 Poster: A snowHead
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Considering committing to a week's skiing in Austria this year. My Austrian skiing experience amounts to a solitary day on the Hintertux glacier....
Very tempted by this review of St Anton.... http://www.welove2ski.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=132&desc=St%20Anton,%20Austria
We'd be going for the off piste and there seems to be a lot of terrain http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=18693
The jist of this seems to be to wait until February/March for a decent base http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1561363&highlight=anton#1561363
Questions:
If we leave the choice of week until late in the day to ensure decent conditions will we be able to find accommodation close to the main lifts in Feb/March? We'll have a car but doesn't sound like it would be wise to drive it after the Moosewirt...
We'd be trying to squeeze 8 or 9 days skiing out of the week. Do we stick with just St Anton/Lech/Zurs or are there other decent Austrian resorts en route (from Switzerland) that are worth combining with?
How does the St Anton off piste compare with Verbier / Chamonix in terms of access, terrain and how quick it tracks out ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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BobinCH, watch out for Fasching in the first week of March which will bring lots of people to town. I forgot about that the other day, but unless you want to be there for fasching probably best avoided.
Leaving it late won't mean you can't find somewhere near the lifts, but it does introduce an element of lottery.
A lot of the obvious off piste in St Anton gets tracked out quickly, but a guide will be able to give you plenty of options. Lech and Zurs get tracked out less quickly.
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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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The obvious and easily accessed stuff in Anton will be tracked out by 11am on a powder day, but with a bit of effort and knowledge you should still be able to find freshies a couple of days after a storm. There is plenty of epic terrain - you won't get bored, whether you're after steep gnarl or mellow pow (I've never skied Verb or Cham though so can't compare them). Not much in the way of (legal) tree skiing though. Plenty of stuff can be accessed form the lifts, but short hikes open up a lot more options. The Arlberg has more terrain than you'll be able to 'do' in 9 days, but you could also take a day or two in Ischgl, and I think there might actually be a touring route between them? Early march usually seems to be the best time to score pow, with obvious caveats.
But yeah, St Anton is epic for offpiste.
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It's awesome BobinCH and there's a lot of terrain to explore between St Anton, Stuben, Lech and Zürs areas. As the others have mentioned, the easily accessed terrain gets skied out pretty quickly but the guides should be able to find you some fresh tracks if there hasn't been a snowfall for a few days. When I did my seasons there, we had some fantastic tree skiing but they've definitely tightened things up since.
You can tour up from Rendl to Kappl in the Paznauntal (one resort lower down the valley than Ischgl) like clarky999 suggested. There is also some great terrain to explore from the small ski area of Sonnenkopf (on the Arlberg lift pass). What with Stuben, Zürs, Lech, off the back of the Valluga, Rendl areas and Sonnenkopf I'd have thought there is enough to keep you happy for 8/9 days.
If you feel like you want to tour some other areas en route then maybe look at the Montafon which gives access to the vast Silvretta area?
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hey BobinCH, hope you enjoy St Anton! Both resorts are at the top of my list and I think St A is quite comparable to Verbier in terms of offpiste possibilities - possibly slightly less stuff that's easily accessible and still takes a while to track out, but maybe a little more stuff that can be found by a good guide. (Don't miss long touring off the back of Rendl). This opinion is based only on one week and several weekends in each resort, so far less time on either hill than locals, seasonnaires etc.
If you can't find a friendly local to show you around, I would certainly go for a guide. I skied with Pio Jutz from Arlberg Guides last year, and I would certainly recommend him. Below are some pics from that trip, to whet your appetite.
Pistetopowder also comes highly recommended - Graham Austick is the top guy, whom snowball has skied with, while I had a day with Franz Trimmel who's another cool guide with an in-built GPS (seriously, I've never seen better navigation skills in a whiteout).
If you end up there in March, who knows, I may even be able to join you. (Knee prognosis is that I won't ski before mid-Feb at best).
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BobinCH, I would second horizon's suggestion of tracking down Graham Austick if you are looking for a guided day or two - can guarantee he'll find you some good stuff - if you're there later in the season chances are he'll be up at Lyngen Lodge in Norway, but the rest of his guides are meant to be top boys as well...
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BobinCH, only downside to St.Anton is that it does get very full with quite good skiers, meaning that the instant any pow drops from the heavens the near off piste is skied out! Best area IMO is up on the Albona, which is accessed from Stuben, so I would consider trying to find somewhere to stay there. Stuben is quiet and has no access to the Mooserwirt though!
The other slight downside is that the two sides of the Arlberg are not joined up. On the other hand that's an advantage as far as Lech&Zürs are concerned because it also means that the majority of the hoi-polloi stays in St.Anton. Lech has also got some very decent off piste, equal IMO to what St.A has to offer. Definitely both sides are recommended!
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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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The advantage of Piste to Powder ( http://www.pistetopowder.com/ ) is that they will put you in a group of similar standard if you don't want a private hire. They are a bit more expensive than most guides, though.
In my experience St Anton takes longer to track out than Chamonix. With guides I've skied fresh tracks a week after the new snow.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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BobinCH, Piste to Powder normally stakeout the back bar of The Underground early evening if you want to chat through options.
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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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FAQ
Hope it sorts itself out. That second picture is $$$. St Anton sounds like it rewards a little effort and I really like the sound of it. Hopefully continue the good record with friendly locals but will also try the guides you mention. When we fix a date I'll let you know. Be good to see you rocking on the new rockers 
