Schaldming. There is a reason why the past two ski world cups took place at the Schladminger Planai. In addition the apline Ski Worldcup guests every year at the so called Nightrace in Schladming. Just in this time the editorial office of I IwantSnow.net visited the Planai! Ricci dicovered the ski resort as a ski-beginner and Christian, who set 13 world records in the past and took part at many ski races, was skiing at the more difficult hillsides.
Both liked the worldcup mountain. In the east of the Planai (1906 m ) you can see the Hauser Kaibling (2015 m) which is connected through the Mitterhauspists and in the west is the Hochwurzen (1850 m) and then the Reiteralm (1860 m ) .
The two mountains, Planai and Hochwurzen have 21 ski lifts and offer every kind of ski student or ski professional an opportunity to challenge themselves!
Directly above the Worldcup stadium the professional people will like the black pists while the beginners will be more comfortable with the less steep pists in the upper area.
In addition with every meter you go higher the view gets better because on the other side of the valley the south walls of the Dachstein rise almost 100 0 meters towards the sky!
Behind the south wall is the Dachstein glacier which inites you the whole year for skiing. This Glacier is also part of the Planai. So if mother Hulda is striking in winter, it is no problem there, you still can go skiing.
But even with permanent striking the ski lift operators at the Planai are prepared for: They have 650 snow cannons along the slopes and so the biggest snow plant of Austria at the Planai-Hochwurzen.
Also part of the Planai is the Hochwurzen, which raises very flat from the sunny area of Rohrmoos to the valley station of the summit lift Hochwurzen. In this area the ski beginners feel comfortable and in addition to the skiing they have a beautiful panorama!
Further up at the Hochwurzen summit lift it is a bit more sporty to ski, but even there the more difficult sections can be bypassed, so the Hochwurzen is ideal for less athletic skiers, too.
From monday to saturday, 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM, you can go night skiing, so your ski day can be a little more extended.
But the most perfect ski resort without Aprés ski would only be half the fun! 29 huts invite you to take a break and later for Aprés ski , especially the Hohenhaustenne, placed directly next to the valley station of the Planai lifts, which is, by the way, the biggest Aprés ski location of the Alps.
You can stay there, after a great ski day, the whole night for Aprés ski.
Ricci's conclusion as a beginner turns out very positive for the Planai and the 4-mountains ski area:
„I think you cannot manage to see to the whole ski resort in one day. It is too tall for that. I liked especially the fact, that there are almost no drag lifts. The Mitterhaus slopes and Rohrmoos are perfect for me to get better on ski. I am really excited and it was a great feeling to stand in the start house where already Marcel Hirscher and Felix Neureuther stood. The best part was the nightrace in the evening with over 40.000 viewer!“
Chrisian Flühr, who has arleady been a few times at the Planai, says: „If there is a mountain in Styria which is a „must“ in a skiers life, then it's the Planai. There is a reason why the Ski Wordcup took place twice in Schladming. I like especially the extremely steep final slope at the Planai. In addition you can see the Dachstein south walls in almost every perspective. So the Planai is a „Must-have-been-place“!“
And now you can take a look at the Onlinebalbum of IwantSnow: there are over 70 pictures of Ricci and the Planai and here is the video about the ski resort check. Have fun!