St Anton — On the piste

The Arlberg Ski Area encompasses resorts in two Austrian regions. To the east the resorts of the Tyrol such as St Christoph and Stuben provide quieter slopes for novices and to the west the Vorarlberg plays host to big-hitting resorts such as Zurs and Lech with modern infrastructure and as much off-piste as you could wish for. The lift pass is good value when you consider that it covers such a range of slopes. If there is a weak point it would be the accessibility of easy intermediate slopes to progress onto from the nursery areas.

The brand new Rendlbahn lift opened in December 2009, only 150m from the Galzig lift station and an express cable car capable of transporting 2000 people per hour in 8 seater cabins, to Rendl main station in approximately 7 and a half minutes. The brown fake leather seats are heated ... how's that for luxury.

St Anton receives over 7metres of snow every year and offers skiing from late November until early may. Of its three main ski areas the Rendl is the one often overlooked due to the gondola being further out of town. However, this area holds its powder for longer and pistes stay firmer towards the end of the season.

The snowpark has been extended, with a range of jumps, rails, boxes and taps to suit all abilities, though not breaking any boundaries it certainly has a bigger range of hits than Lech.