Who would have thought that the first time we ever ski in Germany that it would be waist deep powder? That’s exactly what happened when we skied Zugspitze near the lovely town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (which shall henceforth be referred to as Ga-Pa).
Staying at a fine old hotel (the Atlas Grand) in the fresco lined & cobble stoned Partenkirchen, we used the local bus & Zugspitzebahn (cog railway) to get up to the ski resort. Whilst quite the journey (takes over an hour), it is fascinating for any overseas visitor, particularly if on your first European ski trip.
The Zugspitzebahn trundles through snow clad hay barns and forest, before winding up the flanks of the Zugspitze and then into the bowels of the mountain itself. The journey is included in the ski lift pass & stops at the two Garmisch Classic ski resort base areas before continuing through local villages including Grainau. The Zugspitze cable car base at Eibsee is reached in about 30min, before the train finally chugs up through the mountain to the Zugspitze ski area. It is possible to leave the train at Eibsee & complete the journey to the ski area via two spectacular cable cars. (We saved that for the return journey).
Arriving at Zugspitzplatt in the ski area, one has journeyed up 1900m vertical from Ga-Pa & been transported to another world.
The on-piste ski terrain at Zugspitze is perfect for beginner & intermediate snow riders. It was a shame that we didn’t get to ski the lower 300m skiable vertical of Zugspitze served by the Brunntal T-bar due to it being closed. Would have been a hoot. All things considered, the resort did well to have as much open as it did. Temperatures were hovering around -18oC, visibility poor for most of the day & wind chills were off the charts (& not in a good way). Another time perhaps.
We had fun in the off-piste powder, but found the terrain limited to some short pitches that were good while they lasted but ended all too quickly. There is only 300m vertical off either chairlift & without the lower T-bar plus poor viz, exploration was perhaps limited. We do have a good nose for a powder slope though & felt we picked the eyes out of all the best lift accessed lines. We found the terrain generally lacking for advanced skiers (Says us that were skiing waste deep powder here – bit tough maybe, but gotta call it like it is!). Be interesting to explore with all lifts open on a bluebird day.
The amazing Iglu Dorf Ice hotel & bar is worth a visit, if only for a look at the ice sculptures & a drink at the cool bar (pun indented). A short walk up past the chapel, the hotel provides an amazing overnight sleeping experience.
We recommend taking the Gletscher Seilbahn (Glacier cable car) up to the summit of the Zugspitze at the end of the day on the way back to Ga-Pa. From Zugspitzplatt, the Gletscher cable car ascends to the incredible snow & ice clad lair on the summit. When covered in its winter coat, the buildings & viewing platforms look like something from a science fiction movie. The viewing platforms are excellent & the restaurant area is superbly designed to maximise the panoramas from the precipitous perch. You can also step into Austria (the border runs through the summit) & even take a cable car down to the Austrian Tyrol. Instead, we took the new German cable car back down to its base at Eibsee & caught the Zugspitzebahn railway for the return to Ga-Pa. Even stopped of at Garmisch Classic ski resort for an après ski beer before continuing the journey on the train
We were impressed that whilst most ski resorts in Austria (particularly the high glacier resorts) struggled to operate in the serious blizzard conditions of the Jan 2019 storm, Zugspitze operated every day with most of its lifts & terrain open. Whatever its limitations, an open ski resort with powder is way better than a closed ski resort with powder. Kudos to Zugspitze.
Après ski would be glorious on a fine weather day on the deck of the Sonn Alpin, the deck of the Zugspitze summit or back in Partenkirchen at the night market (December January only). As it was, the bone chilling temperatures caused very quick dispersal of all & sundry.
Whilst in the area, the Garmisch Classic ski resort is a must ski on-piste resort. It has the most underrated intermediate valley runs going around (as in they should be black, advanced trails & are rated intermediate -the opposite of most ski resorts!). Good après ski too.
Zugspitze provided us with a wonderful powder ski day & a fascinating journey. It should be part of everyone’s “glacier ski resort must visit list”. FYI, we traveled to the area by train from Munich airport, no need for a car.