It is safe to say that any English speaker trying to pronounce Warth Schroecken to a German speaker will elicit a quizzical, bemused look from the German speaker. Never mind. Thankfully, when you ski an awesome place everyone tends to speak the same language. The word 'super' has global appeal & understanding!

We visited Warth Schröcken twice in 2019. In early January we embarked on a harrowing public transport journey during the Alps biggest storm in a decade. Travelling by train from Garmisch in Germany to Reutte in Tirol was fabulously comfortable. The bus trip to Warth via the Lechtal was an eye-opener. The skills of the driver were admirable as the bus was ploughing up a rapidly disappearing road, negotiating tight village streets on said rapidly disappearing road & still sticking to the timetable. Glad I wasn't behind the steering wheel.

At Warth, the village was quickly getting buried, viz was low & the skiing by braille (perfect Powderhound conditions!). Fortified by an incredibly cheap plate of Leberkäse & salad from a local deli, we ended up on the last bus down the other side of the hill to Schroecken later that day. The road didn't open again for 4 days. Bummer. Thankfully nearby Diedamskopf was open & pumping....... go check that out too!

I returned in mid-March to yet more fresh snow. The sun made brief appearances, so a few photos were possible. Based in Zurs, I rode over on the Auenfeldjet gondola from Lech. What a fabulous lift system. The gondola provides a nice view into the freeride routes from Lech that end up in the valley near Warth's Sonnen-Jet (a modern hooded six-seater of course).

So what did I think of the resort? Put simply - loved it. It's NOT the highest, biggest, steepest or gnarliest ski area in the world, but it doesn't matter. It IS super snow-laden, it HAS a wonderful modern lift system, there ARE piste trails & freeride routes for everyone, PLUS there are the usual assortment of booze-infused apres ski joints to end the day with a smile & a sore head.

Warth Schroecken is one of those truly approachable ski resorts. It’s not about to kill you (although I'm sure one could give it a nudge on a bad avalanche day), it is easy to navigate & doesn't have the 'hurry up, push & shove' mentality of St Anton & the like. The groomed runs are of the wide Austrian perfection variety, but don't get bumped up as much as other parts of the Ski Arlberg due to lower numbers of human sliders. I had little trouble finding untouched powder under lift lines & next to groomed trails. With a little more time, the mountain would reveal its secrets relatively quickly.

The village of Warth connects beautifully with the resort via numerous lifts & provides a blissful Ski Arlberg experience compared to Lech or St Anton. Realistically though, skiing much beyond Zürs from Warth is a mission too far & not worth it. Similarly, Warth Schröcken can easily be skied from Lech or Zürs (if taking a bus direct to Lech), but anything beyond (St Anton, Stuben, St Christoph et al) is too far away. Staying at tiny Schroecken would be nice if you like quiet isolation. One can ski there, but with no lifts in the village, a short bus ride is required to get up to Hochtannbergpass and the Salober-Jet chair (a hooded six-seater of course!).

Warth Schröcken is just a bloody lovely place to ski. And whilst it isn't the secret, isolated powder stash it once was, it is what it is & what it is .......... is whoop whoop, yip yip, yahoo.

You can see our thoughts on the pros and cons on the Warth-Schröcken overview page and also see our European ski resort ratings page regarding how we score it compared to other skiing areas.