The Pistes – 3/5

• Opens: 7th December 2019
• Closes: 19th April 2020
• 1 Day: €55,50
• 6 Days: €266,50

Once you’ve queued for the Penkenbahn (probably with one of Hans Gasser’s fine hot pork rolls in hand) you reach the main ski area. Most of the slopes are nice and wide, though you will find a few narrow tracks with the occasional flat patch linking some of the areas.

Beginners will really enjoy the pistes near the six-seater chairlifts gerent and Unterbergalm, but should steer well clear of the black piste that drops into the Horbergtal valley: the Harakiri. This is Austria’s steepest slope adventure with a gradient, in a tiny section anyway, of 78 percent (36 degrees). It is one of the few genuinely testing pistes here, and on an icy day, make sure you get that video camera on standby as you pass over on the Knorren chairlift. Blue run No.28 is known by locals and seasonaires as ‘Side Hit City’ and is a long winding run down with unchallenging terrain and a plethora of side hits to boost off.

From the other side of the village, the pistes served by Ahorn cable-car are much quieter and great for beginners and intermediates to have a relaxed slide on. There is a 5.5km leg burner back to the village that runs from the bottom of the Ebenwald chair, but this should only be attempted if there’s been plenty of snow about, otherwise you’ll face a long walk down.

The Parties – 5/5

Mayrhofen partying is a mix of the traditional Austrian and the traditional British – in other words it’s all completely bonkers. If you’re starting your party early, make sure to grab a couple of beers at Pilz Bar, when the weathers good, they’ll open up ‘The Mushroom’ to get some sun in. On a particularly good day, you’ll find people crowd surfing round the circular bar. The local après ski is handled nicely by the Ice Bar, which is directly next to the bottom of the Penkenbahn. This place is already rammed by 4pm with plenty of Austrian, German and Dutch revellers, all fuelled on Jaegermeister and Euro-pop, or the even dodgier Schlager music. By 4.15, someone’s usually dancing on a table in their ski-boots singing “Oi oi oi!”. If you fancy a little boogie, head up to Bruck’n Stadl, you’ll find euro pop and one of the best parties in town.

“Many young loves and broken hearts have been made here as the locals, the Dutch, German, Swedish and British all culminate in one sweaty dancehall”

The English pub, the Scotland Yard, provides a good respite from this Austrian madness and is open until 2am. It’s usually the choice of the locals and seasonnaires. Make sure to head down to Mike’s Sportsbar to see any football you might be missing while you’re away. His dart board is always a good way to wind down after a day on the hill. Also good is local snowboarding hero Thomas ‘Beckna’ Eberharter‘s restaurant Tiroler Stub’n – Zillertal cuisine done to perfection, along with a local musical accompaniment to your meal. Find out for yourselves exactly what that means!

Just out of town back towards the Ahornbahn is the Gasthoff Zillertal, a youth hostel mainly serving the young and the rowdy with cheap beer, all night food and live music. Many young loves and broken hearts have been made here as the locals, the Dutch, German, Swedish and British all culminate in one sweaty dancehall.