Ski Trips - St. Jakob in Defereggental (the Funpark!)

In a previous post, we showed briefly the skiing in St. Jakob in Defereggental (Austria).  A little further than most skiiers in Munich will drive, but wide open slopes and short lines make it a relaxing alternative to the crowded mountains closer to big cities.

Another especially interesting dimension of Defereggental is the "Funpark".  This is basically a long, broad slope that has ramps, jumps, and other possibilities for trick skiing.  Think of your local skateboard halfpipe area at the park - this is the skiing version.  You have to go to a specific lift for it -- the arrow on the map shows you where it's located on the slopes.

This is a pair of good sized snow jumps.  I would see a bunch of snowboarders and skiiers (see the double tracks?) try them, although conservatively.  I tried a jump like this at a different Funpark and fell back on my butt - you have to lean forward more than you'd think. I would see a lot of snowboarders resting uphill from the jumps with their buddies, perhaps getting up the nerve to kick off and tackle the jumps.

Expecially for the snowboarders, St. Jakob has installed skateboard-like handrails to jump up and slide down.  Here you can approach from the right or the left.  I actually saw a skiier do this one!  He was one of those Austrian teenagers that has probably been skiing since he was three years old.  I saw him all day, and he would ski down the easy slopes going backwards, so this guy had chops. 

This one was almost exclusively used by snowboarders.  Maybe because of the curve?  It would theoretically be possible to do this with skiis, right?  You can see a lot of snowboard tracks to the left of the ramp, where people changed their minds at the last minute and changed course to go right of the ramp. 

I didn't see anyone try this particular prop while I was taking the lifts.  But I think it's cool that they installed an entire stairway in the slopes, and am guessing that when the hard-core snowboarders are out there that this is used quite a bit.  I want to see three guys board down this at the same time, one on each section!  It's funny that you can see footprints on the left - did someone wipe out and head back up for another go?

 

Finally, there was this monster jump.  HUGE.  I thought about taking this veeeeery slowly, but chickened out.  Look at the right side of the ramp and you'll see ski marks about halfway up - that come diagonally down from right to left.  These people, like me, started approaching this towering pile of snow and changed their minds, swerving to the left and cutting across the side of the ramp rather than over it!  I did see some people do this, and a professional photographer taking photos.  I'll look for them on the next brochure.  Cool. dude.

Ski Trips - St. Jakob in Defereggental (the slopes)

Skiing is so incredibly convenient in Munich.  You can be at the foot of excellent slopes in 90 minutes within Germany, and if you open up to a 2-3 hour perimeter you get hundreds of options in Austria.

One trip I especially liked was to St. Jakob in Defereggental, in the famous area of Tirol, Austria (also spelled Tyrol).  It's a little farther to drive than most Müncheners will venture -- a little more than 3 hours with a car.  You can see that it is near the narrow stretch of eastern Austria, close to Italy! (Brunico is in Italy on the map.)  Yes, Munich rocks -- you can get to Northern Italy in 3.5 hours.  

Defereggental is smaller than a lot of ski destinations, with "only" 52km of slopes.  Most of them are blue (17km are easy) or red (32km are medium difficulty) rather than black too.  The slopes are a little shorter than the "best" destinations, which is why the far eastern and western lifts are t-bars -- you can do that if it's not too long.  The ski map is below. 

When you factor in the remoteness, size, and the less-than-completely-new lifts, you get two advantages:  it costs less for the day pass, and fewer people are on the slopes with you.  Obviously it's not a fancy schmancy as St. Anton, but check out the photo below.  I took that from the chairlift, at about 9:30 in the morning.  On a Saturday.  Look at the empty piste on the right!

Here's another shot I took from the lift, this time looking back down the mountain.  You see some fellow skiiers, but nobody on the slopes.  I did see a lot of locals that came to ski for an hour our two -- it must be incredible to live in the area.  Get an annual pass, and "stop by" for a couple runs maybe after work, or even at lunch!  Again, this is Saturday in the middle of ski season!  And with less ski traffic, the fresh snow stays longer... almost no ice patches to be found.

The mountains are not quite as majestic as the best in Tirol, but the view is still great.  That Saturday was relatively clear, and you got a good glimpse of the entire valley and surrounding peaks.  And yes, the ski huts had outdoor seating to enjoy your glühwein with the view.  This pic was again taken from a ski lift.  Just a brilliant ride up each time.

Here's a view from one of the huts - the highest one in the area.  It was really cold up here, but there was a good 6 inches of fresh snow, so nobody was complaining.  Because the runs are a bit shorter than usual, if you really motor downhill you'll have a bit of a different pace than other destinations.  Shorter trips down, but shorter intervals on the lifts.  And no waiting in line.  Also, the crowd seems a bit friendlier.  Can you tell I liked this place?

The one gondola was great when the wind started whipping up strongly.  This photo was taken on the way up, and you get a great picture of a local mountain top with fresh show.  You can also see that the village is pretty small -- it doesn't stretch for kilometers like the large resorts.  There are nice (and inexpensive) hotels and pensions in the area, and a handful of restaurants/bars.  not a lot, but just enough.

So Defereggental is NOT the place for socialite skiing, apres ski bunnies, nor for the wannabe racers in the family or those dying for the blackest of the black runs across car-sized moguls.  However, for what it is, it's great:  an inexpensive, relaxed, uncrowded destination that let's you enjoy skiing more than waiting in line.