On and Off Piste in St. Anton – One of the Best Ski Resorts Worldwide
St. Anton am Arlberg is the Cradle of Skiing. The small town is a truly unique recreational paradise for the whole family. With only 2680 inhabitants, the town has maintained its genuine ambience and charming atmosphere.
You can relax and unwind at the elevation of 1300m where crisp and clean mountain air is guaranteed. You can experience genuine Tirolean hospitality and spend the most beautiful days of the year among friends.
St. Anton is close to Innsbruck in western Austria and also easily accessible from Zurich or Munich via car or train.
“St Anton in Austria is one of the best ski resorts you will find in the world.”
There are many ski resorts worldwide and I’m far away to be able to give a quote like above myself, as I’ve seen only a few in Europe.
But I’ve met 3 ski journalists who has been around the world skiing for many years and they have seen hundreds of ski resorts.
I had a fabulous chat with them and the question came up, if St Anton is the best ski resort or not. Our debate was of course a very subjective one, as everyone had different priorities. First of all, all three were skiers and a snowboarder might see it a bit different again. But in the end St Anton made it in everybody’s top 3 list.
Not bad, right?
Me as a snowboarder, I had a fantastic time on and off piste. It’s been a while I was boarding the last time and so I’ve chosen to start with a complete day just checking out the different pistes.
I would recommend not just to get your board/ski and head up and down the mountain. Get a map with the different runs (find an interactive piste map here) and go as well into the areas a bit further away. These parts will probably be less crowded and you’ll have a nice change of the scenery.
You should also head up all the way to the top with the Valluga cable car. With a bit of luck you should be above the Alpes and have an amazing view all the way to Germany and Switzerland! Head there, even if it’s cloudy at the bottom. It could be that you are above the clouds up there.
When you exit the cable car, leave your board on the side and take the tiny cage on your right to the next level and to the viewing platform. You are not allowed to take your board/ski up there, unless you have a guide with you.
The way down, especially at the beginning, is doable, but challenging for experienced boarders/skiers. Just be careful, as you won’t want to fall down here, as the drop/fall is immense!
Make sure that you go all the way to the top and enjoy a breathtaking view of the Alpes!
St Anton also got a big variety of different countrysides and offers some serious fun if you like to go off piste.
Be smart and get a guide who shows you where to go and which areas are safe. Our guides were Gregor Fischer (email) and Frank Widmann (email) and I can recommend them both to you.
We just had a few centimeters of fresh snow and it hadn’t snowed the days before either. So pretty much most off-pistes were full of tracks. It was also a bit challenging to go down, as it was a bit bumpy and frozen. Still I enjoyed it a lot and was able to do the one or other nice powder turn.
More useful tips:
Accommodation:
Our accommodation was the Hotel Montjola, which is a new chalet of VIP SKI. You just need to go down the hill and you are in the city centre and at the lifts. They as well offer a transfer. The hotel just got completely renovated and if you should know it from before, you won’t recognize it any more. VIP prices for seven nights start from €1,093 per person based on 2 sharing, including breakfast and a yummy dinner.
Lunch breaks on the pistes:
– Do you like traditional Tyrolean and good food? Then stop at the Senn Hütte, but be early or reserve a table, as it’s usually very busy for lunch and for apres ski, the later often with live music.
– The Arlberg Hospiz Alm got a very cozy atmosphere. The food is not as good as in Senn Hütte, but still worth to stop for. Ask the waiter if it’s possible to see the wine cellar! Why?
You will be amazed! When have you last seen a 12, 15 or 20 litre bottle of wine? Probably a long time ago, if not never. Here you won’t just find one, but the full cellar full! The total value of the bottles lies at around 7,5 – 8,5 million Euro! Impressive? Guess what the most expensive bottle costs? Around € 80’000,- and there are 6 in total in that cellar! Do you want to buy one? Be quick, as there are only 2 left for sale!
Apres Ski:
St Anton is well known for Apres Ski. But if you ask me, you should visit the Arlberg to have some serious fun on and off piste! I’ve been to 3, 4 bars and wouldn’t recommend any of these. But to be fair, I do like to party, but definitely not Apres Ski.
Getting to St Anton and Lift Prices:
Take the car, train or the plane. Close airports are Innsbruck and Zürich. From both it’s easy to take a train to St Anton. The train station is right in the city centre.
You’ll find the latest lift prices on the pdf from the St Anton tourism board.
This is part I of a two-part Vlog series about St. Anton ski resort in Austria.
With 365 kilometres of ski slopes, St. Anton covers a huge surface area with plenty of free riding opportunities on and off piste terrain.
The resort is famous for its regular snowfall and fresh powder throughout the season. Valluga is its highest point at 2811-meters giving a view of Italy, Switzerland and Germany from its peak.
Part 1 closes with a spectacular evening show featuring performances from skiers from all around the world.
Don’t forget to check out…
Exploring the Amazing St. Anton, Austria- Vlog Part II
This is Part 2 in a two part vlog series showing you the highlights of Austrian Ski resort, St Anton.
St Anton is a tiny ski town close to the border with Switzerland. The closest access is from Innsbruck. Surrounded by big mountains for skiing and hiking the resort is easily accessible for skiers and snowboarders.
In this video Greg takes us off piste hiking to find the best areas for free skiing with loads of fresh powder.
After a tiring and satisfying day we get a glimpse at some of the apres ski that St Anton has to offer that make it such a well rounded resort for adventure and entertainment!
