Mayrhofen

Mayrhofen is a town in the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) of Tyrol, Austria. It is located at a short distance from the Tyrolean capital city of Innsbruck. Mayrhofen is largest resort in the Zillertal valley in the Tyrol mountains in Austria. Mayrhofen lies at 650 meters between the Penken and the Ahorn mountains which provide ski runs in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer. Above the town, and above the snow layer, is the Hintertux glacier, which means that skiing is available all year round.

The area also popular with walkers in the summer and on the Hintertuxer glacier is the Spannagelhöhle (Spannagel cave). At 2,521 meters, this is the highest show cave in Austria and is open to the public through guided tours. Access to the Spannagel show cave is via the Spannagelhaus, the mountain hut situated just 150m below the top of the cable car station.

The town offers a variety of summer and winter sports including skiing, hiking, mountain biking and paragliding. It rests under the Hintertux glacier, which is above the snowline. Skiing is available all year round here. Mayrhofen sits between the Penken and the Ahorn mountains which provide ski runs in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer. The Ahorn has a black run which was once on the World Cup Downhill circuit but was removed as it was deemed too dangerous. The Penken is reached by a modern Gondola which located on the main street near the Sport Hotel Strass, central to the village, while the Cable car to The Ahorn leaves from the edge of town. Mayrhofen is a snowboard minded village with Europe\'s best funpark sponsered by Burton, and the snowboardhotel Gasthof Zillertal owned by the dutch boardorganisation SAIKO expeditions.

This area has some of the most modern lifts in Austria which open up vast areas of slopes for both on- and off-piste skiing. The local ski area is extensive, but the Super Zillertal Pass increases the maximum to 452 KM including the Hintertux glacier. From Mayrhofen, the main ski area is serviced by either the Penkenbahn or the Horbergbahn. Both are high-speed gondolas and a shuttle bus from all the hotels in the town drops of and picks up skiers every every 15 minutes during the winter.

The Hintertuxer glacier opens at the end of the valley rising from 1,476 meters (4,921 feet) to a height of 3170 meters (10,564 feet). This provides an amazing vertical drop of 1,633 meters (5,443 feet). Not surprisingly, this has become one of the top training areas for ski and snowboard teams from all over the world. There are about 50 miles of trails above the ground station, and skiers can have fun visiting the various huts located on the mountainside.

Each spring (usually early April), Mayrhofen hosts the SnowBombing music festival. Since the initial event in the year 2000, snowbombing has gathered much notoriety and respect in the electronic/dance music world as one of the major festivals.