Some venture to St. Anton to ski in the footprints of some of the sport’s earliest pioneers.
Others come to partake of the resort’s famed off-piste powde or to revel in the village’s infamous après-ski scene.
Winter in Austria…❄☃
A huge part of Austria is covered by mountains. The west is dominated by the Alps, and also in most of the other provinces there are mountains of medium height.
Only in the east are there wide-stretched lowland areas. The conditions for skiing are extraordinarily good.
This and a long tradition as well as ongoing successes in competitions (Ski Worldcup) has make skiing an important part of Austrian culture.
Ski courses at the secondary school are extremely common and most pupils are exposed to winter sports at a very early age.
There is barely another country where Alpine skiing has such importance. Only in neighbouring Switzerland the situation is comparable.
Austria is not only popular with domestic tourists, many Germans, Dutch, Swiss, British and Italians, and more and more Russians and Chinese tourists, come to ski every year to Austria.
Most winter tourists stay in Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Salzburg and Carinthia, where the largest ski resorts are to be found.
The smaller ski resorts in the eastern regions are frequently visited by guests from the area of Vienna, Slovakia and Hungary, mostly just for a day trip.
St. Anton, like Kitzbühel (this blog), is situated in the Tyrol province of western Austria.
It is both a town and a ski mountain, as well as the catchall name for a collection of areas in the Arlberg mountain range that include St. Anton, St. Christoph, Stuben, Zürs, Lech, Oberlech, and Sonnenkopf.
St. Anton am Arlberg is nothing if not vast—the combined area includes 160 miles of groomed trails, 114 miles of off-piste terrain, 82 lifts, and nearly 5,000 feet of vertical drop from Valluga, the region’s highest peak at 9,222 feet. (Skiers and boarders can explore all the Arlberg region’s slopes under one pass) .
St. Anton am Arlberg has a rich ski pedigree; the region’s first ski club was formed in 1901, and its first races were held in 1903.
One of the events was won by a twelve-year-old boy named Hannes Schneider. A few years later, at the age of sixteen, Schneider became a full-time ski instructor at the Hotel Post in St.
❄ St.Anton am Arlberg Piste Map ❄
Anton and began developing the instructional technique that would come to be known as the Arlberg method.
The technique—which takes new skiers from a simple snowplow to a stem christie turn and onto a parallel turn—was developed to give new skiers more control on the slopes.
Schneider opened the Ski School Arlberg in 1921. That same year, he starred in what would become the world’s first instructional ski film.
The film—and a subsequent book, The Wonders of Skiing—helped establish the Arlberg method around the world. His techniques are still in wide use today.
Skiers about St.Anton
One skiers this said how he might show off St. Anton’s alpine amenities to a visitor. “I’d pick up my guest at their hotel and walk to one of the lifts.
The village has a large pedestrian zone, and the lifts are all in walking distance. I’d probably go up the Galzig lift, as the sun is on the slopes here in the morning.
Assuming that my companion is an average piste skier, we might head up to Valluga, the highest point reachable by lift. There are beautiful views out over the valley from there.
We’d take a red (intermediate) slope down; it’s a 4,500- foot vertical drop if you go all the way down to the village, so you need to have some thighs!
Next, we’d take the Kapall lift. The 2001 world championships were held here, and you can ski the men’s/women’s downhill run. Next, we’d break for lunch.
There are many options on the mountain and in the village. One I like is Café Anton, right at the bottom of the Galzig lift.
They have good foodand coffee and the people are very friendly. After lunch, we’d head to the Rendl lift, as this part of the area faces the west.
We’d take some runs here and maybe stop to watch the freeskiers and snowboarders on the jumps and rails in the fun park there.
If it’s later in the season or a sunny day, we’d definitely visit Rendl Beach. There are deck chairs set out there for people to enjoy the sun.
“More experienced skiers come to St. Anton to ski the off-piste terrain, and there’s a great deal available. Perhaps the most famous of these is the run from the top of Valluga to Zürs; you’re skiing the backside of the mountain.
You need to be accompanied by a guide, take a gondola up the final section of Valluga, and then hike up to the very top. It’s extremely steep.
Quite a few people who go up to do the run look over the edge, get a bit of a tummy ache, and ride the gondola back down.
People who can make the run are proud to tell their friends they went from Valluga to Zürs on skis.” Other well-regarded off-piste trails include Bachseite, Zwischen, Schindlerhang, and Black Osthang.
What kind of skiers is St. Anton for?
St. Anton is fine for beginners and those with little experience. Your choice , a nice resort, nightlife and usualyy fine snow conditions – enjoy it. The biggest ski school in Austria is there – 300- 400 instructors.
This ski resort in the Arlberg region of Austria is one of the world’s most famous ski resorts, renowned for its very lively après ski scene and superb terrain, it offers some of the most challenging intermediate and advanced ski slopes in the Alps.
St. Anton ski resort is one of the oldest and finest in the Alps, bursting with stylish hotels, restaurants and chalets.
Known for its impressive snow record, St. Anton lies deep in the Arlberg ski area at the western end of Austria, one of Europe’s snowiest spots.
Just two hours away from three international airports, St. Anton ski resort is remarkably easy to get to with some superb skiing on offer.
‘‘It’s not hard to see what attracts skiers to St. Anton; it has one of the most impressive and consistent snowfalls in Europe.
St. Anton ski resort arguably has some of the best ski terrain in Austria, making it one of the most popular ski resorts in Europe.
Best suited to intermediate and advanced skiers, the ski resort has a variety of wide, sweeping runs as well as steep, sharp pistes”.– unknown skiers from France.
Austria’s Alps are blessed with a long and lavish snow season and the country is widely recognized as one of the world’s best snow-sure skiing destinations.
The snow on the ground is generally powdery and fluffy well into spring, packed powder prevails on the groomed runs, and deep powder off-piste.
> > Arrival at St. Anton ski resort : St. Anton is roughly sixty miles from Innsbruck, which isserved by Austrian Airlines (+43 5 1766 1000; www.austrian.com) and British Airways (800-247-9297; www.ba.com).
Season: St. Anton’s season runs from November 30 to April 21. Adult lift tickets are 47 euros, and provide access to St. Anton, St. Christoph, Stuben, Zürs, Lech, Oberlech, Klösterle, and Sonnenkopf.
Multiday passes are available. See details at www.skiarlberg.at.
Accommodation in St.Anton:
St. Anton am Arlberg Tourism Office(+435 4462 2690;www.stantonamarlberg.com) lists the region’s many lodging options.