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| - The last time I visited Tyrol, I was a kid and all I remembered was the old school lodge. In my mind, I pictured 5 runs, though they now have 20+ trails to explore. Even with the limited snow this season and all the warm weather, it looked like they had about 90% of their runs open AND a run with moguls.
When I skied there, the weather hit 60 degrees briefly but stayed in the 50s for most of the day. This made the snow slower and slushier than usual. I stayed on the far West side of the... basin. This was far from the many terrain parks and had the more challenging runs. Also, I was lucky enough to be there on a day that was a little slower and pretty much had Double Diamond and Yodeler to myself. Oh, and no lift lines!
As for the location of Tyrol Basin itself, it's close to Madison (closer than Cascade and offers a comparable experience... even better for those that like terrain parks). Instead of taking the highway, you are on country roads, driving past farms and eventually traveling on dirt roads. It feels like it's in the middle of nowhere and it pretty much is. There's really no reason to go to Mt. Horeb (in my opinion) other than for Tyrol Basin. They had enough parking for busy days, all dirt lots and some narrow alleys to get through.
The lodging, I didn't spend too much time in it but it was like I remembered, 'old fashioned' and a little run down (in the cafe). The cafe only accepted cash, the kitchen took credit. Their bubbler was out of order so they offered free water near it, which was empty when I got to it.
The overall skiing experience was a lot better than I expected for a small hill. They offered variety and the lift attendants were friendly and helpful. They maintained the runs well and marked potential hazards efficiently. They also stay open until 9pm (I believe they close the West half of the hill), which allows for night skiing. Worth the trip.
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