Skiing in Austria is amazing. Austria was the birthplace of ski school, the
first modern chairlifts, and features some of the best skiing in the Alps.
Austrian ski villages are lively and welcoming with genuine chalets and modern
four and five star ski in ski out hotels, wonderful European cuisine, and lively
après ski. But it’s the magnificent Alpine skiing in Austria that makes the ski
trip. Vast slopes of well groomed skiing (which the Austrians refer to as
"prepared" slopes), plus thousands of acres of big mountain high elevation, above
tree line bowls, chutes and wide open off piste terrain.
What’s most impressive about Austria is that they spare no expense in the
design, location and engineering of their ski lifts and routes. No peak is
un-reachable and no lift is too steep or expensive to reach the best ski terrain.
Beautiful glass lined gondolas and cable cars – the equivalent of trams, are
more the standard than the exception. Bubbles cover most quads, six and eight
passenger chairs with cushy leather heated seats, truly the lap of luxury for
skiers and snowboarders between ski runs. Austrian ticketing systems are mostly
electronic scanning with a plastic card in your pocket also good on the
efficient bus systems if you ski off-piste and find yourself in a nearby town.
Austrian ski terrain ranges from perfectly prepared (groomed) marked trails for
every ability to steep, off piste descents where you should have a guide and
transceivers for the adventure of a lifetime.
Skiing in Austria is a part of history. You ski along to a charming
centuries-old hut on the
slopes serving homemade Weiner schnitzel and fondue for lunch in a cozy wood
fired hut or at a scenic Umbrellas Bar on a sonnenterrasse. The other aspect of
Austrian skiing is the modern part with the best lifts and terrain in the world.
Austrians love winter, skiing, and their après ski which is a big part of the
ski tradition with music, beer, Schnapps, and dancing in your ski boots.
Some of Austria’s best ski resorts include St. Anton, Lech Zurs, Solden, Obergurgl
Hochgurl, Ischgl, Klösterle Sonnenkopf, Kitzbuhel, and Innsbruck.
We have visited the Austrian Alps, skiing the Arlberg, Vorarlberg and Otztal regions and
staying at some of the best Austrian ski hotels in St Anton, Solden, Lech and Obergurgl. See our Austrian ski and lodging
reviews and photos of St. Anton,
Lech Zurs,
Solden, and
Obergurgl Hochgurl.
