Having fun on the piste

Bavaria boasts more than 100 ski regions, world cup locations and spectacular pistes – from the Allgäu to the Berchtesgaden Region. However, family skiing is a particular favourite in Bavaria, such as in Mitterfirmansreut, an idyllic village in the Bayerischer Wald (Bavarian Forest).

“Up here they call us the glacier of the Bayerischer Wald (Bavarian Forest)”, says ski instructor Sepp Denk about the local mountain of Mitterfirmiansreut, the 1139-metre high Almberg. This is because of the highly dependable snow conditions in the small ski area near the Czech border, some 20 kilometres north-east of Freyung. “The cold Böhm wind virtually always brings us heavy snow clouds from Christmas to March”, explains Denk, who runs a local ski hire business. “Mitterdorf”, as the locals call it for short, has five lifts, of which three go up to the top of the Almberg. If parents don’t fancy heading out to the pistes while their children are in ski school, they can soak up the sun on the terraces of the Almberg mountain hut and the Gasthaus Alpe. Both establishments also offer accommodation. Up here there are distant views across the Bayerischer Wald (Bavarian Forest). As well as Rachel and Lusen, on a clear day you can even see as far as the Zugspitze.

 

On the western and eastern slopes of the local Mitterdorf mountain, “red”, or medium difficulty, pistes lead down into the village. And “when small beginners conquer the easy family piste through the forest for the first time, they can’t stop smiling”, says the ski instructor. A carving piste with a Mini-Funpark and a steep “black“ run plus illuminated runs complete the range of descents on offer. At the same time a toboggan slope gets children’s pulses racing and fans of endurance sports can look forward to over 30 kilometres of cross country ski trails.

“Another plus with us are the relatively cheap prices“, says Sepp Denk. Indeed: 23 Euros for a day pass and 48 Euros for parents with one child are considered real bargains among skiers. And instead of celebrating with wild après-ski parties, at the end of a day of winter sports visitors head to the “Adabei” snow bar in the valley station of the Kleinen Almberg lift or the Sportalm, some 100 metres further on. Here, fizzy apple juice and special children’s menus keep the little ones happy too.