Schladming's four mountains, linked end to end with no bus, come to 123. On those figures Mayrhofen is 19 kilometres bigger.
Our own measure of the graded piste around each town points the other way: 134 kilometres at Schladming and 90.5 at Mayrhofen, 43 fewer. Schladming's measured figure runs past its own 123 and Mayrhofen's falls well short of its 142, and we have not yet pinned down why. So treat the size as close, and let the shape of the skiing decide.
Both sit on bigger passes, and neither pass is one area. The Zillertal pass covers four separate areas, its headline figure counts some slopes twice, and the Hintertux glacier on it is a bus ride from the Mayrhofen side. Ski amadé covers 760 kilometres in five regions, not all joined, and Schladming's four mountains are a domain of their own.
The skiing: Mayrhofen is the red mountain, Schladming the blue one
At Mayrhofen, 53 percent of the piste we measure is red. There are 28.5 kilometres of blue and easier, the least of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and 32 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 26 at a typical resort we cover. The black comes to 14.1 kilometres, the median for the 55 resorts we cover. The longest piste we measure is a 4.3 kilometre red with 1,161 metres of vertical.
29 km blue and easier 32%48 km red 53%14 km black 16%
59 km blue and easier 44%62 km red 46%13 km black 10%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Schladming 2 km.
Schladming leans the other way. It has 59 kilometres of blue and easier, 31 more than Mayrhofen, and 39 percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, the largest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. Its share steeper than one in four, 27 percent, is the second smallest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. It has more red than Mayrhofen too, 62 kilometres, but as a smaller share of a bigger total, and 2 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary where Mayrhofen has none in our data. Green is not reliably mapped at either resort, so both easy figures are blue and easier.
Who each one actually suits
Mayrhofen suits a group that wants the evening to be part of the holiday. It is lively and welcoming by our read, and nightlife comes first on our list of what it does best, ahead of families and the snow park. On the mountain it suits people who are happy on red: confident intermediates, anyone heading for the park, and families whose children have moved past the nursery slopes. Innsbruck and Salzburg are the airports.
Schladming suits families with beginners and improvers in them, who get far more blue and the largest share of gentle piste of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. It is down to earth and friendly by our read, and night skiing, families and value are the three things on our list for it, so the floodlit runs add an evening on the snow. It suits a group that wants to ski together all day across four mountains linked end to end, and a family going in the heart of the winter. Salzburg is the airport.
The bit nobody tells you
Each has a surprise in its average gradients. These are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so read them as how the week feels rather than a verdict on any one run.
Mayrhofen, the red mountain, has the gentlest blues of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. They average 12.7 percent, against an Austrian average of 16.4. There just are not many of them. Schladming, the gentle one, has the steeper reds: they average 24.4 percent, against 23.3 at Mayrhofen and an Austrian average of 23.4. Its blacks, on the other hand, are the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, at 25.0 against Mayrhofen's 27.5.
So if your improvers are taking the step up to red this week, Schladming's reds are the stiffer test, and there are more of them. If they are staying on blue, both mountains are kind, and Schladming has 31 kilometres more.
So, which one
you want lively evenings and the snow park, your group is happy on red, or your dates are early or late in the season and you want more of the skiing up high. Also if a day on the Hintertux glacier, by bus, appeals.
your group is mostly on blue, you want the largest share of gentle piste of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, the floodlit night skiing appeals, and you can go in January or February.
Fifty five percent of its piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 7 percent at Schladming, and that is the one gap you can do nothing about once you arrive. Its blues are few, but they are the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. Schladming is the right answer for a family of beginners and improvers booking the heart of the winter, and for them it is a very good one.