Ski Guide to St. Anton in Austria

You can count on Austria for chocolate-box charm mixed in with the prettiest of Alpine scenes – fir trees loaded with snow, log cabins hidden in the forests, rustic food with a gourmet twist and miles and miles of ski runs.

In St. Anton though, you get a lot more than this. Known as St. Anton am Arlberg, this Austrian village in the Tyrolean Alps is the place to come for party with a capital P. Whether you like blueberry shots on the al fresco terrace post-piste, steins of beer in famed party place Mooserwirt or international DJs at snowboarding festivals, St Aton will deliver.

However, as much as it’s about serious partying, St Anton is also serious about ski. The entranceway to the Arlberg ski region, which includes St. Anton am Arlberg, St. Christoph, Stuben, Lech, Zürs, Warth and Schröcken, consists of 305 km of marked slopes and 200 km of off-piste trails serviced by 88 state-of-the-art cable cars. It’s a powder-hunter’s paradise – especially in the wide snowfields beneath the Valluga peak.

Best suited for intermediate skiers upwards, the joy of skiing the Arlberg region is its web of interconnecting runs to smoothly keep you skiing all day. To take in the best of it, try the Run of Fame, an 85 km route traversing the Arlberg, Flexen and Hochtannberg mountain pass – with an astonishing 18,000 vertical metres. That will blow out the cobwebs from last night’s schnapps!

Back in St. Anton, its reputation for fun off the pistes doesn’t mean it has lost its Tyrolean charm. There’s plenty of heritage architecture to admire from onion-turreted churches to traditional wooden chalets. St. Anton also has a rich history: known as the ‘cradle of alpine skiing’ for its connection to the sport, it was here that the first ever ski school was created in 1921. The St. Anton Ski and Local Heritage Museum charts the region’s interesting links to Alpine sport and the characters that brought international acclaim to the area. You’ll also find a range of restaurants to fuel hungry skiers from wood-fired pizzas, traditional Austrian fare, even sushi. After dinner, the pedestrian area comes alive with party creatures pinballing from bar to bar so you can decide whether to join the throng.

Where to stay?

Singing from the chilled hymn sheet of subdued modernism with a heritage palette of alpinist charisma, calculated simplicity translates with ease to pared-back luxury, found in the centre of ski heaven St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria. Signature touches of natural loom fabrics and materials conduct a style narration of hessian rugs, swathes of smooth pine flooring, plus mellow timber panelling adding to the feel of cocooning nature with a modern hand.