Continuing our theme of the most difficult skiing runs in the Alps, we move on to Austria for a look at the most challenging pistes and powder – with an emphasis on runs which are fun to ski, too! Here’s a few of our favourites for you to get your boards and blades into.
The Harakiri, Mayrhofen
Well, what better way to start than with Austria’s steepest piste, at a gradient of 78%? Welcome to the Harakiri in Austria’s Mayrhofen resort, cheerfully named after the rather singular ritualised suicide process of Japan. But don’t let that, or the skull and crossbones sign at the top, put you off! The Harakiri is indeed horribly steep, but it’s fairly wide, so as long as you’re a decent skier and can take it slow, you should be able to manage this wall of death. The problems that arise with the Harakiri are the snow conditions and the control. The run is in the shade for much of the day, and the snow can be icy or hard. And if you fall, it’s hard to stop, and it’s a long way to the bottom. The key is to watch out for other people and to keep an eye on routes down the slope that people are taking while you’re going up the cable car. For an idea of how slow some people take it, and also for a good look at the run itself, check this out:
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