St. Anton connecting to Lech and Zürs to create the largest Austrian ski resort

Austrian ski resorts have been investing in own infrastructure for quite a while now. Just to name a few recent improvements:

  • Five years ago Alpbachtal connected to Wildschonau to create SkiJuwel ski resort with more than 110 km of marked runs.
  • Two years ago Lech / Zürs connected to Warth – Schröcken creating a ski area with more than 180 km of ski runs.
  • Last year we saw Saalbach-Hinterglemm connect to Fieberbrunn to create a huge interconnected ski resort with 270 km of marked runs. The new Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-Fieberbrunn ski resort connects Tirol with SalzburgerLand.

Still, none of these develoment took the title of Austria’s largest lift-linked ski area from SkiWelt am Wilder Kaiser offering 280 km of marked ski runs.

Arlberg Ski Map for 2016/2017. (c) http://www.flexenbahn.ski

The change is going to happen this season. The cradle of alpine skiing, tyrolean ski resort of Sankt Anton am Arlberg will connect to Arlberg’s Lech and Zürs, which in turn, connected to Warth and Schröcken just two years ago. The new €45 million Investment gondola will create a fully lift-linked ski area with a total of 305 km ski runs operated by 87 lifts.

Finally, no matter whether you book a hotel in St. Anton am Arlberg or stay in smaller resort of Warth, you will have easy access to all trails in the region. It it is especially important for the budget-conscious skiers as there will be now a larger selection of close-to-ski-lift accommodation. St. Anton is an expensive ski resort not to mention Lech and Zürs. Now, when you can stay anywhere and commute to just one ski lift to access the entire arena, the number of suitable accommodation options increases.

As stated on St. Anton’s official site the new solution is also going to be more environmentally friendly. Taking a gondola is going to be faster than using a ski bus or own car, not to mention time and money spent on parking.

On balance, if you were ever considering Arlberg ski resort for your next ski holiday, now is the time. With 305 km of ski runs and excellent off-piste possibilities this is the place to go to this year.