There top ten are:

1. For beginners – Westendorf

2. For mixed-age families – Filzmoos

3. For silver skiers – Oberau

4. For groups – St Anton

5. For lovers – Alpbach

6. For experienced skiers – Galtur

7. For partygoers – Mayrhofen

8. For young families – Ellmau

9. For Glam – Lech

10. For non-skiers – Igls

Now, interestingly, or worryingly, Westendorf, Filzmoos, Oberau, and Ellmau don’t appear on theSnowSite? Why? No idea.

From the list I have personally only skied two: St Anton and Lech (Lech is a chort taxi ride from St Anton), and yes, Lech is for Glam (also has some great cruiser ski runs), however, if St Anton is listed for ‘groups’ and Mayrhofen is the ‘party’ resort, then Mayrhofen must be a really good party place, and I must check it out.

For the full-story, and breakdown of why which resort was picked for what, have a look at: Top 10 Austrian villages in The Guardian.

A day or two later I realised (remembered).

First, the lift mechanism is new (I subsequently found out it was renewed a few years ago) and the long zig-zag walk up to the lift had gone.

Second, the lift now runs the wrong way, that is, away from the mountain….

The way this all works is by an ingenious mechanism by which the cable car is lifted from a lower level, where you board, on to the main lift cable to run up the mountain. This means that you don’t have to walk back and forwards up to the cable level, and the lift appears to run in the wrong direction, that is, it is moving away from the mountain when you board. Anyway, this is all easier to see in a video:

Skiing: Conditions were great. Bit of ice, but a great job of piste bashing (grooming) was being done. Most runs were open. Skiing at St Anton is challenging, and not necessarily for the beginner. One thing that was great to see was all the investment in lifts that has happened in the last few years. The new lift up to Rendl is great (although they do need to replace the two seaters up at Rendl), and the new Galzig lift is most impressive. Also a number of the other lifts in the area have been replaced.

Lunchtime: There are a number of on-mountain cafe and restaurants. Food was generally good and service quick (Mooserwirt and Crazy Kanguruh), the exception would be the more traditional Austrian mountain hotels and restaurants where lunch could be ‘leisurely’. If you want a quick lunch, and to concentrate on skiing then go for the more touristy type places, long leisurely lunch, go local.

Apres Ski: Great. A lot going on. Mooserwirts and Crazy Kanguruh were ‘happening’ (although a bit quite compared to previous years). The town was lively with a lot going on.

Christmas Eve in St Anton: Not a lot going on. This was a big surprise. All the bars shit around 7 pm and become ‘ticket only’. Be warned.

Mark Warner: For this trip I was travelling with Mark Warner. Generally we were well looked after. The real exceptions to this would be the flights and the transfers. Transfers were fine, but the flight out was delayed by 1 hour, and the return flight was delayed by over 4 hours. The reason for these delays is because of the charter airline, Viking, used by Mark Warner. The plane we were on flies from Gatwick to Chambery, France, and back in the morning, and then from Gatwick to Friedrichshafen (Germany) for St Anton, and back in the afternoon. If there is a problem on the Chambery, France legs then there is a knock-on to the St Anton flights, which is what we experienced.

Food: Food in the hotel was good. The porridge did have a slight ‘wallpaper paste’ quality, and the dumplings should be avoided. Service was slow at the evening dinner and I very rarely got away from the table before 10:30 pm.

Rosanna Hotel, St Anton: The hotel is very nice, and has also been improved (bathrooms) in the last couple of years. A new sound system has been installed in Scotty’s (the bar in the hotel that is open to the general public), so hotel rooms are now quite noisy until 12:30 am – 1 am. My room also was uncomfortably hot at night (even with all the in-room heating turned off), and with the window open the temperature could be regulated, by this made the noise from the bar worse.

Find of the trip: The new lift up to Rendl and the restaurant ‘Speisen and Getranke’ on Route 1 down from Rendl. Best cappuccino of the week, and a great Applestrudel….

Overall: St Anton is a great ski resort. Lots of great and challenging runs, great apres ski scene.

Yesterday the weather was awful, but the forecast for today was good. So, up early and first lift up to Rendl.

First run was dreamy. Groomed base with a light dusting of powder. The second run, down to the lowest lift (Maass) was icy and horrible. Runs off Riffel I back to the base of the lift were great. Runs uber Gampberg were also icy.

Rendl doesn’t get much early sun so runs took some time to soften up. Rendl is great though as it remains quiet.

Around 11 I decided to head over to St Christoph for lunch. Route 1 out of Rendl was icy, but got better further down.

Find of the trip: a small bar/restaurant towards the bottom of Route 1 called Speisen and Getranke. Best cappuccino in Rendl, and a great Applestrudel… Why do you always find the best places on the last day?

The forecast was for snow on Christmas day. However, in St Anton it is driving rain. Lovely.

9:45 – Rendl Restaurant – got soaked walking through town. Caught the main cable car up to the ski area, at 5000 ft the rain turned to snow. In the cable car it was impossible to see anything. The mountain is shrouded in fog and driving snow, plus all the rain had frozen on the exterior of the car.

Not many skiers out.

11 am. Coffee break. Why can’t they do hot coffee here?

Weather is really grim, and snow conditions not great. Yesterday was warm and the ‘melt’ froze overnight, and then fresh snow added. Where there is a good covering of snow it is fine, but there is a lot of ice about. Visibility is very poor, I have had to buy new goggles.

Plan now is to head back fiends to St Anton and then over to St Christoph to meet some fellow skiers for lunch.

3:30 pm, time to stop for s drink on the way back to St Anton.

First stop, Krazy Kanguruh (Crazy Kangaroo). Good happy hour prices, but not a lot going on. May be a bit to early.

3:45 pm – place seems to be filling up – lot of ski instructors here.

4:30 pm Mooserwirt – the place is dead. Nothing go on. Almost empty. Doesn’t anything happen in St Anton on Christmas Eve?

Apparently the reason Mooserwirts was so quiet is because the only night of the season the DJ gets off is Christmas eve. I have also heard that all the bars in town are shut tonight and the only bar that will be open is Scotty’s Bar in this hotel (Rosanna).

Today it is the Krazy Kanguruh (Crazy Kangaroo).

The place is surprisingly quiet. Hardly anyone here. Menu is not very extensive, salads, soups, pasta and burgers Lunch today will be the skiers favourite – spaghetti bolognese (spag bog).

Service was speedy (there are nearly as many staff as customers), the spag bog was hot, very tasty (a bit too salty), and the portion was large. All for around € 10.

Met a bunch of Aussie in the KK. What a surprise. Two had come from Australia for the trip, and the other two were ‘traveling’.

Today the weather is cloudy, but the light is not too flat, and there is occassional sunshine.

For the first hour I seemed to be the only one on the slopes. I did whole runs without seeing anyone, lifts seemed deserted.

Snow conditions are very good. A few places were a bit thin, and there are a few areas of ice. And I have spent the first hour skiing virgin groomed trails.

Around 10:15 a few more people hit the slopes, but lifts still remained ‘ski on’.

Now, 11 am local time, I have stopped for a coffee (of the two restuaurants at the top of the Rendl cable car can neither of them do hot coffee?). Currently in the Panorama Restaurant and the views are stunning.

The plan now to take a lift part way back up the mountain and then ski down route 1 back to St Anton for lunch.

The hotel is conveniently located in town, close to the shops, the slopes and night-life. The rooms are large and comfortable. Downstairs there is a bar area that is open to non-residents (Scotty’s Bar), and lounge and dining area for hotel residents. The boot room is small, by adequate (there can be a bit of a crush first thing in the morning as there is a lack of space to put on boots).

I last stayed in the Rosanna in 2004, and since then it the only obvious change I have seen is in the bathrooms. The old bathrooms were 1970s style, and the new ones are more up to date. One other change is the hotel seems to be a lot noisier. I can’t remember really hearing the music from Scotty’s bar in my room, but now it seems quite audible.

Rosanna Hotel – St Anton – lounge area

Rosanna Hotel – St Anton

I personally think the hotel is great. Great location, good facilities. My only complaints would be the noise from the bar (which in fairness the company warned me about, but I didn’t think would be quite so bad), and the fact that my room is an oven (even with all the heating turned off.)

St Anton is a picturesque Austrian town with a large number of very expensive looking houses and hotels.

Main street St Anton

Clearing snow St Anton style

St Anton church

St Anton has a ton of Apres ski available, with a range of pubs and clubs that will suit most people.

The Underground – used to be in the center of town, but has now moved to a point near the piste, half-way between the Galzig lift and Mooserwirt

Jacksys Bar – a quiet bar with an Irish and skiing theme

Pub 37 – close to Jacksys – Pub 37 has a quite ‘nook and cranny’ feel to it

Bar Cuba – young, loud and noisy basement bar

Piccadilly – live music, not opening until 25th Dec

Kandaha (named after the most challenging run in St Anton) – a restaurant from 7 pm – 11 pm, and then a nightclub to 4 am (used to be open even later)

And then there is always the skiing…

Skiing St Anton

The Galzig lift