NOTES: West of Innsbruck, the St Anton am Arlberg area has amazing snowboarding with reliable snow, although icy at times. Centered around St. Anton, there are 46 lifts serving 71 runs spread over 5,400 acres with a maximum vertical of 1507m (4,900 feet). Get ready for steep above the treeline powder and mogul fields. The longest run is over 10km (6 miles). From St Anton, the runs provide access to three towns: St Anton, St Christoph and Stuben (a great destination for lunch – try Berghaus Steuben).
St. Anton am Arlberg is part of the larger Ski Arlberg region that consists of several resort areas connected by bus, including St. Anton, Lech/Zurs and Sonnenkopf. There are 85 lifts serving 280km of groomed pistes and 180km of ungroomed routes across 12,000 acres with a maximum vertical drop of 5,000. Note, when taking the Post Bus between resort areas, put your snowboard underneath the bus in the luggage compartment and not on the back of the bus.
Overall, there are very few snowboarders in the Arlberg region, maybe 10% overall. And, the other 90% are not particularly friendly to anyone on a snowboard (expect them to ski all over the back of your board in the lift lines). This is not a place for beginners – solid intermediates or better. There are plenty of traverses between lifts, so be ready to skate or hike often. Also, on the trail map, assume the lifts are tow ropes or T-bars unless otherwise indicated. Not that the lifts are much better – many lifts have a magic-carpet that transports you the last 10 feet prior to getting on the chair – very difficult to get used to for snowboarders. do not expect lift ops to help you either, because there aren’t any!
For glades and powder, try the Rendl ski area (south of St Anton) via lifts Riffl 1 or Riffl 2 for a 5 mile long bowl leading back to town. Rendl tends to be alittle more friendly to snowboarders.
The highest accessible peak is the Valluga Summit. There is a primary tram to within a couple hundred feet of the summit. To reach the actual summit and the best untracked powder runs, requires having a guide in order to get on the secondary tram. From the summit, you can ride the backside all the way down to Zurs. For guides, talk to the Powder Club Off Piste Guiding through the Skischule Arlberg at 43-5446-3411.
For apres ski, check out the reknowned Krazy Kanguruh and then Moosewirt, both located about 1000 feet up on the mountain above the Galzigbahn Tram station.
For nightlife, try the Piccadilly / Post Keller in the Post Hotel, the Kandahar Club across from the Piccadilly, the Underground Pub or the laid back locals joint called Platz l.
St. Anton is known to attract very hard partying Scandinavians and English who catch first chair and party til 2am.
Most international travelers fly into Zurich, which is only 3 hours away by the direct ski bus service from Arlberg Express (0043-05582-226). Its a two hour drive from Innsbruck.
Note: a seven-night stay (Saturday arrival) is typically required at most hotels, but luckily the six-day Arlberg region lift pass is not expensive. Typically, February and early March are peak season with tons of Europeans on vacation.
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