Zell am Ziller, Austria

Kerry & Jackie from NEW ZEALAND writes:

We spent a winter in Zell & skied most of the areas in Zillertal - all close & served by buses & a cute train - our season passes included all the areas (15?) in the valley as well as the train. We lived pretty much at the foot of Kreuzjoch, the hill behind Zell am Ziller town & it was a cool place, 2 sides to the mountain, the south facing towards Gerlostein was spring snow early in Feb. Nice cafes, lifts were a bit old but who cares... some days were powder, not that many trees to ski in but good slopes, bit autobahny here & there, particularly if a big crowd was there. Most of the time we had no full days, just cruisy. They used to put out a few training gates, probably for local teams but they never minded us using them, as long as we replaced any knockouts. Beware 2pm on, the kids get out of school & invade & they are not partial to queuing & waiting their turn... plenty of other mountains to try nearby, skiers mostly local, German & Dutch. Kiwis & Australians were very thin on the ground, local villagers don't speak English, this resort is not on the usual English speaking circuit (which is why we went there!). Easter was a blast - church in the morning, then a bierhaus oompahpah session, then skiing - everyone was drunk & skied like demons. Nobody died. Weather was a bit Euro, some great days & then fog, then back to clear skies, bit of a cycle. Score out of 10? 8.5. Enjoy.

2005-07-14