|
If year round action is your cup of tea, and
skiing, mountain sports, tennis, and other madly active pursuits are your passions, then read
on. We will use the space available to make an introduction or further acquaintance to a ski
area, which in the past was a rose known by another name. Tuxertal.
Why the name change" Hey, stuff happens. Things change. A change in the name of a ski
area is no biggie. Tuxetal is now called Tux in Zillertal. Live with it.
What difference does it make?
Zip, in the grand scheme of things. Quite a bit if you happened
to be making a living by running a hotel in one of the many resorts
in the valley who found their name was far, less than a household
word on the international scene. A lot more if you are a skier
on the lookout for a really big, really diverse, really good
value ski destination.
Here's the new deal. One ski
pass, called the Zillertaler Super Ski Pass, covers all of the
skiing everywhere in the valleys that used to be known as Zillertal
and Tuxertal.
This pass includes more than
200 kilometres of prepared slopes, including the glacier at
Hintertux,
as well as the slopes in and around Hintertux, Madseit,Juns,
Lanersbach, Vorderlanersbach, Finkenberg, Mayrhofen, Ramsau, Schwendau,
Hippach, Zell am Ziller and Kaltenbach. Not bad eh?
Now, here's even more good news.
Once you have one of these super ski passes clutched in your
hot little hands you can ride the regularly scheduled trains
of the Ziller Valley Railway, all Ziller Valley Transport Authority
busses, and the Green line free ski bus service from Mayrhofen -
Rastkogelbahn - Hintertux without paying one penny.
What all this transportation
gets you to is some world class skiing. Lets look at the glacier
at Hintertux for example. This is the biggest single contributor
to those famous long and successful Tux winters. The winter ski
season begins as early as October and carries on without interruption
until May. Naturally, in the early and later stages of winter
all of the skiing will be confined to the glacier. Well confined
isn't exactly the word here, as this is one of the nicest, most
varied, and most wide open glaciers in the Alps. In winter the
glacier is a ski resort on its own.
When added to the skiing above
the other resorts in the Tux Valley, which by the way are now
almost totally interconnected, it's dynamite.
During the winter season there
are 82km of skiable terrain on the glacier, and 9 cable cars
and various ski lifts to do the transporting.
In addition to the prepared
ski slopes, the Olperer T-bar also has two half pipes for snow
boarders to do their thing. There is also a snow boarding school
in addition to the area's ski schools. A new 4 person chair lift
on the Sommerbergalm opens up the sunniest part of the glacier
for fair weather skiers. The glacier operates 365 days per year,
but as you can imagine, the skiable opportunities are much reduced
in summer. By the way, one does not have to be a world champion
to ski the glacier, there are plenty of slopes for normal recreational
skiers as well.
The village of Hintertux, which
lies directly at the foot of the glacier, is the most convenient
launching pad to all the action above. A new lift connecting
skiers to the Tuxer Joch has recently opened, making the skiing
even more interesting. Madseit, which is the next village along
this skier's valley, is limited to some fairly basic skiing just
outside of the village. This area will be best suited to those
fairly new to the sport, which makes this village an excellent
location for parties of varying degrees of skiing skills.
The beginners can gain confidence
on these slopes while better skiers can opt for the glacier or
the short bus ride to Lannersbach, from where lifts will get
you into the extensive and varied skiing on the Eggalm. This
combination of Lannersbach and Vorderlanersbach is a worthy entry
in anyone's ski books. This is a great place for a base camp,
with forays to the glacier as a treat. Ski runs weave all over
the area and take in the well known Rastkogel-Lammerbichl as
well as the Eggalm. There are no less than 32 lifts accessing
almost 100km of piste in the Tux Valley. And don't forget, all
on one lift pass.
Besides being able to ski the
Tux and Ziller Valleys on the aforementioned Super Pass, there
are also a couple of variations should you prefer to simply enjoy
the Tux. One can buy a Super Pass with or without the glacier
included, or opt for the pass covering the Glacierbahn, Eggalmbahn,
and the Rastkogelbahn. In any event there are just so many variations
on the possibilities, times and prices that we dare not start
quoting prices here. The area puts out a most informative ski
and price map, which will be able to give you a more detailed
breakdown. As well there are information folks at the foot of
each section.
Hopefully we have convinced
you that the Tux in winter is a heck of a ski and winter sport
destination, but rest assured, they do not pack away these mountains
when the snow melts. This valley is an ideal consideration for
those looking for a healthy, sports and activity break.
Besides the summer skiing, there
is just about every sport one could imagine. Naturally hiking
and climbing play a large role. There are over 180km of marked
hiking trails, with all of the ski areas mentioned above serving
as starting points. To get you started there are free guided
mountain hikes three days per week, so get out and enjoy the
clean, fresh air and spectacular scenery. There are indoor and
outdoor swimming pools, bowling alleys, tennis, mini golf, squash
and countless other activities available for those who choose
Tux in summer. Not a bad idea, is it?
To get here by car come in from Germany at Kufstein. Take the autobahn towards
Innsbruck, and watch for the Zillertal sings. In winter make sure you have chains to
reach the Tux Valley. By air fly to Munich, or Innsbruck if you can.
|
