St Anton is definitely one of the resorts that you must visit in your lifetime. Located at the centre of the Arlberg Ski Circus St Anton is certainly one of Europe’s top ski resorts. Skiers and boarders are lured in from all over the world for the fantastic skiing and nightlife that is on offer throughout the area.
The village is a mixture of traditional and modern buildings lining a narrow valley. The centre of the resort has a traffic free main street that is lined with traditional style buildings with the main hub of the resort found around the lifts to Gampen and Galzig. At the other end of the resort is the suburb of Nasserein where there are many chalets to be found. This is ideal if you are looking to stay at the quieter end of town and still have good access to the slopes via a chairlift to Gampen. With plenty of ski chalets and hotels to choose and book for those perfect St Anton ski holidays what are you waiting for?
The nightlife in St Anton is legendary and is known for rocking from 3pm through to 3am. The après ski starts on the mountain in the Krazy Kanguruh and the Mooserwirt. Waters head into the crowds with trays of beer and the girls come around with shots so you will never be too far away from a drink!
The bars in town start getting busy about 4pm and there is something to suit everyone from the loud busy bars to the quieter sophisticated establishments. The Picadilly has live bands and the Underground is also a good choice. If champagne and canapés are more your style then head to the St Antoner Hof. Nasserein doesn’t miss out on the fun either and has the Fang House and Sonnegg to keep you entertained. Off the slopes there are fitness facilities, swimming pool and ice skating to keep you busy when not skiing.
For non skiers the local buses are easy to use to get to neighbouring resorts and Innsbruck is worth a visit by train. There are also walking trails to Pettneu.
St Anton’s slopes are made up of 3 main sectors where two are linked up. The main ski area is beneath the towering Valluga and is accessed by the gondola to Galzig then cable car. The lower section of the Valluga gives access to lovely sunny bowls and the stunning run down to Alpe Rauz. Other runs from Galzig go over to St Christoph. Beyond this is the Kapall-Gampen section. The third area is Rendl which has a few lifts accessing the west facing runs.
Beginners will enjoy the slopes at Nasserein before progressing up to Gampen. Intermediates will just love St Anton as there are plenty of testing pistes. adventurous intermediates will enjoy the Mutten ski route and the easier of the Schindlerkar routes from the Valluga Grat. For those that like bumps try the Kapall-Gampen section as there are moguls on the lower half through the trees. Experts will find that St Anton vies with Chamonix and Val D’Isere for the position of favourite resort of good skiers and boarders.
Over on Rendl there are actually some quite challenging itineraries but you must hire a guide and head off piste to take advantage of the area at its full potential. The runs from the summit cable car of Valluga are totally amazing and will impress most seasoned off piste skiers and boarders. Stuben has some fantastic terrain that is also not to be missed as the tree skiing is phenomenal. You could be up to your waist in powder bouncing through the trees – fantastic! We must say again though – hire a guide as the off piste is dangerous. If you are looking for a terrain park to play in then head to Rendl as there is a 200m long park here. Alternatively head over to Lech for a larger option.
- Season Start / End: 2/12 – 4/4
- Opening Times: 08:45 – 16:30
- Total Slope Length: 305km
- Easy Slope Length: 130 km
- Intermediate Slope Length: 124 km
- Difficult Slope Length: 51 km
MOUNTAIN STATION ALTITUDE: 2811m
VALLEY STATION ALTITUDE: 1304m
TOTAL SKI LIFTS: 111
CABLE CARS: 5
GONDOLAS: 10
COMBINED CHAIR GONDOLAS: 1
CHAIR LIFTS: 44
DRAG LIFTS: 28
MAGIC CARPETS: 24