Hi everyone!
Thanks for your tips on this forum, very much helpful!
Indeed, it's only a very small portion of the whole Harz that's fit for skating... But these few are definitely worth it!
I have tried these couple of options:
1) Torfhaus (800m) -> Brocken (1141m) c.a. 8km.
You can start at the entrance of the village (before the parking by the road).
It starts going down (c.a. 300m) to the bottom of the luge piste, then flat (c.a. 500m), then take the red loipe towards Brocken.
From then, it goes up and up and up, with some nice and steep bits!
. 5km later (at exactly 900m high) you can either go up to Brocken or down to Dreieckige Pfahl and Oderbrueck (4km downhill) to the Bundesstrasse.
The bit between Oderbrueck and Dreieckige Pfahl is very good for skating.
If you chose up to Brocken (very nice view, Restaurants and Museum and it feels like the North Pole!), it goes aside the Steam train, which is very cool!
The slope by the train track is wide enough and generally ok. The last km is 'zu Fuss!' (but really worth it!).
Going down in pulverschnee is really fun.
I think it's the highest loipe around, so if little snow, it can be good.
Slaloming between the (many) pedestrians, their dogs and the leach (who walk right in the middle of this nice pavement between the klassic tracks, that was obviously especially made for them) when you go down these steep slope adds to the adrenalin, believe me!
Another speciallity is the luge races on the steep parts where you are out of breath going up! lol
Nice and fun atmosphere, very nice setting.
2) Sonnenberg (c.a. 700m)
The real deal!
Biathlon competition track (4k or 2k): very, very good track.
It is not mentioned on the Harz Wintersportkarte!
A lot of very good skaters around... forbidden to luge and pedestrians!
Last week-end, there was a competition (20k, 30k) but we were still allowed (provided that you don't cross the arrival line, otherwise it messes up with the time count!).
Very friendly atmosphere, and I was offered the athlete's arrival 'tea'. Wurst for 1euro...
I also followed Frankyboy advice and went along the Clausthall road.
Great loipe, quite flat with gentle steeper portions (at least first 4km, didn't go further).
In the woods, very beautiful.
3) I couldn't try Clausthall (not enough snow).
The ratio klassic/skating is around 1/30, but there's some real serious skating possibility in Harz... and it's free (pas com en co de jo en Franca dins los Aups ont deven pagar bash o mensh set euros per dia, hilh de puta!)!
Viel Spass zusammen und es lebe Harz!
Is it the best kept secrect in Niedersachsen?