The Skiers' Guide to Wurzeralm

I've spent two seasons at Wurzeralm and, despite its small size, it has a lot of heart. It has 22.5km of pisted runs, with 10.5km blue, 10km red and 2km blue. The best runs on the mountain are the red into black run on the Frauenkar chairlift, with a gorgeous off-piste section at the top, called the Romantic, surrounded by steep cliffs, which are home to mountain goats, or the gorgeous 5km blue run on the valley side of the 4-man Gammering chairlift. The 5km blue run boasts varying terrain levels, and a section of off-piste that is not one to miss on a powder day. Despite the lack of a formal park, the regulars and ski instructors regularly build jumps, with the best being in the trees on the Schwarzeck t-bar lift. It's seemingly quiet appeal brings in people from all over Europe, and its excellent ski school and 56 euro day lift pass makes it a family friendly location. There are 5 restaurants on mountain, my personal favourite being Linzerhaus, run by a former Hunter: I'd recommend the pizzas! The issues I find are it's height; the valley runs closed in early March this year, and snow quality deteriorated around the same time. During Christmas and Fasching, the resort can become very busy, and the kinderland can become very packed. The Kinderland is very well maintained, and bigger than one may expect for a small resort, but getting from there back to the top train station can be difficult as a beginner, as the only way back up without walking is to take the t-bar. The Linzerhaus t-bar runs are great for beginners, but the lift queues can extend to 20 minutes or more in peak season. The train going from the bottom to the top of the mountain is very efficient, but comes once every 7 minutes, and gets very packed in peak times. One great thing about this resort is the opportunity for ski touring and backcountry skiing. Routes up Stubitz and Rotes Wand offer incredible views and off piste experiences such as the Canyon and the Romantic. Overall, Wurzeralm is a brilliant family friendly bargain resort, and though it may be small, it's not one to overlook, as there is plenty of opportunity for off-piste and freeride skiing, as long as you're willing to put the effort in to find it! A solid 7.5/10.