The famous Tyrolean resort of Mayrhofen has issued new lengths for its ski area’s slopes for the 2013-14 ski season, and they’re about 20% less than they were before.
The total length drops from 159km to 133km with blue slopes down from 45 to 41km, reds from 94 to 63km although blacks have increased from 20 to 29km. Piste length for the Zillertal Valley area pass has also dropped substantially from 671 to 478km.
Mayrhofen’s Lift Company say the new measurements have been, “Determined in accordance with recommendations by the Austrian Cable Car Association,” adding, “The Zillertal cable-car and lift companies welcome the initiative to adopt a Europe-wide standardised, transparent method for the measuring of slope lengths. Accordingly, we have, in keeping with the recommendations issued by the Austrian Cable Car Association on 28th May 2013, evaluated and re-calculated our data by measuring the actual length of the pistes (slope distance). This has resulted in a decrease in the kilometres of skiing slopes in the Zillertal Valley since, in the past, there were no standardised regulations and therefore traverses, combinations of various downhill runs and the multiple use of extra-wide slopes were also included in the calculation.”
Although not confirmed these new recommendations seem to result from a controversy on ski run measurement that reached Austrian and Swiss national media in the spring after the distinguished German ski writer and cartographer, Christoph Schrahe, published a report ‘The Top 50 Ski Areas Worldwide.’ In this, he meticulously measured the length of ski runs at the world’s largest ski areas and found that they almost always varied to a greater or lesser extent to the officially claimed piste measurement, normally having less than claimed.
When the findings were published various explanations were given by ski areas as to why the difference might occur, including counting the length of a wide ski run two or three times to allow for the different lines that could be taken down it.
Mr Schrahe’s study found a great variety of difference between the figures claimed by ski areas all over the world and their actual total slope length according to his measurements, however so far it only appears to be Austrian areas that have reacted enough to begin issuing new official statistics.
‘The Top 50 Ski Areas Worldwide’ report is available in English or German from: [email protected] priced 99 Euros.