 Poster: A snowHead
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Is Saint Anton just mainly a party resort or are there some fairly nice parts to it, any decent restaurants, etc.?
Thought it might be a good location for day trips to other places in Austria/Germany.
Also, any cheap self catered accommodation there?
Trying to get a shortlist of places to go and looking like Morzine or maybe an Austrian resort at the moment.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I am sure you will have lots of post by the end of the day! Firstly I suggest that you decide which ski area in Austria interests you and then google them and view them location wise. St. Anton is very good for skier levels intermediate and above, not so good for beginners. Its considered one of the best ski areas in Europe. You have used cheap twice in your post and I would not have described St.Anton as cheap nor overly expensive compared to some Swiss or French resorts. Generally speaking the further out you stay from the centre of town the cheaper the accomodation. Perhaps you should be looking at St.Jakob or Pettneu and catch the ski bus to the Nassereinbahn to get the lift.
Or you could look at Oberlech and Stuben which connects into the Arlberg ski area.
More St.Anton info here.
http://www.stantonamarlberg.com/en/winter
There are many excellent pretty smaller resorts in Austria: Zell am Zee, Schladming, Saalbach, St.Johann, Bad Gastein etc etc check them out.
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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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Spinout, by cheap I just really mean the ability to get a decent priced self catered so not every single night has to be restaurants.
I expect beer, and bars to be about the same anywhere.
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GordonFreeman, Its just a real party resort, no decent parts its all high-rise 1970's and totally spoilt, very commercial and not a patch on Morzine which is just the opposite. Morzine is a really good place to get to Germany and Austria for day trips from too. Skiing in St Anton is poor, you'll need plenty of day trips out, because the area is very limited, unlike Morzine where theres millions of Km of groomers.
Loads of cheap self catering accomodation in St Anton but very small dirty rooms, and service is very poor unlike Morzine where the standard of self catering accommodation is excellent and second to none.
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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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GordonFreeman, Trust you appreciate I was joking - go to St Anton and you'll be captured and totally knocked-out by the place, I was 30-40 times ago when I first went!! Nowhere comes close IMO, its the BEST.
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| Quote: |
go to St Anton and you'll be captured and totally knocked-out by the place, I was 30-40 times ago when I first went!! Nowhere comes close IMO, its the BEST.
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+1
Have been to both Morzine and St Anton - no competition. St Anton every time. Stay in the Nesserein end of town if you're not into the apres thing. The thing about St Anton for me is that there is something for everyone, both in sking terms and apres (eating/drinking/partying)
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Lots of St Anton is very nice, it's not all rowdy drinking dens.
As for day trips, the only reason to do one would be to head to Sonnenkopf to get some pow if it hasn't snowed in a while. St Anton has pretty much the best skiing in Austria, so not much point in going anywhere else!
Awesome place, I love it. Even in the summer, there's something about it...
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If you do go to St Anton take the yellow Post Bus to Zurs, and follow the "Wiesse Ring". Head up to Madlochjoch and take the piste 33 down to Zug. The snow stays really fresh as this is north facing. There's limited OP options here, but once you get across to Lech via the Zugerberbahn there's loads of piste/off-piste from Kreigerhorn.
Stop off for lunch at Rud-Alpe restaurant, located almost at Lech, about 300 yards above the street level identified by large heart shaped made from wooden branches/twigs. Not too expensive, and has great food favourites (grostl, gernknordl, etc).
Damn, that's my day planned for next week! 
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theskibob, What no run down from top of Muggengratbahn down to Zurs? You need to go down there before heading up Madlochjoch. Dont forget a cheeky beer at the top of the Zug lift.............Love that big carve down to Oberlech too.............great day out, enjoy! 
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I am out there on the 2nd and beginning to feel like one of Pavlov's dogs!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| theskibob, What no run down from top of Muggengratbahn down to Zurs? You need to go down there before heading up Madlochjoch. Dont forget a cheeky beer at the top of the Zug lift.............Love that big carve down to Oberlech too.............great day out, enjoy! |
I was thinking of the run back into Zurs via Zurser Tali as a warm up! BUT, thought the "cheeky bar" at the top of the Zugerbergban worth a stop off for a Vodka Fiege or 3! Also love the run both on and off pisty from Trittkopf back into Zurs, and I've always considered Zurs a better spot to access some of the better skiing at Lech rather than from Lech town itself. Only disappointment is the long traverse from the top of Riffikopf to Hexenboden. HOWEVER>>>>>>>>>> there's another "cheeky bar" half way down Hexen......... Trittalm. MORE Vodka Fieges!
Final stop, the champagne bar at the Alpenhof! (Or a dash round to the Hospitz Alm restaurant in St Christoph for a late bit of munch!)
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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'll tell you what's a nice underated bar over there....Bifangalm, it's the big black bar just as the bottom of Rendl before you turn to come onto the bridge.....nice boozer that.
As is the Sennhutte, Heustadl, Gampen......I could go on.
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| Quote: |
beginning to feel like one of Pavlov's dogs
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Spinout, Are they a lunch treat then? Think I prefer the Sennhutte Kaseburger.
theskibob, Blimey, all those Vodkas, sounds like a recipe for trouble! Must admit the Ruffikopf to Zurs is great, albeit usually very cold but holds the snow really well.
Only 4 weeks to go!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Back in the good ol days, when skis lengths were stratospheric I went for the big adrenaline kick. At the top of the Zursersee Lift take an immediate left onto the top of 16. From the 2/3 piste marker (maybe u clould do it from the top, I didn't try) point your skis straight- no turns,hit the jump half way down maxed out and wait for the compression at the end. Don't think i could do it now, but recommend it for anyone who feels the need for speed and it packs a bigger kick than a vodka redbull. 
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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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Spinout, Ha, proper Herminator run that one!
Reminds me of the time one very cold blue-sky and deserted day that myself, my OH and a German friend and her teenage son came rapidly off the top of Valfehgerbahn chair, we all went into immediate tuck down towards happy-valley, so as not to have to do the 100m poling manoevre, and last one down buys lunch styly...........a large snow ball was getting increasingly bigger and rolling down the off-piste slope at the left at 90 degrees coming towards the piste, none of us saw it - we were so pre-occupied on beating the others and laughing that one of us was skittled 1/2 way down. When we got to the top of Happy Valley we saw our 5' nothing 50kg Munchener-freunde limping along laughing.........not so the following morning when the bruises were revealed in the breakfast room. ............Oooh!! She still dines out on that story, luckily it wasn't a "Strike" though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I liked St anton, the "party" bits are easily avoided if you want, though have to be experienced at least once. There were, in my experience, a lot of decent restaurants which were much better value than france. The people are also really friendly.
However I think the pistes in ischgl are better though. And it's a good bit higher. St anton prob better set up for ski schools and the whole off piste scene.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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How long a walk is it from Nasserien or St Jakob into the centre of SA?
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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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15 mins and 20 mins but free bus runs all day and evening, not far at all but a tad far in ski boots.
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In fact lunch at the Hospitz Alm Restaurant in St Christoph is a must!!!!!!!!!!!!
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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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| GordonFreeman wrote: |
| How long a walk is it from Nasserien or St Jakob into the centre of SA? |
Nasserien 10 mins, St Jakob 30. Lots of busses at start/end of ski time though. Pettneu is an hour (to Bar Cuba at the bottom of the main square).
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Is this a realistic review of the place:
"My biggest problem with St Anton, though, is that the place feels relatively run down when compared to Lech and Ischgl, yet equally as expensive for in village eating and drinking and almost as expensive for lodging. Whilst the apres-ski at the Mooserwirt and the Krazy Kangeruh is legendary, it is spoilt by overcrowding and more worryingly by British lager louts running around totally trashed, half naked, covered in blood from falling over and fighting and looking for more trouble at 4.30 in the afternoon. Frankly they would be better off in Blackpool or Benidorm. Back in town the apres-ski is very English to the point you could be in any club in any town back home. "
Doesn't sound that good.
I've seen it described as a "c o c k fest" and a building site on snow with men whistling and leering at the few ladies about.
Sounds like a night out in a small town in the UK 
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There's no doubt it's a bit of a c oc k fest and that accomodation is a)relatively expensive for Austria and b) not the easiest to book for non std weekly stays. It does have a vibe of a major international ski town though which means Scandis, Seppos etc as well as paralytic Brits trashing their Rossi B2s on gravel at 6pm after being evicted from the Mooserwirt. Skiing is extensive. Check the TGR article on great gondolas of the world for a more positive review.
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I was in the Mooserwirt a couple of weeks ago and yes, it was crazy inside (and out to a lesser extent), but there were no problems at all and it was all very good natured. A very friendly & boozy atmosphere. The central part of St Anton is mainly restaurants / shops / hotels so whatever bar activity is going on doesn't really intrude that much. As lots of the main apres ski places are on the mountain then the town feels friendly and relaxed at apres time.
Compared to Ischgl, St Anton is more refined, and feels a bit more more upmarket, and there're definitely fewer Brits in Ischgl, but to be honest the German / Austrian contingent there are just as loud and boorish as we can be. In no way are either of them anything like Blackpool or Benidorm. I found a good atmosphere in both places.
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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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| fatbob wrote: |
| There's no doubt it's a bit of a c oc k fest and that accomodation is a)relatively expensive for Austria and b) not the easiest to book for non std weekly stays. It does have a vibe of a major international ski town though which means Scandis, Seppos etc as well as paralytic Brits trashing their Rossi B2s on gravel at 6pm after being evicted from the Mooserwirt. Skiing is extensive. Check the TGR article on great gondolas of the world for a more positive review. |
which brings me onto a philosophical point ...where are all the women? Just sitting at home knitting or something.
Alternative choice would be Lech but I thought nightlife might be good in St Anton...
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| Quote: |
where are all the women
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quality not quantity
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| boabski wrote: |
| Quote: |
where are all the women
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quality not quantity |
quality AND quantity
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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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Do you think there'll be a massive queue for lifts at Easter?
Still contemplating if Lech is better
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Lift queues are few and far between in st Anton. You only have to queue for a couple of minutes tops from main lifts out of village. Only bottleneck can be Zammermoosbahn but you don't use it that often - in fact we only needed to use once a few weeks ago.
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You know it makes sense.
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I love St Anton. But if you're not into offpiste and the crazy apres-ski scene Lech may be better for you...if you can find accommodation at similar price, though, which may be tricky.
Either would beat Morzine blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their back. (and I like Morzine as a town, but getting to any interesting skiing takes too long).
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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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Not sure I'd agree with the limitations of St Anton mentioned above as there's plenty of easy skiing & plenty of gentle off-piste in St Anton too. There's gulleys & steeps if you want them but all of the ski routes from Valluga down towards the village get tracked into a piste-like state anyway & the toughest thing you'll encounter on them are bumps. The high street has some nice bars where Brits & Dutch are in the minority & you can have a conversation without having to shout in someone's ear & get a beer without having to elbow your way through a crowd like you have to in the bars on the St Anton home run. That said, I'm going to Lech at Easter ... I've only ever day-tripped there in the past but I remember seeing some fabulous lines near Zug that I want to ski & that the Weiss Ring was a great 1/2 day loop for a mixed group.
Someone mentioned Ischgl which is excellent all around but obviously not connected to the Arlberg ski area as such. I don't remember vomiting & fighting there either but my bedtime is usually about 10.00 PM so maybe I missed out on its bad bits.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Having gone to St Anton and Ischgl this year, I would rate Ischgl much higher than St Anton. I know people love it, but I didn't find the skiing or atmosphere quite as good as the hype. The pistes above resort were narrow and pretty crowded, there were quite a few queues for lifts, and the ski bus service seemed hard work compared to other resorts. We ended up getting taxis for day trips to Lech/Zurs and back. I found the atmosphere a bit unfriendly (probably because staff and the town "security guards" have to put up with drunken ski blokes all the time). And, as has been mentioned, there were so many blokes that they were calling it "St Manton", with Piccadilly nightclub being called "Pick-a-Willy".
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Lorenzo, sounds like you went at an unfortunate time.. I spent a season there and think I had to queue more than a few minutes... once? When they held the lift so they could finish doing their avy work. Valid point bout the pistes getting busy..
What was difficult about the bus? You could either get it from the base of the Rendl lift every 30 minutes, or get a 10 minute bus from Alpe Rauz (which can be a bit of a squeeze at times), and then just get the PostBus back at the end of the day. Easy no? Surprised you found it at unfriendly atmosphere though... do you mean the locals?
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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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Timmaah, yeah we got bus from Rauz once but had to push hard to get on and it was indeed a squeeze! Most in the queue would have had to catch the next bus, assuming they held their place. I am more used to ski buses passing through the main streets, stopping outside hotels and lift stations and running on a circle all day. We tried to get bus at Stuben too but opted for taxi after waiting 30 mins with limited info.
Lift queues were not too long, I suppose, just noticeable for their frequency with couple of bottlenecks.
The street 'security' (the shoosh police) were bad tempered and unhelpful. I had to remind them that they were there to look after tourists too rather than to herd them around with a scowl. Security staff in pubs and clubs were little better (mostly Brits). The females in resort were obviously so used to being predated that they would blank attempts at polite conversation. Or maybe that was just a reflection on my patter.......
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| Lorenzo wrote: |
| And, as has been mentioned, there were so many blokes that they were calling it "St Manton", with Piccadilly nightclub being called "Pick-a-Willy". |
This is not new & in general all ski resorts attract more men than woman. St Anton has always had this hardcore skiing/boarding reputation mainly because it is true. Your see some of the best skiers & worst in World.
Even the old Swedish owner of the KK reported a few years ago in The Times of London that sometime he thinks he is running a gay bar & that the town needed more woman.
Give the choice to most woman of going to the Beach (winter sun) or the Mountains I think it is a no brainer to guess the answer??
The St Anton Gemiende (City Council) has been trying to address the situation with drunkenness & yes this is seen by new laws with early closing times for the clubs & bars more visible security (Schuss Police). Promoting Ladies Ski weeks.
30 yr s ago Ischgl & St Anton were pretty much the same in terrain.
Ischgl has since destroyed their hill by covering it with lifts, trashing nearly all the accesable off piste. The town has been over developed to bursting. Even 30yrs back there was not once single private house left in the town every building had been converted into a business.
St Anton has vowed not to follow Ischgl's history even with the new development/remodel last summer of five new top end Hotels.
St Anton will stick to its history & tradition. The legendary lift served Off-Piste.
There are some new lifts in the planning but these will simply replace old systems & are a few year delayed.
Ischgl was almost exclusively German & Scandinavian but that has changed.
St Anton has always attracted the British it is a close run with numbers. Germans still pip the British in numbers approx 53/47%.
With regard to Apres Ski Drunkenness. There is a new law being discussed in Austria that will forbid skiing on pisted slopes after closing time(5pm) which will kill on hill apres but benefit business in town.
Believe it or not the KK was much worse in the past, everyday from 3pm happy hour there was vomit on the tables & floor. If you were British you'd likely not of lasted long in the bar or just thrown out of the window because of the constant nightly berating by the Ozzy DJ (any Whingeing Pommies in the house get the f**k out}.
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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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Like Lorenzo I've also been in both this year. I don't agree with the suggestion that Ischgl is over developed to bursting. Its a much nicer town than St Anton, in fact its the nicest ski town I've ever been in. Its also tiny which I think contributes to the atmosphere. I also don't agree that the accessible off piste has been ruined - there is lots of accessible off piste right off the lift, literally hectares of the stuff in Samnaun in particular. But I wasn't aware of the same level of truly 'off the back side' type stuff that is in St Anton or of the steeper chutes that you have off schindlegratbahn for instance, and maybe this is what St Anton is talking about. I did read other reviews of Ischgl from people who had been there years ago and said that new lifts closed off old off piste runs.
I would sum them up as follows:
Ischgl - prettier, better pistes, better and more challenging blacks in particular, much better lift system, higher and therefore better in late season, next to no english speaking tourists, harder to find accomodation
St Anton - exceptionally good long off piste descents, better off piste culture and better skiers there (Ischgl had the worst skiers I have ever seen in a resort), poorer pistes and poorer in warm conditions, poorer lift system, truly exceptional apres ski and general joviality, younger, still hard to find accomodation though not as bad as Ischgl
Incidentally I saw next to no women in Ischgl and lots and lots of hotties in St Anton. Though my mate likes to recount a story of some russian girls who joined him in the spa in Ischgl whom he presumes were on a working holiday....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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8611, Clearly you don't know St Anton very well, the pistes and lift system are th best in Europe, Arlberg including Lech, Stuben and Zurs beats Ischgl on every level - I've skid both......Ischgl one week and Arlberg 30 weeks +.
The off piste in St Anton is legendary, and lift system is second to none in getting out there!!
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Well I've been twice so I feel I know it reasonably well. I'm sorry, but lol at the suggestion that St Anton has the best pistes or lift system in Europe. The pistes do not even come close to scratching the surface of what is on offer in the 3V or the Espace Kily for a start. How you could pretend that the lift system is the best in Europe when just over the mountain Ischgl has a much higher ratio of fast and high capacity lifts is beyond me. Do you think a lift system with the highest lift at 2,800m could even be considered the best lift system? The Schindlergradbahn, presumably built by Schindler before he legged it to Argentina ? That god awful two man thing that has the big queues from Zurs to Zug? The best lift system in Europe? Come on.
The off piste is very impressive, probably only rivalled by Chamonix (and maybe to a lesser extent the 3v). And the apres is probably the best in the world. But I think people posting here are confusing their loyalty to a resort they love with an actual objective assessment of the resort.
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Just back from St Anton myself. Bloody hell how much off piste is there?! Superb, and I'll be back next year hopefully in 'fresher' condtions. I found that there wasn't a great deal on piste between the blues, reds, and blacks. I particulary liked the Stuben area. Whole resort was quiet no queues at all.
There were some very good skiers kicking about but I'd say for every good skier there were at least 3 mongs. I got well and truly clattered from behind by a snowboarder, and one day found myself with a German hurtling towards me making Super Man style fists with the intention of bracing himself when he collided with me I assume. Luckily I caught him in the corner of my eye quick enough.....
Markymark29, I recall you were out recently too? I ended up sacking off all but one of the guided days I had planned, didn't fancy paying to ski mostly crusty-crud.
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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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8611, Twice eh, you must be a real local by now then?  ................Your entitled to your own opinion, but cheap shots at Schindler are pretty crass IMO, the lift you mention opens up probably the best on-piste and itinery routes in Europe (Schindlerkar, Mattunjoch and also Schindler couloirs, and Valluga) ................pretty hard to have a lift system higher than the Valluga in Arlberg, it is the highest ski point in the area, and is 1500m+ vert drop not enough, actually this is equivalent to Tignes' Grand Motte to Le Lac, and much more challenging, ever skied the Valluga?
3V is not even close as a off-piste ski area IMO, EK decent but dated due to lack of investment in lift system, no significant new lifts since Les Laissant, and before that Alberville Olympics, yes Cham is great, I agree and its on my repeat visit list, as is EK but not 3V. My regard of a lift system is not how many people you can get to the next blue/ red run at 3000m+ but rather how well it accesses the freeride terrain, also theres no 2 man lift that runs from Zurs to Zug, trust you mean the Zug to Lech chair............yes slow but its called character, and you pick your time to avoid a small queue here - suggest you need to avoid Arlberg now that you know its faults and area so well 
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Zug to Lech chair has a queue? Can't say I've ever come across one (4 Winters in the Arlberg), depends on what time you venture out to do the Weiss Ring I guess.
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FAQ
