Dammkar - Mittenwald

The praise is for the one thing people come for: Germany's longest unprepared descent, the legendary Dammkarwurm. The cable car lifts you to the country's second-highest mountain station, and a wide, steep powder line runs down past the mountain rescue hut and the Dammkarhuette, through the narrow 'cannon barrel' to the bench where the technical part ends and a groomed run-out leads back.

The nature of the place, which many underestimate, is what draws criticism. There are no prepared pistes at all: the descent is never groomed, only avalanche-controlled, and it suits very good skiers only. Full avalanche kit and the skill to use it are required. It opens no earlier than late December and only when conditions allow, and the snow ranges from powder to slushy bumps to hard crust. The cable car draws complaints too, with infrequent cabins and only one ticket window open at peak times.