Silvretta Montafon Ski Resort Austria
An extensive area of over 140km of trails across two mountains, Silvretta Montafon ski resort has a reputation for great snow & amazing freeride terrain on powder days, setting itself up as a quieter alternative to the hugely popular Ski Arlberg. Long summit to valley piste trails, modern lifts & loads of activities ensure it has appeal for all snow enthusiasts. Numerous villages provide all manner of lodging options in classically Austrian Alps style, plus the region is accessible by train to Schruns via Bludenz - even better! Skiing powder in this resort is so good, we suggest it should be renamed from Montafon to Monta-fun!
Pros & Cons for Silvretta Montafon Ski Resort
Pros
- Rated 3rd in the Powderhounds Best Overall Ski Resorts in Europe category in 2022.
- High snowfall region with most terrain over 2,000m altitude.
- Long skiable vertical of over 1,700m.
- Vast network of lifts & ski trails, including valley runs up to 12km long.
- Fabulous off-piste freeride terrain.
- Remarkably quiet mid-week.
- Quality on-piste trails for beginner & intermediate skiers & snowboarders.
- Masses of fantastic quality mountain and valley restaurants
- Excellent value multi-day lift pass that includes other regional resorts (incl. the magnificent secret stash of Gargellen).
- Public transport access by train & bus is fantastic.
- Loads of car parking for day trippers, mostly free, some new undercover ones come a small fee.
Cons
- Low elevation villages (from 700m altitude) may not have natural snow for much of winter.
- Several ancient slow double chairlifts.
- Connecting some parts of the resort by lift or bus can take an inordinate amount of time (it stretches for miles!).
- No live lift status boards in the resort make decisions difficult during high wind or avalanche days.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Has the world's longest ski tunnel!
- The resort also has one the weirdest bars is the shape of a globe.
- Many of the marked freeride routes are short(ish) (but unmarked routes can be huge!).
- Numerous small villages around the ski area base & seven different access points can be confusing to first time visitors.
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lift & Terrain
The Silvretta Montafon skiing & snowboarding terrain is split between two separate mountains connected via gondolas through the valley at Sankt Gallenkirch village. The two sectors are broadly referred to as Nova & Hochjoch. Combined statistics are exciting: 140km of piste trails & marked routes, 1,740m of skiable vertical, 8 to 10m of snow annually, over 50% of the terrain over 2,000m altitude & longest run of over 12km. The terrain split is reasonable with around 22% of the trails rated as advanced. Naturally, as with most Austrian ski areas, beginners & intermediates are well catered too. It is possible to ski the entire 1,740m of vertical at Silvretta Montafon from the summit of Hochalpila (2,430m) all the way down to the town of Schruns (690m) via the world’s longest ski tunnel.
Check out the ski trail map for Silvretta Montafon below.
Silvretta Montafon is recognised as having superb off-piste freeride terrain but refreshingly, even though they are geographically close to each other, it lacks the hordes of freeride powder hounds found at nearby Ski Arlberg (St Anton, Lech, Warth-Schroecken & Zurs). Whilst not having the vast extent of high-altitude alpine zones as the Ski Arlberg region, the off-piste & backcountry opportunities at Silvretta Montafon are a whole lot wider than the trail map might indicate - a good topographical map reveals all the possibilities. Whilst most of the freeride descents are above the tree line, there is tree-skiing & even pillow line descents in the north-aspect slopes below Garfrescha and Versettla. In good snow conditions, full top to bottom backcountry descents in the realms of 1,650m vertical are possible - not too shabby!
The ski lifts at Silvretta Montafon are diverse mix of ancient double cars & surface lifts to ultra-modern hooded chairs & gondolas. There are seven different lifts (4 gondolas, a cable car & 2 chairlifts) taking skiers & snowboarders from the various valley stations up to the mountains. Six of the seven valley stations have ski trails leading down to them, with the runs into Gaschurn & Schruns outstanding early in the day. Once up in the alpine zone, the mix of chairlifts does the heavy lifting, but also several gondolas reach some of the resort’s highest points, including the 2,430m high Hochalpila.
Lift Passes
Silvretta Montafon lift passes can pre-purchased online for strongly reduced rates via a dynamic pricing model. All ski passes of 2 or more days duration are valid for the entire Montafon-Brandnertal ski region adding another 155km of piste trails for a grand total of 295km on the one lift pass. The lift pass is valid in Gargellen (on our list of powder day pleasures), Golm & Brandnertal to name but the larger resorts.
See below for the Montafon-Brandnertal ski resorts map.
Where is Silvretta Montafon Austria?
The Silvretta-Montafon ski resort is in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, close to the Swiss border. Spread over two mountains, the major base village of Schruns is 145km (1¾hr) by road west of Innsbruck & 13km (20min) southeast of the nearest major town, Bludenz.
The closest major airport is Innsbruck (INN), but all intercontinental travellers (non-UK/European) will find Zurich (ZRH) a better option at only 160km (2hr) away by road. A little further away by road (2½hr), Munich (MUC) airport is also a useful alternative & has been utilised by the Powderhounds to access the region. If not interested in a rental car, private transfers provide the fastest & most comfortable ride to the ski resort.
Search & book here for all airport transfers to Silvretta Montafon villages.
To Protect Our Winters (POW), we recommend using the train for travel to Silvretta Montafon. Schruns village has its own train station, the terminus of a local line from Bludenz. From Innsbruck central station, the train journey is around 2¼hr with a change at Bludenz. From Zurich airport the journey is longer by train but can still be done in little over 3hr depending on the service chosen. The best trains to select go direct from the Zurich airport station in the direction of Innsbruck, & then change along the way for Schruns. Local buses or taxis complete the journey to the valley villages. The route 85 bus is the most important in the valley, linking Schruns to St Gallenkirch & Gaschrun. It is free for skiers during the day. Trains to the region from Munich are also simple via Bregenz with journey times in the realms of 4 to 4½hr.
Search & book here for train tickets to Bregenz, Bludenz & Schruns.
Silvretta Montafon Accommodation
Silvretta-Montafon benefits from a wide range of accommodation options in several local villages, all connected to the resort by modern ski lifts. The main villages include Schruns-Tschagguns, Sankt Gallenkirch & Gaschurn. Of the three, Schruns is the easiest to get to by virtue of its train station and has excellent access to the Hochjoch sector via a cable car & gondola.
St Gallenkirch is the best located to access both parts of the ski area, with gondola lift connections to the Hochjoch & Nova from a base just out of town. For the ultimate proximity to the gondola station, try the new Revier Mountain Lodge Montafon.
Gaschurn is the highest altitude (980m)(and hence is more likely to have snow in the village), has the highest concentration of hotels & other lodgings, plus has a new piste trail leading to it from the ski area. The ski area above Gaschurn is also one of the most likely to operate during high winds and storms.
Search & book here for all Silvretta Montafon ski accommodation.
Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guiding
Ski rentals are available throughout the valleys via our local partners in Schruns, St Gallenkirch & Gaschurn. Receive a discount when you search & book via our Silvretta Montafon Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
[AdListings collection="Europe" category="Austria Silvretta Montafon" subcategory="Silvretta Montafon Guiding"]
Review
The Powderhounds visited Silvretta Montafon in early February 2022 during a huge winter storm and had a fabulous time skiing deep powder on long descents despite the weather playing havoc with lift operations! Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read all the reviews.
See how Silvretta Montafon compares to the rest of the Austrian ski resorts on the Austria ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
Follow Powderhounds Europe on Instagram to see where we are currently skiing. Follow our main Powderhounds page on Facebook to stay in touch with up-to-date info, tours, and discussions.