 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Cato, Warth is lovely, but it's not really comparable to Lech or St Anton. There is limited shopping, not much to do outside of the hotels, so don't expect lively apres ski nor night life. The local skiing is really very good around Warth/Schroeken, slopes are varied and orientation mainly N/W means conditions tend to remain good. I skied there 2 weeks ago when the Arlberg was a washout in some places, and frozen teflon on most pistes, and I reckon the piste conditions were the best in Warth and Schroeken for the week.
It is out on a limb, pretty isolated by road due to the Warth-Lech road being closed, so staying in Warth needs to be well planned. A pretty little village with good access to the skiing and with good hotels, possibly cheaper but certainly not in the same class as Lech or St Anton.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Cato, I second everything Skimastaah has said but will add, Warth is connected to Oberlech via a 10 minute gondola ride. Once there you will have full access to the rest of the Arlberg ski area. It is perfectly possible to ski all the way to St Anton and back in a day. I was based in Lech for five full seasons and did it many times, enjoying skiing all the areas around. If you just wanted to ski over to Lech/Zurs it would still be a great day out. At least stop by in Lech and enjoy a Gluhwein or two.
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@Cato, Warth has a shorter season than the rest of the Arlberg so you need to check if it is still open if planning for Easter (especially if a late Easter). Not sure it really gets more snow than the rest of the area (beyond tourist office sales blah) maybe it is slightly less exposed to any southern Föhn and maybe it would be slightly more exposed to a northern "Stau" (though that can mean rain too). St Anton is only slightly lower than Lech (and high for the eastern alps) and it tops out higher. These things are subjective but I think it keeps its snow better than Lech, yes both have south facing home slopes above the village which turn to mush in spring (or in a warm February!) but I think Lech more affected than St Anton. As has been pointed out Warth is rather isolated not just from the rest of the skiing but also in terms of access, it is not that easy to get to in Winter (the only access to Lech is via skis & lift). If you fly into Zürich it is a slow drive up from the Rhine valley, if Munich a long way down the upper Lechtal. No doubt it has its attractions, a pleasant village with some good local skiing (though a long way from St Anton which has the highest skiing in the area) but not sure it is a good choice for Easter when you have to plan so far in advance. Might be worth considering Ischgl too, certainly a "safer" option from a skiing perspective.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Used to regularly ski Warth during the late ‘80’s. Was last there about 6 years ago. Has changed a lot in the interim but with the link to Lech opens up greater possibilities.
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Skimastaah pretty much nails it. I would add though - just come back from that area and Oberlech runs in better condition than Warth-Schrocken. As has been mentioned, it is much quieter than Lech/Oberlech let alone St Anton. From what I can gather it's four lift rides to then ski down to the Auenfeldjet gondola to Oberlech from Warth town. Bit of a pain if you want to venture further.
Worth considering but overall I think there are better options to link into a big area at lower cost.
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I’m skiing with my family in Warth this Easter so reading this with interest and will report back!
We’ve booked directly with a small hotel and have spoke to the tourist information in the town. Very impressed so far .
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Kind of agree with @skimastaaah, its a great place, we’ve stayed there many weeks but whilst its on the same lift pass as Lech its definitely not as good skiing as Lech and St Anton, the vertical drop of the runs is quite limited compared with Lech and St Anton. Absolutely brilliant in fresh powder conditions but it doesn’t tend to hold its snow particularly well into the late season, much patchy areas and brown snow from Salober to Auenfeldjet ime and I’d say better options elsewhere. Used to be much cheaper before they built the Auenfeldjet but now on a par with the rest of the Ski Arlberg area, and tbph its not as good imv, better places to ski into the area than from Warth. Great ski runs and tame OP if conditions permit, one particular favourite is the run down to Schroeken and Korbersee, but on the whole unless you use the link it can feel quite limiting, you end us skiing the same runs quite often.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Cato, Good advice by @skimastaaah, @Old Man Of Lech, @Markymark29
But@munich_irish, is spreading false rumors. Warth definitely has a proven record of most snow of the Arlberg (and of Austria). And whilst St.Anton indeed has highest skiing at 2650 m, Zürs reaches 2500 m, so there is no real difference. And most would agree that the Lech-Zürs-Warth side in general has better snow conditions than St.Anton throughout the season.
Regarding budget, if you do a really good search (self organized) you should still be able to find reasonable options in Lech and Lech-Zug
But I agree with @Markymark29, Ischgl might be a better choice. Easter is very late in 2025
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In my three spring trips to the Arlberg I have found more problems with bad viz in Warth vs, say, Zürs. Small sample size, or is there something to this?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@markymark29, @skimastaaah, @munich_irish and everyone else. Many thanks for the feedback. Keen to get back to Austria and will try to book early to get a deal in Lech, as seems Warth may be too far over/too unpredictable. Have been to Ischgl but didn’t enjoy it as much as Arlberg but maybe that’s just us. Many thanks!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Cato, not sure what type of accommodation you are looking for but take a look at some of the 3* Pensions behind the church, they represent good value compared to the big fancy 4-5* hotels.
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@Cato, Agree with you about Arlberg over Ischgl and think biting the bullet over costs for Lech is the right thing to do.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Cato, I'm not made of money and I liked Haus Mallaun in Lech, stayed there three times. Very friendly and almost ski-in ski-out.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Graduated from St Anton to Lech over the years; Warth is worth the visit but not a stay IMO. In my experience it has tended to hold its snow well thanks to the orientation of its slopes. Slightly OT, but if I ski down to Schroken, how do I regain the height - is it a bus to one of the other access points?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Technician, yep, it's a bus back to Saloberbahn
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks - that makes sense.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Technician, It's a great run with a great bar at the bottom and the bus back is scenic.
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@red 27, +1 great OP off the sides too
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@red 27, @Markymark29, there are two runs nowadays. We did not like the new one, that passes Nesslegg.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Cato, Welcome to Snowheads.
Its probably a sensible place for families, especially now there is the link into Lech.
I've not been there for donkeys years.
There are some great little places to ski down the valley if the conditions are OK still ..
Schoppenau, Damuls and Mellau are linked.
I've got to go back myself.
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Thanks for the tips: cheap pension in lech sounds a good plan. Then check out Warth for the day, and access Zurs and the top part of St Anton before the afternoon slush-fest
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@Cato, Exactly. Lech is most central of all Arlberg villages, and the prettiest on top of that.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Fwiw (& admittedly off topic) Warth is an excellent base for some first rate mountain Summer. Three absolute classics within a 20 mins bus/car journey are the Grosser Widderstein, the Karhorn and the Biberkopf (actually the summit is just over the German border but is normally accessed from the Vorarlberg.) All three are pretty exposed, but very good for those with some mountain experience who want to sample walking in the Vorarlberg. (There are, of course, many less committing alternatives such as the eponymous Wartherhorn.)
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Oje
"excellent base for some first rate mountain walking in Summer"..
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Bergsteiger278, Yes great hiking in summer. Same is true from Lech and St Anton too.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I went here for a day from St Anton and it was a fun place to ride.
But it depends on what you're going for but we found it.
- Very Quiet, way quieter than Lech, Zurs and St Anton.
- Very untracked, lots of side-country lines, you feel pretty safe if you stick between runs, and is quite spread out, and also not as gnarly as St Anton for off-piste, so better for intermediate / beginner off-piste.
- Piste wise, we were there afternoon and still good (was Jan mind), mostly pretty mellow, one steepish roller black run i remember as you had to bomb it to make it up the hill the other side.
- Seemed super sleepy in town though!
I'd go back, but would probably not stay there, as others said just pop over on a lift from Lech, you can get a bus from St Anton or ski over (if you want a longer day)
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@stephenong85, thanks for the tip re intermediate/beginner off piste. Sums me up though rest of the family more confident.
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You know it makes sense.
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Regarding 3* pensions in Lech, I stayed at Haus Nenning (http://www.pension-lech.com) this year.
Literally on the ski trail that heads back into the Schlegelkopfbahn. Typical Austrian pension - clean
and spacious rooms, nice breakfast, and a rate around 100EUR per person per night - excellent for
a ski-in/out place in Lech.
Advantage - they have a small ski shop on site so no need to lug your rentals up & down the hill.
Con - walking back up the hill after a big Austrian dinner in town 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@snowshoer - thanks for the recommendation. Think I stayed up that hill years ago - will check it out for next year.
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FAQ
of experts/strong intermediates. Thanks! 
