Hoher Riffler

12:30
I sleep well - better than I’ve slept in a good few days. There’s still a bit of waking in the midst of a coughing fit, but I get back to sleep more quickly and easily than I have of late. I sleep till nearly 08:00, and spend a gorgeous hour waking up and mooching. I’m not hungry, so skip breakfast, and slowly get ready for the day. My experience is that getting ready for the first day’s skiing on a trip always takes about 3 times as long as any other day on the same trip. Several times, I’m think I’m ready to go, but realise I’ve forgotten something.

I end up heading out at 09:30, and jump on the Penken cable car, right next to my hotel. There’s some snow falling in the town centre, which makes it likely there’s heavier snowfall up the mountain. The Penken cable car runs up to 1,800m. The French resorts with which I’m most familiar (Tignes, Val D’Isere, Courchevel, Meribel are all stationed at that kind of altitude, allowing you to ski back down to the resort once you’re done for the day. Here in the Zillertal, the resort hotels are typically on the valley floor, and require a lift to reach the snow line. In the very snowiest of years, there are a couple of ski tracks down to some of the resorts, but they’re the exception. On the way up the mountain, we pass through some thick cloud and some heavy snow, but emerge above it. It looks like the cloud level is around 1,600m, so staying above that promises better conditions.

I grab another lift further up the mountain, to around 2,000m. In the queue for the lift, I have a gander at other folks’ skiing outfits. I’m never been one to worry too much about what my ski gear looks like. Function most definitely > form. I also don’t replace it when there’s a new trend to follow, but only when it’s knackered, and no longer does the job. It appears though, that my clothing this year is bang on trend. I bought myself a new North Face coast in olive green a few weeks back, and this kind of drab, military style colour is apparently very popular this season. There’s a snowboarder kid, maybe in his early 20s, in front of me in the queue for the chairlift. He’s cool. He’s very cool. He’s achingly cool. He’s wearing the same jacket as me, and his ski pants are very similar in colour to mine as well. His palpable shame when he realises the 47 year old is basically his clothing twin is (for me at any rate) totes hilarious.

At 2,000m, it’s cold and blustery, but visibility is good. Heading off down the mountain, I quickly determine I’m in the wrong ski boots. This is not uncommon when I rent equipment. It often takes me a day to get to the right boots for my trip. Happily, there’s a rental shop at the top of the Penken lift, so I stop in, and swap my boots for another pair, before heading further up the mountain again. These boots, sadly, are even worse. It’s like my feet and particularly my right foot are in a vice. Not fun. I stop again at the rental shop, and have a slightly strange conversation with the rental shop dude about the shape of my feet (diamond like, if you wish to know). Anyways, he recommends a different pair of boots, as well as a bigger size. By comparison, they’re like putting on a pad of pillows.

Back on the slopes, things are much improved. I run a couple of times up and down the main Penken slopes. They’re very busy though, so I head over to the Ahorn Bahn. Being in a valley, Mayrhofen offers skiing on both sides of the valley. Ahorn is the other side of the Mayrhofen valley, and offers wider runs typically. Up the mountain, I head down a run. Almost instantly, a blizzard hits. Visibility quickly deteriorates until I can barely see 10m. If I were familiar with the runs, that wouldn’t be such a problem, but I have the sum total of fuck all idea where I’m going. I get to the bottom of the run, and decide to declare beer o’clock, and to see how conditions are going to develop through the day.

15:30
Back in Mayrhofen, I stop for a Weissbier, which hits several spots. I suddenly remember that I’ve not eaten today, and need to feed. I head to a cool little bar/café called Ellies, and settle in with another beer, and a brilliant burger. Smoky, charred, and tasting of properly good beef. YUM. The waiter dude grabs my empty food tray, and asks if I want another beer. What a sensible idea…

Weather apps are predicting that the snowfall is gonna continue for the rest of the day. I declare skiing done, and look at ways to spend my afternoon. It would be very easy to head straight to one of the many après-ski venues in downtown Mayrhofen, but I resist the urge (for now). My hotel has a more than decent spa attached, and the idea of some jacuzzi and sauna time is enticing…

23:45
The spa is great! I spend a decent whack of time in the hydropool. It’s hot enough to relax my muscles, and the water-jets are all kinds of saucy. I follow this up with a sauna. I correctly determine this is a clothing recommended sauna, so keep my boardies on. The hotel’s a very chilled out kind of environment. I happily pad back to my room in my dressing gown.

I put my head down for a nap, but my chest isn’t playing ball. I just can’t find a position that will let me drift off without a hacking cough every couple of minutes. Scheiße.

Around 18:00, I give up and have a bath. The bath in my room is a slightly strange sitting affair. I think it’s to minimise the amount of space required, but also has the benefit of ensuring the legs are completely covered by hot water at all times.

Cleansed, I head out for a pre-prandial beer. There’s an après-ski bar attached to the hotel, but the music emanating from it is woeful. I head intsead to Mo’s, where a two piece acoustic couple are doing cool things with guitars and vocals. I happily perch at the bar, and have a couple of Weissbiers.

By 19:30, I’m more than peckish. I didn’t ski the whole day, but have still put a reasonable shift in. I’m seated at a large, bench table with some other solo skiers, and quickly befriend Dave, Charlie and Rod. We chat away contentedly - previous ski trips, snow conditions today and tomorrow, life back home… The food is great - definitely a cut above what I’m used to on these kinds of trips. The main is a rack of lamb which is served with an incredible lamb jus. V tasty…

I finish dinner around 21:00. My Vikings are live in TV at 22:00, so I’m planning to watch as late as I can manage. The game’ll probably finish after 01:00, and I doubt I’ve got that in me. I decide a post-prandial walk is in order, so head out for a wander. It’s cold, and the pavements are starting to get super-slippery as they freeze. I head to the bottom of Mayrhofen, and loop back around to Main Street. This takes me past the Scotland Yard pub - my second monikered pub in as many trips. I don’t know what it is about Scotland Yard that folks outside of the UK think is highly redolent of traditional London. The sign confuses me - “Scotland Yard - Irish Pub.” I briefly consider stopping for a pint, but it’s pretty empty inside. I wander if it’s even open.

Back at Strass Hotel, I grab a beer in the bar, and chat to some folks sitting up at the bar. It looks like the snowy conditions are setting in for the next couple of days. Mornings are looking better for skiing than afternoons, so I’ll plan to be up in decent time tomorrow. Back at my room, I open a beer, and kick back to watch my beloved Vikings. The game is tighter than it should be. I head to be around midnight, with the Vikings up 20-17. GO VIKES.Read more