Karwendelbahn in Mittenwald, Germany

[Mike Pow]

Karwendelbahn in Mittenwald
http://www.bergfex.com/karwendel-mittenwald/
http://www.karwendelbahn.de/

I've got a 72-hr pass out of Wales during the UK half-term holidays and really fancy hitting Karwendelbahn / Damkar.

Heard nothing but good on here and elsewhere.

Looking to arrive Wednesday 17 February, ski Thursday and Friday, and leave Saturday morning back to Munich.

Anyone been this winter?

Anyone care to decipher the deutsch to let me know how it is at the moment please.

Do I need a guide or is it obvious?

Any recommendations for accommodation please?

Anyone around then assuming the conditions are good?

Thanks in advance.

[Toadman]

Looks like they received a few (5cm new at the top) and a 150 cm base. Seems to be another storm forecast for the next few days with just a few cm (3-7) accumalation.

Never been during the winter, but the area is nice enough. I guess if you have a cheap fare to Muncih, it's worth a few days if the snow is good when you get there.

The site says they avy control the Damkar route and mark the area, so you could probably get by without a guide. Or just follow the tracks. Just remember to not follow them off a cliff.

[Mike Pow]

Thanks.

Anyone on the ground?

[burny]

to be honest, the dammkar can be great, but only if you are in the first gondola after a big storm and the avy control opens up the couloir. There are no problems finding the route, its the only obvious way ... if however you get there a few cablecars after the first, everything turns into a horrible bumppiste. You absolutely have to be first!
And only go there if it snows more than 20 cm.

[freak]

what burny said.
the good days there are rare, and its only good for a few runs.
and at the moment there is not much snow in the northern alps. there is some in the forecast for the next days and the situation can change in two weeks but i doubt that you can really ski down to mittenwald now.
dont fix yourself on the dammkar/karwendelbahn, there is so much stuff to ski in the area...

freak~[&]

[Mike Pow]

Thanks guys.

That's what I was looking for.

Alternatives please freak?

[klar]

try to avoid booking anywhere untill a few days before and stay as mobile as possible. if you want to visit the general Bavaria/northern Tyrol region there is a lot of stuff you can easily reach by car or even train/bus from innsbruck or even munich (car would be better if in muc). Some of the areas in the Außerfern (Berwang etc) have nice tree skiing and would be alot less crowded than the dammkar on a powder day.

i'm sure burny can keep you updated on conditions at dammkar and freak and/or i would be happy to show you around if you end up in or near innsbruck.

[Mike Pow]

Excellent. Many thanks.

[Marius]

snow-station over there. atm you probably can ski down to ~1500m. (so ~500m are missing http://www.lawinenwarndienst-bayern....hp?ID=1&Datum=

[Mike Pow]

Thanks very much for the info and link

[burny]

just talked to one of the avy guys there ... you can ski almost down to the bottom (was possible since christmas, fu Marius, your internetzskillz zuckz ballz )
he will give me infos about the avy situation tomorrow (especially when they will open up ) i'll let you know, it snows right now around here quite a bit.

[Hicks]

Another vote for the Leermoos/Berwang area.

[Mike Pow]

Thanks guys

[Mike Pow]

Anyone skied here?

Laber-Bergbahn, Oberammergau
http://www.laber-bergbahn.de/en/?Skiing

[klar]

ok. your obvious ambition to ski something innovative is great and i commend you for it. however, the laber is even lower than the karwendelbahn. you have to be able to ski down to 800m or so. i'm sure it's great if you hit it right. that means hit it when they have a base and a major storm from the north just came through. if you get that then it's steep and fun and all that. it's also pretty crowded and turns to bumps very quickly. imo since you only have a couple of days you would be far better off going somewhere with a little more varied terrain and preferrably a bit more elevation.

do you have to book a place in advance? i would really recommend to decide on where to go just a few days before you fly down... if you are flying into munich you can get almost anywhere between salzburg, innsbruck and the greater Garmisch neighbourhood with a two hour train ride.

[Hicks]

Anyone skied here?

Laber-Bergbahn, Oberammergau
http://www.laber-bergbahn.de/en/?Skiing

I did - a LOOOONG time ago though.

I wouldn't bother with it except you accidentally happen to get stuck there, so many better places not too far away.

[Mike Pow]

cheers Klar and Hicks

just checking out the options. the area is all new to me. trying to get past the hype and your opinions are greatly appreciated.

will book a flight and hit whichever has the best snow.

will be getting into munich at 9pm on wednesday 17th.

two questions for now please

1. what's the most central option for accommodation to hit the areas you've recommended - berwang and leermoos - and laber or karwendelbahn if they are going off?

2. Any specific hotels, B&Bs?

[beer30]

GAP for sure would be the most central. sounds like the snow is up high this year so pony up one day and ski the zugspitze. Garmisch has some great areas, ski them. Also if the snow is low hit up biberweir in the lermoos valley ( but i didnt tell you that), its got some of the best tree skiing ive ever done and youl be all alone there. I also think the harmelkopf in seefeld has a great drainage, steep and about 2500 ft of vert. I skied the GAP area for 6 years and when its on its really good.
have fun, drink augusteiner and PLEASE post a lengthy TR.

[beer30]

PS room wise just look for the ubiquitous Zimmer Frei sign. Cheap and breakfast included

[Mike Pow]

Brilliant. Many thanks.

[freak]

garmisch is central if you want to stay in the zugspitz-area (biberwier, leermoos, karwendelbahn etc.) but as stated before there is really no snow there atm, especially not at lower elevations. if there is not 1m of snow before you arrive, i would forget places like laber and karwendelbahn. i would only go there for half a day anyways.
if you are willing to travel a bit further i would recommend innsbruck (i think it i even faster to go by train to innsbruck than to garmisch) from whre you can reach a big number of resorts like the whole arlberg, the tyrolean glaciers and even some nice and smaller spots. and there is even at least some snow now in the area.

freak~[&]

[DeutschBag]

The Garmisch Classic area sucks. The Zugspitze can be fun after a big dump but the good routes have to be reached taking a multitude of T-bars and a chairlift. It gets tiring after a while and you do have to know where you're going to make the most of it. As klar said, there are much, much better options not too much further away. The SkiWelt/Kitzbuehl area can be a lot of fun (especially Kitz). Park at the Pengelstation gondola and explore from there. Lots of good on and off piste around there and usually not too busy. Or, try Jenner in Berchtesgaden. It's a small, little-known area but is a lot of fun. Views to die for, kind of a low-key mom and pop type place but some great technical terrain in bounds you should easily be able to find.

Most importantly - have fun! There should be some new snow no matter where you go. I've got 18 inches in my yard over the last 3 days and I'm sitting at just over 500m elevation in mid-Bavaria.

[klar]

Or, try Jenner in Berchtesgaden. It's a small, little-known area but is a lot of fun. Views to die for, kind of a low-key mom and pop type place but some great technical terrain in bounds you should easily be able to find.

the jenner is another one of those places that don't have enough snow to be worth the trouble for someone flying in over the weekend.

ALSO: IF IT IS NOT GROOMED IT IS NOT CONTROLLED. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TECHNICAL INBOUNDS TERRAIN!

[Mike Pow]

Thanks all.

Did my first ever season in Ellmau and skied the Ski Welt and Kitz quite a bit.

Looking for something different (for me at least) and don't really want to go to the more established areas as it's UK half term holiday week.

Jenner looks right up my strasse
http://www.jennerbahn.de/jennb/live/...nnb_navi_id=33

[klar]

From the website you linked:

Die Pisten am Jenner sind maschinell beschneit....

und zur Zeit nur teilweise geöffnet.
Auf Grund der aktuellen Schneesituation ist der Bereich außerhalb der präparierten Pisten schneefrei, dadurch sind keine Absicherungsmaßnahmen möglich.

Translation:
the pistes have artificial snow...

and only partially open.
Because of the current snow situation everything off the pistes is free of snow, so no saftey measures are possible (I assume they mean fencing for the pistes)