If you want to know how I landed on this under-the-radar region for a visit, it's due to this TR of Planneralm from New Year's Eve 2013. Titled "Volltreffer" (meaning jackpot or bullseye), this guy clearly had a good day there and something about the simplicity of the setting really hit my sweet spot. For the next several years, I kept thinking that it would be fun to go on a road trip to a bunch of low-elevation ski areas in this region, with Planneralm as my main attraction.
From where I was staying in the village of Aigen, it was less than a half-hour drive through the village of Donnersbach ("Thunder Creek") to Planneralm on the left or Riesneralm on the right, which I was planning to ski the following day.
It always helps to tout a superlative and Planneralm claims to be the highest lift-served ski area in the region of Steiermark with its summit at 2,200 meters/7,200 feet. Because of its favorable location, they're able to get away without snowmaking: 100% natural snow, which is advertised in a poster at the base:
Basically a 1.5-mile-wide bowl with three lifts and a vertical drop of 2,000 feet:
The offpiste there had stiffened up a bit since the last snowfall so I stayed on the groomers doing high-speed laps most of the day. The natural snow felt fantastic, especially where it had been warmed up by the sun.
Skier's left had photogenic trees on the lower half:
The pride of the ski area is the 1973 Gläserboden t-bar:
... which culminates in a convincingly steep stretch at the top:
Traversing across the ridge:
Looking out over the BC backside of the ski area -- you can see a set of tracks down the middle:
Around 2 pm, I stopped for a late lunch at this cute hut:
Vegetarian spätzle with a side salad, a Weihanstephaner beer, and the obligatory apple strudel: 17 euros. An excellent deal and my most expensive ski lunch of the entire week.
From where I was staying in the village of Aigen, it was less than a half-hour drive through the village of Donnersbach ("Thunder Creek") to Planneralm on the left or Riesneralm on the right, which I was planning to ski the following day.
It always helps to tout a superlative and Planneralm claims to be the highest lift-served ski area in the region of Steiermark with its summit at 2,200 meters/7,200 feet. Because of its favorable location, they're able to get away without snowmaking: 100% natural snow, which is advertised in a poster at the base:
Basically a 1.5-mile-wide bowl with three lifts and a vertical drop of 2,000 feet:
The offpiste there had stiffened up a bit since the last snowfall so I stayed on the groomers doing high-speed laps most of the day. The natural snow felt fantastic, especially where it had been warmed up by the sun.
Skier's left had photogenic trees on the lower half:
The pride of the ski area is the 1973 Gläserboden t-bar:
... which culminates in a convincingly steep stretch at the top:
Traversing across the ridge:
Looking out over the BC backside of the ski area -- you can see a set of tracks down the middle:
Around 2 pm, I stopped for a late lunch at this cute hut:
Vegetarian spätzle with a side salad, a Weihanstephaner beer, and the obligatory apple strudel: 17 euros. An excellent deal and my most expensive ski lunch of the entire week.
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