St Anton and the Ski Arlberg region are amongst the world's best ski areas for a reason. The mix of terrain, reliable snow, untracked sidecountry and accessibility is just unparalleled. In season 23-24, whilst many resorts were struggling for fresh snow, anyone at St Anton & its neighbouring interlinked resorts at Stuben, Zürs & Lech were feasting on regular storms, a deep snowpack in the alpine region and a stable backcountry snowpack that was producing wonderful fresh turns for many days after the last storm.

My visit in February coincided with a quite busy euro school holiday period. Despite that I was confident of skiing first lines particularly as I was heading out for a day with one of our fantastic Powderhounds’ partners, Stefan from Guide & Ride.

I have always wanted to ski the backside of the Valluga via the upper cable car but have been unable to do so due the requirement of having a certified mountain guide with you to go up the final lift with skis. Joyously on this journey as I was with Stefan I finally took skis with me up to the top of Valluga. The Valluga descent was certainly interesting (definitely one for confident skiers/riders not afraid of a little exposure), and followed with a cruisy, creamy snow run down to Erlach Hut, provided 900m of vertical. A skin up to Erlispitze then another long descent to the base of Trittalp chairlift in faraway Zurs highlights how far one can ski with just a little bit of effort. Whilst the route had a few tracks on it, we skied essentially untracked snow the entire route and saw only two other groups in the distance when skiing out up from Erlach Hut. And there are so many more variations to undertake. The possibilities are nearly endless, particularly with local knowledge provided by a mountain guide.

St Anton's biggest downfall, like many of the European mega-resorts (Sölden comes to mind!), is on-piste. Fantastic first thing in the morning, it then quickly degenerates into a massive procession of humanity. It is easy to avoid though - just don't follow the pack (which whilst it can take a little while to work out can be very simple). For example, whilst heading up the Valfagehr chairlift, I could see an incredible horde of skiers making the regular morning journey towards Stuben & Zürs on the 'Run of Fame' via piste trail #100 (called Valfagehr!). Meanwhile, on the freshly groomed #101 ski route (named Pfanneköpfe) running parallel to this piste trail but on the opposite side of the ridge, I saw only one skier during the entire journey up the chair. Simples! But still, it goes without saying that the pistes at St Anton can get smashed up quite early in peak periods, and beginner runs can and do get bumped and dangerous. Always keep your wits about you and get out early. Or just ski off-piste & backcountry to avoid the worst of it.

Aside from chasing some choice powder, another reason for my visit was to check out the new lifts in the region. The most recent, the new Albona I gondola, makes a stay in the village of Stuben all the more attractive. Its impact on the immediate ski area isn’t obvious from a point of view of increasing skier traffic but replacing a two-seat chairlift with an 8-seat gondola certainly futureproofs it. The other newish lifts, like Schindlergrat gondola & others further afield such as the Zugerberg, all dramatically increase uphill capacity. That’s a blessing and a curse. Shorter lift queues, comfortable rides up on one hand, always taking skis off & on, plus higher numbers on pistes on the other hand. Popularity has its downside, and one wonders how long it will take before the region absolutely reaches its carrying capacity.

On this visit I stayed in Lech (got a great place last minute) but found getting to the St Anton sector easy via the bus to Zürs & then taking the superb lift system from there (Trittkopf I gondola et al). Lech is a fun town, but possibly more expensive than St Anton, and not as boisterous. If you want after-hours action and full-on après ski, St Anton is the go. Of course you can experience that without staying in the village by utilising the masses of public transport options in the region (or taxis).

I reckon St Anton is one of those places that all skiers & snowboarders should visit at some point in their lives. Aside from some exorbitant accommodation costs in the village, everything else still represents incredible value for what one gets. Go check it out.

See our thoughts on the pros & cons of the ski resort via the St Anton overview page.

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St Anton and the Arlberg region is a massive skiers paradise. I booked a last minute trip there after a huge snowstorm in January and St Anton definitely delivered. On day 1 I joined a guided group through piste to powder which was very affordable and great value. We skied lift served backcountry powder all day in the Rendl and Stuben areas. These areas seemed to hold the best snow and had the least crowds. The freeride and backcountry terrain was endless and easily accessible from the lifts if you were willing to skin or hike a short distance. Conditions were dangerous and there were several avalanches in the backcountry though so make sure you do hire a guide, have the necessary equipment and are aware of your surroundings. The second day we skied mostly in the St Anton and Zurs resort areas. St Anton has some amazing terrain but it does get skied out pretty quickly. Temperatures also warmed up so all the south-facing slopes in St Anton were affected by the sun. The lift infrastructure is incredible though in this region and you can ski the "Run to Fame" in a day where you connect with Zurs, Lech, and Warth. We were planning to do this but Zurs had a ton of fresh powder left over within the resort and we stopped there and lapped it all day. It also gives me an excuse to come back and ski Lech and Warth!

The town of St Anton is very lively and a free bus system makes it very easy to get into town at all hours. There are several bars around the lift bases and they are crowded from early afternoon to evening.
Accommodations were a bit cheaper in St Jakob which was a ten minute bus ride away from St Anton. Restaurant Hazienda was one of the better restaurants I've been to in Europe and there was live music at some of the other bars I went to. All in all an unreal ski town.
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I have been to St Anton twice now and like the great area and atmosphere overall, but last time we had major problems with rude people pushing people over in lift lines to get a few seconds ahead. The same rude people also ski aggressively like they are on an Autobahn and everyone have to get out of their way. I saw many close calls and some crashes as a result, and one large individual almost skied right over my girlfriend and she hurt her knee as a result, and the swine just kept going without stopping. Very unpleasant with these ski bullies all over, and we will not go back as a result. France or Ch (Switzerland) next instead to hopefully avoid these rude people. 
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One of the best ski resorts in Austria. Since its. at a high altitude, there is good snow all year round. However, being one of Austria's biggest and most visited ski resorts, it is usually very crowded (especially once the lifts start functioning), and the good snow on the piste is mostly gone after midday. The lifts are all new, and function well, some of them even have heating (ahh)!
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Average! Some slow old lifts & very crowded. Chairlift for two person per lift at a very important part in connection between two hills. Piste trails crowded, iced & poorly marked. We were very disappointed. You should check Sölden!
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Nice resort. The level of the skiers/tourists seems higher than in other resorts. Lift system is ok but can have improvement - the link to Lech is far to complicated and takes up a lot of time. Sometimes alot of people in one spot . On the other side of the village there is Rendl. Smaller but with a nice park and also good off piste possibilities. Nightlife in St Anton gives everybody what they want.
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I went last winter, and even after skiing Banff, Winter Park and Steamboat, Park City, Aspen, and Sun Valley, this place is the most breathtaking!

The on piste was all good, I went in December so the snow definitely could have been better, but for December off-piste had plenty of fresh powder and some sick places to just have fun.

The sheer size and acreage is incomprehensible, its ridiculous. 100% the best place I have been, and definitely would say all skiers need to try to get there, because its worth the trip, just be prepared, European lift culture is vastly different from this side of the pond, to say the least
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Skied St. Anton for 7 days in late February/early March 2017 with a group of friends. Thought everything was terrific except the crowds, but then again we were there during Carnival week. The quantity and quality of terrain is incredible and the lift system is amazing, spreading the crowds most of the day. We were fortunate to have a good mix of sunny springlike days and powder days. Certain popular on-piste runs are extremely crowded but the vast array of off-piste options was incredible. Lot's of easily accessible off-piste runs with varying degrees of difficulty. Contrary to other reviews, we found the powder lasted well into the day. (Lunchtime freshies!) We were able to put three sets of undisturbed tracks into a section of Mattun before breaking for lunch. Also, we found the cost to be quite reasonable for food and lodging. Lift tickets are extremely cheap relative to North America prices.

We also enjoyed the town which has many fine lodging and restaurant options. The unanimous consensus was we'd all return in a heart beat. There was lots of terrain we didn't get a chance to explore (Rndl, Zug, etc.) necessitating a return visit. St. Anton is definitely a bucket list destination for any serious skier/rider.
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A real village, train station linking to Zurich and Innsbruck, lifts from the centre of town, skiing all the way back into town, modern massive integrated lift system, huge and diverse off piste terrain, high snowfall comparative to the best in Europe, massive apres and restaurant scene, not up itself. St Anton has it all.... and with it the crowds.

If the off piste snow has turned to crud or is completely skied out, the piste trails can get genuinely frightening by mid morning with the sheer volume of humans hurtling themselves down the hill. Best fortify yourself with a few beers if heading out after lunch. Four new gondolas linking to Zurs and the rest of Ski Arlberg are impressive to say the least.

Great fun ski area that everyone should go to at least once in their skiing lifetime. Get out early and in front of the seething horde.
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My family and I spent 2 weeks in St Anton from early Feb 2016 having previously visited 7 years earlier. Not a lot has changed, plenty of good restaurant, bar and apres options, an exceptional lift system, some great skiing on and off-piste and plenty of snow despite the variable weather. Yes, it's relatively expensive for Austria but it is a true international resort.

We skied most of the main pistes and routes (when open) and some accessible off piste, particularly traversing high off the Valluga routes and over the back of the Kapall Tbar. Also managed to spend an excellent day up at Zurs and over to Lech and back via the Weiss Ring route. A tip: If you park at the top of the Flexen pass on the road before Zurs you can ski in/out to your car and enjoy an apres ski beverage at the refuge before heading back own to St Anton.

Although there was plenty of cover the skiing on Valluga was often restricted due to snow conditions & avalanche risk. In these instances the main Steissbachtal (no4-easy) run, which is piste in the valley between Valluga and Galzig, was often also closed. When Steissbachtal is closed the only option to ski out from the main Galzig slopes to St Anton is via the bottom of Kandahar (No2-difficult). Funneling large volumes of skiers of varying skill levels down a black cut-out bumps run has predictable results. An alternate pisted run from the top of Galzig to St Anton would be a huge improvement in these situations.
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