ADVERTISING INFORMATION

If you have a picture in your mind of what the ideal ski town looks like, that picture probably looks like St. Anton. Blessed with abundant snow fall and with the kind of alpine architecture that most ski resorts try and copy, this resort in the Arlberg is a haven for the serious skier and those that wish to be. Nestled in a valley, it appears upon your approach to the town that the ski lift system is practically attached to some of the hotels. The lift can carry you to over 9000 feet.

It is, in fact, the perfect combination of international and traditionally Tyrolean atmosphere that makes St. Anton one of the most popular winter sports resorts in the Alps. In addition, everybody knows meanwhile that snow is guaranteed here. Arlberg ski region experts particularly appreciate to ski here from mid-March to early May. There are 90 lifts and over 260 km of slope.

During the summer months the mountains are green, the surrounding ancient Alpine cultivating landscape remains refreshingly young and sets the stage for yet another pleasant warm season in St. Anton.

In St. Anton am Arlberg children have their own World, it is a resort for the whole family! On the Märchenwiese, the Geländegarten or sliding down the Orgelbahn - the ski instructors for children are experts. There is a kindergarten, run by the ski school for parents who love skiing and want to take their little darlings (from two and a half years of age) on their winter holiday with them.  

St. Anton offers many sport possibilities such as: natural ice-skating rink, flight route, golf course, climbing route, mountain bike trail, sauna, cable car, squash court, off-slope skiing, baby-lift, cleared winter-walking path, continental curling lane, open air pool, indoor swimming pool, village cross-country trail, toboggan run, chair lift, drag lift, indoor tennis hall, billiards, fishing lake, soccer field, bowling lane, mini-golf court, riding stable, ski bus, open lifts in summer, table-tennis, water chute, hiking trail and more. Do not forget to celebrate: have fun in a different way every day. In St. Anton you will discover your perfect combination.  

Après-ski is first class. The St. Anton am Arlberg pedestrian zone is a popular meeting point; it boasts many shops, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs.  After skiing people head for their favourite pub or today’s “in” place. Animated conversations are mostly in German, but a surprising amount of English is heard, both in broad British accents or American twangs. After the happy hour and a shower, it’s out to dinner in one of the resort’s many fine restaurants. Beginning at the many snow-bars dispersed throughout the area, continuing at the 5 o'clock tea dance and continuing on into the wee hours at a club above the town, where, after closing, some guests slide back to town on plastic bags.

Aficionados of other areas may quarrel with her local pride. But they cannot challenge statistics. St. Anton has a vertical drop nearly a mile high. The run from the top of the Valluga peak, which dominates the area, down to the village is five miles long, mostly through open snowfields. And once the skier has done that and looks for another excursion, he or she can go back up, change sights a couple of clicks and make the long run over to tiny St. Christoph, the highest resort in the Arlberg.

It is an ideal place for a leisurely lunch on a sunlit deck, where the menu challenges: Bratwurst, Rösti, Gulasch soup, Tafelspitz and Bier. Try a plate of Kaiserschmarm, or a Germknödel, a huge dumpling smothered with poppy seed and vanilla sauce, for dessert.

Somewhere along the line, skiers without partners hope to make connections. Perhaps there is serendipity in lift lines and cafes. But most romance in the Alps is intramural, a continuation of friendships that began back in Berlin or Philadelphia. There just aren’t enough German barons or French countesses to go around.

Although St. Anton is a resort that grew and prospered out of the quality of its skiing, her strength comes from having married the modernity of a growing resort with the magnificence of nature. Is it any wonder then when Americans [and Canadians] want to create the "perfect" ski resort, they send their experts to study Austria [look at Vail Village, Whistler, Alta, Sun Valley or the soon to be completed Squaw Valley Village]. Though others may try to mimic the Austrian style, the essence of Austria cannot be canned, crated and taken to a new mountain!

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