St Anton

My favourite resort.

It really depends exactly what you mean by 'intermediate'. If you can happily ski all blue runs in any conditions, and get down reds then you will find plenty to do. It definitely isn't ideal for beginners though.

It is quite a spread out area, especially now they have added Warth - you will have to be happy to ski (and navigate) quickly to visit everywhere on skis, but taking the bus is a great option to get access to different areas.

Thats helpful, thanks.  We are definitely good with Blues and all but the steepest of Reds, so hopefully will be ok then.

We are staying in Pettneu am Arlberg.  Plan is to bus to/from Galzig lift and leave ski gear in lockers at Skishop next to lift.  Does that sound sensible?

There are limited runs back to town so they get heavily used, chewed up and are often busy. Not particularly challenging runs but the people and conditions can make them tricky, especially if you aren't confident.

Great place though. Some great runs, good food and lively apres ski

Definitely - there are a few shops at by the Galzigbahn that will store your skis and boots for a fee, or if you rent from them some do it for free I think.

If the runs home are in poor condition or very busy, just get the lift down, lots of folk do that to avoid the hassle.

Visit the Krazy Kangaroo / Mooservert at least once, but getting served is a pain as it is so busy. There are other decent bars around the bottom of the Galzig for apres ski / lunch.

Have fun, it's great.

Only stayed in the town for a weekend back in the late 90s. Did a day on the St Anton slopes and a day at Lech. I am not a good skier. I much prefered Lech

2nd much of what has been said.

lech has more wider, mellow pistes, from memory (it’s been a few years)I think it’s now fully linked but you used to have to take a bus. Has a traditional hi end European ski resort feel

if you’re into Powder Sonnenkopf is the place to head after a dump. Bus only tho.

Does anyone have any first hand experience of sking St Anton they could share, please?

OOh, a thread after my own heart ...

I love St Anton.  Been there half a dozen times, including 4 trips with the family, from the same age as yours are.  We were there at New Year and I'm currently wrestling with whether to go back with Son2 for half term (10 - 17 Feb).  Thinking of flying into ZRH, please shout if you are also flying there and want to share a transfer.

I have been reading mixed reviews about suitability for intermediate skiers, difficult return runs to resort and poor connectivity?  All seems at odds with a world class resort and very expensive lift prices!

OK, so you need to be clear about who is saying it is a world class resort and why.  It is deemed one of the handful of best resorts in the world for advanced off piste skiing and interdiate off piste skiing.   Not for low intermediates, easy corduroy pistes and well connected runs.

AFAIK the reason it is excellent for off piste are:

It gets shit loads of snow.  Not 100% sure, but I think that the newly linked Warth is statistically the snowiest resort in Europe.  StA also gets shit loads.  When we were there at New Year there was over 3m in some places, and most importantly it got topped up almost every day.  The stats said it was only 6cm, but they must use a 'kin weird ruler as it gave very very good skiing on top of a rockhard base.

There is loads of lift accessible gnarr.  The Schindlergrat has stacks of utterly terrifying looking couloirs coming down from it, and so do many other of the summits. If you have your head on they are awesome.

The key thing for punters though are the SchiRouten.  Which are essentially avi-protected*, marked* accessible off piste routes.  These are excellent for people wanting to venture off piste but without the money for a guide or the desire to commit to something way scary.  BUT bear in mind that they are only avi protected along the single line of poles that demark them.  And of course if you are the 100th skier down that route after opening you sure as hell won't be sticking near the poles.... you'll be 200m up the side searching for the remaining fresh tracks.

So, this "lots of snow" thing.... it's great off piste, and it's great in the morning on piste but the downside for punters is that it tends to get pushed around into fairly big moguls later in the day.  That will make all the pistes, including sections of blue more challenging (or fun if you are that way inclined.

Likewise, all this snow has to fall sometime.  Unlike Serre Che with its trois cent jours de soleil pro annee, St Anton obviously has loads of cloudy overcast days when this snow falls.  That makes it trickier to see and to ski.

Poor connectivity - Don't understand this one, apart from the Stiessbachtaal caveat below.  I think it may relate to the olden days when you had to use a bus to get to Zurs.  The new lift has solved that.

My favourite resort.

defo agree

It really depends exactly what you mean by ‘intermediate’. If you can happily ski all blue runs in any conditions, and get down reds then you will find plenty to do. It definitely isn’t ideal for beginners though.

Hmm, partially agree.  I can't recall when we first went, but my kids were fairly noob when we first went.  They were fine.

But regarding the blues and reds, can you ski them in low vis with big moguls on them?  That's the key question.

but taking the bus is a great option

Hmmm, you need to be very forthright with your queueing.  When we got the bus back from Zurs last month it required total commitment to get the skis and boards onto the rack and get everyone on the bus.  Deeply stressful.  Having said which, that was probably the 50th bus we have caught there and the only really really bad one.

We are staying in Pettneu am Arlberg.

Ooh where?  We always stay out there as it's the only place we can afford...

Plan is to bus to/from Galzig lift and leave ski gear in lockers at Skishop next to lift.  Does that sound sensible?

No, not unless you have a free voucher for the Skishop.  Much better to get off the bus at Station Ost (ie Nasserein) as it is earlier, closer, less busy and better to get back to (see Steissbachtaal caveat below 🙂 )

There are limited runs back to town so they get heavily used, chewed up and are often busy. Not particularly challenging runs but the people and conditions can make them tricky, especially if you aren’t confident.

Right, so this is usually the case, but this year is different.  Happy Valley, or Stiessbachtaal is a key blue run to take you from the main St Anton Skiing back down to Galzigbahn ( and the bus stop you mention).  Due to the aforementioned 3m of snow by Christmas, Happy Valley has been closed this season so far due to Avi danger.  Which means that you either need to stay on Kappal (which is accessed from the aforementioned Nasserein Bahn) or you need to do a short nasty black at the end of the day or descend down Galzigbahn at the end of the day.  Don't get me wrong, the black is just a black, but it is carnage at the end of the day and Son2 didn't enjoy it on his board at all ( though he had only boarded for a week by that point)

Anyway.  I'm waffling.  The reason I'm waffling is because I love St Anton.  It is fabulous and I'm really trying to work out whether to book that last appartment in Pettneu and book the flights to Zurich!!  Can't decide.

Enjoy it, you'll have a whale of a time

PS, if you think the lift pass is expensive, wait till you see ski hire!

@thegeneralist - super helpful reply, thanks so much.  I have sent you a DM.

Having been to lots of resort round the world - St Anton is easily my least favourite resort and Town

Some people must like it though

All the above..plus Hospizalm is amazing for lunch

Can I just add that it's worth going to the mooserwirt and staying till close just to watch the utter carnage of everyone piling out and trying to ski down the aforementioned 'well used and lumpy' piste to the base. Hilarious. Just make sure your skis are tied together and out the way if possible as folks seem to grab any old skis they can jam their boots in and hurtle down.

Base Camp is also brill for apres. Love St. Anton! (also really really nice in summer)

PS. sledging is a must. But be careful as it is very scary and dangerous imho. Ensure the kids have helmets etc.

Ok, shall take the opposing view.

I don't rate St Anton at all, found it to be heavily over rated compared to similarly priced leaders. Expensive, crowded, far too many drunks on the snow from 1400hrs onwards. Anywhere west and north of St Christoph, however has the advantage of avoiding the worst of the louts but with good access to a lot of snow. Lots of loud skiers whose confidence far exceeds their ability and way too much testosterone around.

Agreed on the powder though; it can be very good indeed... Briefly, until tracking out fairly quickly.

So, for a mixed and mostly intermediate group, I would respectfully suggest that you plan very carefully where and when to ski to get the best out of the trip. And keep the family well away from the Mooserwirt and Krazy Kangaru after mid day. Do girls still get an award for tapps aff..?

St Anton multi-year visitor who has now retreated to the charms of Lech.  Quite a lot of your experience will revolve around the snow conditions but in general St Anton is big and great for the confident intermediate, but possibly more intimidating for anyone still acquiring the skills of skiing and snowboarding.  The loss of Happy Valley for the season is a constraint for someone of your standards- Rendl maybe a good start option.  Lech has more flattering runs and worth the logistics of getting there for a day (take the bus)

St Anton gets a lot of snow, but the runs home get a lot of sun.  In round numbers, from memory, Lech gets 50% more snow than St Anton and Zurs get 50% more than Lech. And Warth not only gets the most snow of them all it also faces north and never melts.

We go there a lot - and keep going back for good reason. 

i think most of what’s said above is correct. Happy Valley is indeed shut and if you’re not confident with Kandahar simply get the Galzig gondola down at the end of the day.  From Gampen and Kappal there are blues top to bottom. And if you’re really struggling just pick up the kids run (hoppelweg) to either nasserein or gampen base. It’s a meandering blue for the most part and forks so that you end up at the correct area of town. 

I don’t understand the “not connected” part. It’s extremely well connected with lifts and the flexenbahn takes you to and from Zurs. You can ski all the way from warth to rendl without touching a bus. I would’ve thought that from Pettneu that nasserein end is an easier on/off as is closer. But I don’t get the bus that often.  Pretty sure alber offer lockers at that end of town. 

it’s well connected by road and train. You can see the ski lifts from the station.

Prices have notably increased this year. Lift pass and food prices. But there’s still value to be had if you wander out of the pedestrian zone just a few meters. Maximilian and Buffy’s Fuhrmannstube for example. 

as for pissed up people - definitely less than there used to be. The police have cracked down on this and the mayor is all over it in the town - largely due to not letting people in bars with ski boots after 8.  You still get people coming down from Mooser face first but doesn’t seem anywhere near as prevalent as even 5 years ago in the town itself. 

lech and zurs are better for the groomers but the whole area is superb for offpiste and dipping your toe into the powder via the ski routes. <br /><br />

As said above -  toboggan run is a lot of fun. They’re doing the night sledging again this year with live music in the pub halfway down 

@thegeneralist - perhaps the wrong username, that right there is one of the most detailed replies I've seen!

All super helpful responses, thank you.  Keep them coming!

I don’t understand the “not connected” part. It’s extremely well connected with lifts 

This is true but perhaps the connectivity comment stems from the fact that some of the skiing links are not particularly reliable or only for better skiers. Gettìng from Zurs to Lech would fall into that category. There are also links where you need to get the lift both ways rather than skiing.

As for drunks, can't say I've really noticed that.

Oooooooooh. So exciting.

My permission denied error may be resolved. Think I have just booked flights and a suspiciously cheap apartment .....

Oooooooh

This is true but perhaps the connectivity comment stems from the fact that some of the skiing links are not particularly reliable or only for better skiers. Gettìng from Zurs to Lech would fall into that category. There are also links where you need to get the lift both ways rather than skiing.

ok...with you now. There's a section at the top of the Madlock chair in Zurs that drops you to Zug (on the way to Lech) that is defined as a black ski route. Despite that marking, the gradient isn't too bad. It does get wind impacted quite regularly and there can be rocks that you have to look out for under foot. Whether your group would be happy on it is something you would have to assess.

The only lift you have to get both ways is the Flexenbahn from Anton to Zurs (unless you ski Valluga north face! 🙂 ). But it sure beats the bus. and the hot chocolates are good at the restaurant at the base in Zurs.

If you ski to Zurs and want to cut out the ski route - the bus is an option. It's free and regular and takes 10 mins. No need to get it back though - you can ski a beautiful, empty blue all the way back from Lech to Zurs. (Part of the Weisse Ring)

The only lift you have to get both ways is the Flexenbahn from Anton to Zurs (unless you ski Valluga north face! 🙂 ).

The link to Warth is also lift both ways I think.

We watched a guy go down the face under Flexenbahn last easter. Its the sort of thing I might do on the right day in good conditions, preferably in company. He was solo in shit conditions, gaps in the snow, creep lines, narrow sections,poor vis and he cruised it. Super, super impressive.

Lech - Warth requires lift both ways.  Pretty impressive to get that far from St A in a day. Likewise the lift from St A to Zurs requires intermediate or good intermediate skiing or bus or lift downhill.  And then there is the decent intermediate link Zurs to Zug/Lech.  Fact is if you’re have a few weeks skiing under your belt it’s a fantastic area, but beginners or timid skiers will have fewer options.  St A was party central (a willing participant notes!) but there has been a general move upmarket.  A visit to the Mooserwirt remains a must do for those inclined to indulge in apres ski beers.

I did 2 seasons in St Anton and taught myself to ski chasing others round. Wasn't til I skiid elsewhere on holidays that I realised how challenging it can be there, but also what a good skier I was as a result. No humble brag, my skiing was more fearless than polished technique.

@ssmith1979 or anyone else that happens to be about.

Me and the ( not very wee) wean are in StA from Sunday 11 to Saturday 17th Feb.

If you fancy meeting up for some off piste then send me PM

( have kit, have practised, but have never used it in anger ( thank god) )

So c'mon @ssmith1979
It's generally considered good form on these types of thread to follow up with a reply telling us how it went and providing some pointers for whoever asks the same question next time.

🤩🤩

So, I read this thread with interest as Ms B and I went at the same time.

I have been reading mixed reviews about suitability for intermediate skiers, difficult return runs to resort and poor connectivity? All seems at odds with a world class resort and very expensive lift prices!

No interest in apres ski so no comments on that.

I'd say the run grading is definitely a step up from a lot of other resorts (France/Italy).  There are quite a few reds that would probably be blacks in other resorts.

They'd had a big dump of snow early in the season so there was a 3m base but the ground hadn't frozen so there was a lot of avalanche risk - the only run into town was the black.   It was also super warm for the time of year so that was massively slushy in the afternoons.  We skied it the first day then got the lift down the rest of the week - not because we couldn't ski it but just too crowded with people falling down to feel a worthwhile risk for some shitty skiing.

It's a big overall ski area but the connections are complex so the tips on how to get around we got from the rep at our chalet were really useful.

Since it's a bit complex to get around there are some nice runs up high with good snow that don't get busy once you know where to go.  While we had a little snow one night the temperature meant it wasn't really a week for off-piste BUT there are clearly a lot of easily accessible off-piste area around the pistes.  And the 'itinery' runs - avalanche secured but not bashed - would be a lot of fun if conditions were better.  (we had a brilliant run down one but returning a day later snow was just too heavy, as was the other we tried).

I want to go back in better conditions.