Arlberg area

A snowHead

Hello!

4 of us are skiing in the Arlberg area in January / February for 2 weeks - 1 is confident on blue runs and is happy skiing for about 4 hours or so a day; and the other 3 are happy on reds and want to ski the maximum time each day! We have the option of staying in Shrocken or Klösterle and will have a car, although the blue skier will probably take the car home early and the red skiers will us the bus.

The questions I've got:

1. For the blue skier, is the Warth side better - wide runs, not too busy?
2. Where are the better blue runs?
3. Will the blue skier cope with coming down St Anton (we've heard it can get hectic!) although I'm sure they can come down in the cable car
4. If we stay in Klösterle, is there a ski bus to Lech? Or is there ample parking in Lech?
5. What happens is one or all get stuck on the wrong side of Auenfeldjet?

Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks

A snowHead

You're best staying in Klösterle as there's no car access from Warth to Lech in the winter (this would also give the option to ski the Sonnenkopf ski area)

The bus service to Lech will be the paid for Post Bus

I guess missing the Auenfeldjet would involve an expensive overnight stay in some available accommodation, or a long taxi ride Shocked

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Not sure staying in either Schröcken or Klösterle is ideal for a longer stay in the Arlberg. The only run back to Schröken is a "ski route" though reputedly not difficult and there is currently no lift up, you need to use the bus link to the skiing. Also as noted above the road between Warth & Lech is closed in winter so getting to St Anton is not easy and risks being "stuck" (the only link is the Auenfeldjet lift). Klösterle is better as there is the local ski area at Sonnenkopf (on Arlberg ski pass) and there is road access (assuming the passes are open, which they generally are) to most of the Arlberg. I would suggest you might be better off looking at another location to stay, if budget is an issue have a look at Pettneu which allows easy access to St Anton.

There are regular Post buses between Bludenz & Stuben and also Langen & Lech.

There is a large car park at Zürs, smaller car parks in Lech & St Anton, all car parks are "pay & display" even for lift pass holders, the St Anton ones fill up quickly.

Not sure this is an ideal holiday for your less experienced friend, especially if they are not up for skiing all day. The Arlberg has lots of skiing but it is spread out over a wide area. The more straight forward skiing is concentrated in Warth, Lech, a bit in Zürs and at Rendl. Of the "blue" runs shown at St Anton the only one that is really easy is the wide area next to the Galzig chair but you wont want to ski this more than a couple of times and it gets busy. Of the rest they are either paths through the trees or pretty indistinguishable from the "reds". The home run you will of heard about is the Steissbachtal / Zamermoos piste. The upper part is easy but narrow, it is often crowded & so not great to ski (I almost always use the black run, generally much more pleasant and easier than dodging ski schools and want to be racers). The lower part is wider but gets chopped up in the afternoons which means it can be a struggle for the less experienced and leads to a lot of congestion (and impatient folk skiing too fast).

A big part of skiing in the Arlberg is pushing your level, that doesnt have to mean looking for huge mogul fields or jumping off cliffs (unless you want to). It might be skiing Madloch or Schindlerkar (well known ski routes) which often have the best snow and can be easier to ski than a nearby crowded "blue".

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Gosh, you could write a book to answer those questions! Happy

There is very little in St Anton for a typical blue run skier (whatever that is). There are very easy beginner slopes and then a fair jump up to harder blues. The place does get busy and the pistes turn into mogul fields by afternoon. There are more cruisey runs in Warth / Schröcken. Sonnenkopf is fairly mellow, as long as there is good visibility.

Not sure what you mean by Q3? Coming down from where? You can download on the gondolas and cablecars, and some chairs (eg Kapallbahn)

There is a free ski bus from Stuben to Klösterle, but I don't think it goes through to Lech. You might have to take the Post Bus, which is a paid service. Plenty of parking in Lech and Zürs: https://www.skiarlberg.at/en/Lech-Oberlech-Zuers/Good-to-know/Getting-here-parking

If you get stuck on the wrong side of the Auenfeldjet, then you have the option of an unplanned, and potentially expensive overnight stay. The other option is a long tour in Western Austria - I have never looked into how that would be done, maybe via Bregenz? The road from Warth to Lech is closed in all but the lightest of winters. I have seen it open only 1 winter in 19.

I would be inclined to stay in Warth if that option is available to you. Schröcken is a very quiet part of world, as would be the little roadside hamlets between Schröcken and Warth.

It would be useful to know why you picked those 2 places. That might help people give you better opinions.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@munich_irish, just a small correction to:

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@NKF, Echoing what's been said above really - we've stayed all over Arlberg over the years the best option for access to easier blues would be to stay in Lech, however it comes at a price premium, very expensive to stay there. Both Klosterle and Schroeken are not great for easily accessing the main areas, albeit if you have a car you can drive up to Zurs from Klosterle easily enough, and to Salober from Schroeken. Both are linked via buses to main ski areas but its' a bit of a chew at both ends of the day i'd think. Both lovely villages, and both special places but not best placed for easy access.

Getting stuck on the wrong side of the Auenfeldjet is always a consideration, although Warth is great skiing care needed in bad weather - if weather is closing in it often closes with very little notice (we have once been last on as it was closing and it's a daunting prospect it's a very expensive 3 hour taxi ride from one side to the other). Have you thought about staying in Stuben? Great access over the Flexenpass to Zurs and Lech where the main volume of blues are located, and also a more forgiving run back home at the end of the day if on St Anton side. Quieter than St Anton, cheaper than Lech for sure, a few decent bars and lunch stops, plus very well placed for all i'd suggest.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@NKF, Some good info already given. Indeed apart from the existing skiroute there is -since recently- a light red piste to Schröcken, which the blue skier in your group should also manage easily. It does NOT require uphill skating though, you can easily get there from the top of the Falken chair.
Also the Schlosskopf parking in Lech is quite large, and never fully occupied.

The Auenfeldlift really only closes during windy conditions. Sometimes it is closed because of avalanche-risk, but in that case in general it is already closed in the morning, and you cannot switch to Lech anyway.

I think it works well to view Ski Arlberg as two separate areas, even though they are connected. (it's a lift-lift connection, no piste)
For your group, clearly the Lech-Zürs-Warth-Schröcken area is best suited. It also is the largest of the two. (190 km groomed piste)
The other area St.Anton-Stuben-St.Christoph is best for ambitious skiers that like to go off piste. Do not expect easy gentle skiing there, and also realize that the red pistes in general are not of the cruise-carving type. Many pistes, even some central blue ones, turn into moguls daily. Many people, gentle skiers in general, are disappointed in St.Anton because of this.

Both villages Klösterle and Schröcken are very small, and rather uninspiring. Schröcken indeed is a set of hamlets along the first hairpins of the Hochtannberg pass. Beautiful scenery though! But do check the location of accommodation in relation the aforementioned piste.

I too was inclined to say Klösterle at first, based on its much more central location.
But given the fact that the Lech-Area suits your group much better than the St.Anton-Area, Schröcken might indeed be the better option.
There is another aspect that makes Schröcken attractive, especially since you'll be having a car, and are staying for two weeks: In Schröcken you might also consider buying the "Drei Täler Skipass", which gives acces to the lovely smaller ski resorts around Bregenzerwald and Lechtal, AND you can buy additional access to the SkiArlberg area https://www.3taeler.at/en/3taelerpass-season-and-annual-pass.html

After all it is free

We have skied Lech and Warth many times and the first thing is to mention that two weeks is a long time to ski
in those villages especially if you’re planning to ski all day every day because they are not huge ski areas.
Lech isn’t cheap for accommodation but Warth is better and we’ve stayed at the Steffisalp which isn’t outrageously priced and is a true ski-in, ski-out hotel.
If you have a companion who is a “blue run skier” it might be better to get him away from blue runs as so many of them end up being very challenging as the day wears on due to the fact that they get chewed up and mogully which is the last thing a less confident skier needs. So often, the red runs are in far better condition and easier to ski.
Have you considered other parts of Austria? For a two week stay I’d recommend the Ski Welt area where you have a choice of many different areas if you have a car - Kitzbuhel, Westendorf, Fiederbrunn, Ellmau, Brixental, Soll etc all reachable easily and is a good area for intermediate skiers. A Super Ski Pass ( or whatever it’s called this year) covers the whole area

@Illetas, +1 for staying in Warth great place and easy cruisy blues home at the end of the day. We've stayed at Hotel Walserstube a few times (opposite Steffisalp), great location, wellness fabulous, quite expensive for Warth but compared with over the hill not too bad. 2 weeks is a long time to be there though, I'd suggest a 2 centre trip if you have a car @NKF, maybe a second week in Montafon area?

Help!!

Arlberg area

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