The Planai Park is easy to reach (just 20 minutes from the Salzburg motorway) and offers visitors the full infrastructure of a ski resort: fast gondolas, bike shops, mountain huts, even showers. Not to forget: Dream views of the Dachstein massif and the unique Austrian flair (we love Austria)!
The routes
Schladming became famous for its spectacular World Cup races. Gee Atherton even describes the 1000-metre downhill as his favourite course. This is not surprising, as the downhill offers everything that full-throttle bikers are looking for: Turn changes, root passages, stone fields and a few big jumps that require a lot of riding skill (but can be avoided). The flow trail, on the other hand, leads more smoothly down to the valley, packed with countless bends, unfortunately there is little airtime and only one drop (2 metres into the flat, very blunt). That's a shame, because the route has potential. However, it lacks fun and the flow trail quickly becomes boring, so you'd rather switch back to the downhill.
The rookie trail as the third descent has more of an alibi function, as beginners are sent down into the valley on a dull track with no gimmicks. The advantage of the lack of fun is that there are hardly any waiting times, even at the weekend, with only a few speed-loving downhillers shooting around. In short: one day is enough! If the trails were pimped up, Schladming could even rival Leogang. Great: the enormous track length.
Information about the Bikepark Schladming Planai:
- Routes: 3
- Lift: Gondola
- Start of season: end of May
- Opening hours: 9.00 - 17.00 hrs
- Adult day ticket: 30 euros
- Bike hire: yes
- Driving technique school: yes
- Info phone: +43 (0)3687 2410030
- E-mail: info@bikeparkplanai.at
Distances:
- Stuttgart 4.5 hours
- Munich 2 hours
- Frankfurt 5.5 hours
- Berlin 7 hours
- Innsbruck 2.5 hours
- Basel 6 hours
Overall rating: 7 out of 10 possible points
Further information under http://www.bikeparkplanai.at/
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
