Penken, Ahorn or Hintertux: which ski area is right for you?

Beginners and families start on the Ahorn, confident skiers spend most days on the Penken, and the Hintertux Glacier is for snow-sure days at up to 3,250 m. From our front door the Penkenbahn is about a 10-minute walk and the Ahornbahn about 15 minutes; Hintertux is about 25 minutes by car or a bus ride from Mayrhofen station.

Walking and driving times are routed on OpenStreetMap from our front door, not stopwatch-walked; the Penken walk follows the Ziller river.

Beginners: the Ahorn

The Ahorn is Mayrhofen's gentle mountain. The tourist board describes it as "perfect for beginners, families, and relaxed carving turns", and Zillertal tourism lists the wide, sunny practice slopes on the Ahorn plateau and the FunRide Ahorn among the valley's areas for children. The Ahornbahn itself is a big part of the fun: two cabins that each carry 160 people, from 680 m at the valley station to 1,978 m at the top. Once you can manage a full day, the 5.5 km ValleyRun takes you 1,400 vertical metres back down to the village.

One thing to plan around: the Ahorn opens a week after the Penken. In the first days of December, beginners start on the Penken instead.

Families: Ahorn first, then the Penken

For mixed groups, where the children are learning and the parents want more, both mountains work. Start the week on the Ahorn plateau, then move to the Penken once everyone is steady. The Penken has the FunRide Gerent, and there is a Kinderland at the Horberg, part of the same ski area. The Penkenbahn is the closer of the two gondolas to our door, so short legs walk about 10 minutes rather than 15. Children born after 1 January 2021 ski free with a paying adult.

Experts: the Penken and beyond

The Penken is the heart of the Mayrhofen ski area, which the tourist board counts as 142 km of pistes and 61 lifts across Penken, Horberg, Rastkogel, Eggalm, Finkenberg and Ahorn. The lift company's own slopes alone are 15 km black, 28 km red and 23 km blue. The best-known run is the Harakiri, piste 34: up to 78 % steep and "for experts only", 2 km in total with a 400 m steep section. Rastkogel and Eggalm belong to the same area, so longer days need no extra ticket.

Hintertux: when you want guaranteed snow

The Hintertux Glacier is open every day of the year, from 8:15 to 16:30, with up to 64 km of pistes reaching 3,250 m. It is the obvious choice before the village lifts open on 4 December, and in late spring. Without a car, bus 4104 runs all year from Mayrhofen station to the glacier lift; the station is about a 3-minute walk from our door. Ski buses are free with the Zillertal Superskipass.

One pass for all of it

From two days, one Zillertal Superskipass covers every area on this page. Prices, age bands and every lift's opening date are on our page Zillertal Superskipass 2026/27.

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