The Rosshütte Ski Area in Seefeld

The Rosshütte is the biggest of the three Seefeld ski areas and the most challenging for intermediate skiers and above. It is within walking distance of the village centre - although uphill - but many skiers use the ski bus service which loops around the resort and up to the base station.

Those staying in other resorts have ski buses which link in to the Seefeld ski bus service or, in some cases, go directly to the Rosshütte.

The Rosshütte side

Looking up the mountain, this is the section on the left which is the most popular. It is served by the mountain railway which runs every 15 minutes throughout the day and rises during the 10-minute journey to a point about two-thirds of the way up the mountain. It offers a spectacular (if crowded at peak times) access to the main ski area.

Alternatively, those who would rather keep their skis on can use the Brandl draglift (popular with beginner ski school classes) to access the REX six-seater chairlift, a high-speed chair with weather protection and a mid-station (only used for those getting on to the lift - every third chair is left empty at the bottom for skiers using this access). The top of the REX chairlift is a bit higher than the top of the mountain railway.

Those who would like to head higher on this side have a couple of options, both of which end up in roughly the same place.

The simplest way is to use the Jochlift T-bar which rises from near the top station of the mountain railway. The other method involves taking the skis off and getting onto the new Seefelderjoch cable car which goes a little bit higher and has a short and often unpleasant (icy and/or stony) section before reaching the top of the draglift. It is frequently the case that only one or the other is working.

The last lift on this side is hidden away a little bit from the busier runs and, for that reason is a favourite of many local skiers. The Kaltwasser draglift serves the run that drops directly under the Rosshütte top station on the left of the mountain railway (looking up). Unfortunately at the weekend it is often used for ski club races.

The Skiing

The easiest slope is the one at the bottom next to the Brandl draglift. This is a popular confidence-building slope that is used by lower intermediate skiers coming to the Rosshütte for the first time. In the afternoon it gets popular with skiers using the slope to get to the bottom station.

After that, the Family run from the Rosshütte uses the main slope down from the mountain railway top station and then cuts under the mountain railway at around the level of the REX chairlift mid-station to join the bottom of the Kaltwasser run. From here it is a speedy schuss (or a long pole) through to the Hochegg mountain restaurant (with nice views over the plateau) and a gentle run down to the bottom of the area (which has been widened in certain places because of the popularity with ski tourers walking up the hill).

The main Rosshütte slope can be accessed from either the top station of the mountain railway or the top of the REX chairlift. It is a wide undulating run with just enough variety to stop it from becoming boring. To the right, looking up, there is a timed racecourse under the chairlift.

At the end of the main slope, there are the following options:

• getting onto the REX chair by means of the mid-station
• heading under the mountain railway to the Family run as described above
• taking the Sport run down to the bottom station of the chairlift

The Sport run is a little steeper than the others on this side but of nothing more than intermediate difficulty.

Taking the route towards the Family run under the mountain railway also leads to the base of the Kaltwasser T-bar. This relatively short run is often quiet and tends to have some of the best snow on the mountain (if not being used for ski races). It is especially good in fresh snow. The top section is steeper but soon widens out into an enjoyable cruising piste.

The lifts on the upper section of the Rosshütte only really serve one run which winds down onto the main middle section of the hill. Given the amount of time spent on the T-bar or cable car to reach the top, it is not really that exciting (although the views are excellent) and as a result is often quieter.

The Härmele side

The right hand side of the Rosshütte ski area starts with a relatively new beginners area at the base station just above the main outdoor car park. Sporti's Kinderland consists of a number of moving carpets and a button lift and aims at providing an isolated area for beginners and children to practice. It is possible to buy a ski ticket just for this area.

The main Härmele ski area is accessed by two quick six-seater chairlifts (with weather protection) or by a cable car across from the Rosshütte top station. Again here the cable car ends up a little bit above the ground lifts.

The lower of the two chairlifts, from the base station up to just above the Reitherjochalm hut, accesses the lower half of the Härmele ski area. The skiing off this lift on the long run to the base is easier than that on the upper lift and, after a straight flattish trail, the run turns to the left and begins to descend towards Seefeld in a series of wide open cruisy areas interspersed with slightly steeper sections.

Alternatively, skiers getting off the first chairlift can turn to the right and head down towards the Reitherjochalm hut or the base station of the Reither Alm chairlift. This takes skiers to just below the cable car station (the run between the two for those using the cable car is slightly trickier) and offers perhaps the most challenging of Seefeld's runs. This isn't to say that it is particularly hard compared to other resorts, but it is steeper and more consistent than most of the rest of the area. A run from the top here down to the bottom is comparable to good red runs in other more renowned downhill skiing areas.

There are two other runs on this side. From the Reitherjochalm hut it is possible to take a short drop onto a path through the woods that leads back to the lower Härmele run. (Care should be taken as this is also a route used by walkers and people wanting to toboggan.)

On the run from the top of the lower chairlift just after the turn to the left a quarter of the way down is a run which connects to the bottom of the REX chairlift on the Rosshütte side. This is marked as a black run although it only has a short steep section which would not be a problem for confident intermediate skiers. It is also possible to bypass this bit by using a path slightly lower down, but this can be icy and more difficult than the main connecting run.

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