We will return to regularly scheduled programming soon, but I hope you will entertain one more additional post on our misadventures in Austria.
Ischgl
After skiing the Arlberg, we decided that we should get up early the next day and ski Ischgl. We had put off skiing long enough and Erik seemed to be skiing decent on the pistes with his arm in a sling. It's a bit of a haul to Ischgl on transit, so got up early, caught a 6:41 train to Landeck, and then a bus up the Paznaun valley to Ischgl, arriving at about 8:30 as the valley lifts opened.
Ischgl is located in the next vavlley south from St. Anton, just 12-km away as the crow flies. It receives a bit less snow since it is deeper in the inner Alps, but has two distinct advantages for skiing. It has more high elevation terrain and it has predominantly northwest aspects. Although not as spread out as St. Anton, it is a big resort, with a vertical drop of almost 5000 feet. It is also known for a hedonistic night life and served as "ground zero" for the COVID spread through Europe, but we weren't going there to party.
We caught the Pardatschgratbahn S3 cable car which brought us from 1377 to 2600 meters and then started working our way southward. In the southern portion of the resort you'll find the Gampenbahn six pack chairlift, which rises just over 3000 vertical feet and has the largest vertical rise of any six-passenger chairlift in the world.
It also services pretty good terrain, especially on its upper half. I no longer have the legs to do this, but I've often wondered how much vertical you could rack up on a chair like this.
To the south past the Gampenbahn, there is a lot of open terrain and only one lift, the Piz Val Gronda cable car.
The 150 passenger aerial tram services an enormous amount of freeride terrain, although some of it is flat or lower angle. There is only one piste. There is no restaurant at the top. I like to call it the cable car to nowhere. I have heard that it's construction was controversial since it covered terrain that was otherwise undeveloped or at least underdeveloped.
We then worked our way back to the north and eventually across the main Ischgl ridge. Crossing this ridge puts you in Switzerland and the Samnaun ski resort. The two are interconnected and served by one pass. Samnaun also provides almost 5000 vertical feet of relief. We lacked the time to ski to the bottom, but did ski the upper part of the resort and skied down into the Mülbach valley for lunch.
We weren't disappointed.
After skiing back over the Ischgl, we spent a little time skiing under the Pardatschgratbahn S3 cable car. I have skied at Ischgl three times, and each time, the #4 piste offered up uncrowded cruising.
We descended down to Ischgl and walked about a half a kilometer to the first bus stop before town. This is a good rule to follow if you want a seat on busy days.
Artzler Alm
After skiing Ischgl, we had only one day left in Innsbruck. We decided not to push our luck with more skiing. We also needed to pack, which was not a trivial matter given that we had brought touring and alpine gear.
We decided to take advantage of the mild valley weather and go for a hike to Artzler Alm, a lower elevation mountain hut just north of Innsbruck. It was their first day open for the season and we were amongst their first customers.
And the views are very enjoyable. Note the structural defenses for avalanches on the left in the photo. This is near the bottom of a long-running path that has penetrated into the upper reaches of residential areas near Innsbruck.
If you ever visit Innsbruck, consider a hike to one of the great mountain huts above town. At lower elevations, you'll find Umbrugler Alm, Artzler Alm, and Rumer Alm. Higher up Bodenstein Alm and Höttenger Alm. None of these will disappoint. You can do some nice loops if you hook up with the Seegrube cable car.
Munich
Our trip concluded the next day with pigs knuckle in Munich.
Love the write up on your European ski trip! Thanks for sharing. I am curious as the new challenger lift at Sun Valley is a 6-pack and rises some 3,100 vertical feet. The lift you mention in Ischgl must barely have it beat.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about that too. Doppelmayr lists the vertical drop of the Gampenbahn at Ischgl at 924 meters (3031 feet). So it's possible SV has beaten that now.
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