Skiing
Tips for a day in Ischgl
We spent eight hours in Ischgl for our snow report. We took a close look at the ski resort and the village for you.
Place:
Ischgl
:
Restaurant, Alpine pasture / hut / mountain restaurant
The queue at the lift is short and after a few minutes we are sitting in the gondola. Once at the top, we get out in the middle of winter.
The Pardatschgratbahn cable car takes winter sports enthusiasts from the village centre up to the Pardatschgrat at over 2,600 metres above sea level in just ten minutes. If you already feel like you're in a science fiction film in the gondola, then look forward to the self-service restaurant at the mountain station. Star Trek sends its regards. If the Pardatschgratbahn cable car is busy, the Fimbabahn offers a good alternative to get to the ski area.
One of the most beautiful viewpoints in the ski area is the Pardatschgrat. The signpost pointing in all directions symbolises the cosmopolitan nature of this ski area.
We meet Martin and his friends from the Netherlands on the Pardatschgrat ridge. We ask them how they like the view and why they are opening the ski season here.
Marco from Germany tells us why he and his friends have been coming to Ischgl to ski with friends for years and what the snow conditions are like at the moment:
From Pardatschgrat, we take piste number 6 right into the heart of the ski area, the Idalp. This is also where the big "Top of the Mountain Concert" takes place every year with stars such as Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys and Sportfreunde Stiller.
Piste number 7 from the Pardatschgrat ridge through the Velilltal valley is also particularly interesting and perhaps one of the most scenic in the whole of Tyrol: the Bürkelkopf peaks rise up to over 3,000 metres on the right, with the Madlein mountain massif straight ahead.
We take the Idjoch cable car up and enjoy the boundless view of the Swiss mountains from there. This is because the cable cars in Ischgl in Austria and Samnaun in Switzerland have formed a cross-border ski area for several years now.
We meet Steffi and Olive at the Idjoch. They have travelled from near Stuttgart especially for the opening of the season in Ischgl and tell us more about the piste conditions today, just one day after the start of skiing.
We stop for lunch at the Videralp, a cosy hut with a large sun terrace and good food.
Further tips for refreshments:
After our refreshment, we head up to the Palinkopf and enjoy the descent on piste number 22.
A few tips for all the sporty and ambitious among you is piste 14a with a gradient of up to 70 per cent - your thighs will burn just looking down. Want to make a detour to Switzerland? Then we recommend the Duty Free Run via piste 80a (Zeblaswiese) to Samnaun, including a coffee or shopping break.
At the Idalp, we meet a fun group of skiers celebrating the season opening in 80s style. We head back down into the valley and go for a drink in the "Allegra", a cosy bar in the style of an American diner from the 1950s.
We chat to bar manager Mario at the Allegra. The bar is known for its good pasta dishes and steaks. It is part of the well-known Hotel Yscla, where one of Austria's youngest award-winning chefs works.
Our conclusion: In the days leading up to our visit, around 30 centimetres of snow fell in the Ischgl ski area, with temperatures of around minus 10 degrees. That means the finest powder snow - which of course pleases everyone who came to Ischgl for the start of the season...
Accommodation tip: If you are already in Ischgl, the experience should be appropriate and exceptional. The Trofana Royal fulfils these expectations in every respect: it is the only 5-star superior hotel in Austria with three Gault Millau toques. It is also characterised by its exclusive location directly on the ski slope.
Further tips and snow information about the ski resort can be found here: Silvretta Arena Ischgl. Do you know any insider tips in Ischgl? Then share them with other BlogTirol readers right here.
