Warth

Warth Schröcken Ski Resort Austria

Warth Schroecken ski resort in the Vorarlberg of Austria is in one of the snowiest places in Europe. Warth Schröcken is lift & ticket interlinked with the fabulous Ski Arlberg skiing area which includes nearby Lech, Zurs & St Anton.

The Warth Schroecken ski resort epitomises the saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies & statistics”. The resort is not the highest nor largest & has a shortish skiable vertical of only 787m.

However, its lifts, terrain, links with the Ski Arlberg region & the average annual snowfall of around 10m makes the figures redundant. Warth Schröcken is a place to ski gorgeous groomers & hunt freeride powder, not measure statistics!

Pros & Cons for Warth Schröcken Ski Resort

Pros

• Amongst the highest snowfall ski areas in Europe (10-11m) – deep, consistent snowpack.
• Magnificent ski lift infrastructure & connection to Lech.
• Extensive on-piste & freeride terrain for all abilities.
• Least crowded of the Ski Arlberg resorts.
• Great après ski activities at the numerous base areas.
• Excellent restaurants & bars.
• Exceptionally good value lift pass price as part of Ski Arlberg.
• Close to some of the greatest ski resorts in the world.

Cons

• Skiable vertical generally shorter than in other Ski Arlberg resorts.
• Accommodation in the Warth village books out very quickly.
• Public transport access is laborious (but still doable!).
• On the fringe of Ski Arlberg so can be difficult to access the broader ski area (i.e. St Anton) if based in Warth or Schroecken villages.

Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)

• Villages & base areas are spread across the entire base of the resort distributing the overnight crowd across a wide area (no central vibrant village atmosphere after après).
• As per above, whilst there are bars & restaurants aplenty, after dinner entertainment is limited.
• Lowest elevation resort in Ski Arlberg but doesn’t seem to matter much beyond that fact.
• Lech cannot be accessed by road in winter from Warth.

Skiing & Snowboarding Terrain

Warth Schroecken is one of those truly approachable ski resorts. It’s not about kill you (although I’m sure one could give it a nudge on a bad avalanche day), it is easy to navigate & doesn’t have the ‘hurry up, push & shove’ mentality of St Anton. The skiable vertical off most lifts is only around the 4-500m mark – just enough for the task.

The groomed runs are of the wide Austrian perfection variety, but don’t get bumped up as much as other parts of the Ski Arlberg due to lower numbers of human sliders. There is little trouble finding untouched powder under lift lines & next to groomed trails. With a little more time, the mountain readily reveals its secrets.

Freeride terrain is a mix of classic high alpine & light alpine trees with the odd cliff drop & chute to keep it all interesting.

See the Warth Schroecken Trail Map Here :

The ski lifts here are first class. The Austrians don’t do anything by half & Warth Schrocken is another example of it. There are still a few older chairs in low volume areas, but the time will come when the standard hoodless fixed-grip quad chair will be placed on the endangered species list.

Warth is lift connected to Lech by the Auenfeldjet gondola but is otherwise isolated from the broader Ski Arlberg unless one wants to skin it (actually easier than it sounds!)

Lift Passes

As it is on the outer fringe of the Ski Arlberg region, Warth still has a local mountain ski lift day pass as well as the more expensive Ski Arlberg pass (valid in Lech, Zürs & St Anton). The local pass is good to access all Warth Schröcken lifts & can be purchased for 1 to 2.5 days duration. The pass is between €4 – €6/day cheaper than a Ski Arlberg depending on the time of year.

From 3 days & greater, a Ski Arlberg pass or a handy 3-Täler-Pass is required to be purchased. The 3-Taeler-Pass includes the likes of Diedamskopf & Damüls-Mellau. Tough decisions to be made if staying for a week.

Snow & Weather

As stated previously, Warth Schroecken isn’t the highest ski resort in Austria – far from it in fact. Despite this, its geographic location in the Vorarlberg means it does have one of the highest annual snowfalls in Europe – over 10m/year. Skiing areas like this are attractive to Powderhounds because regardless of everything else, skiing powder is ALWAYS fun!

Where is Warth Schroecken Austria?

The Warth Schröcken ski resort is in the Vorarlberg state of western Austria near the border with Tyrol. The resort base villages of Warth am Arlberg & Schröcken are 10km by road apart.

Closest airports are Zurich (ZRH), Innsbruck (INN) (2.5hr away by road) or Munich (MUC) (3hr+ by road). Approach to either village can only be made from the north via Schoppernau or the Lechtal due to the road between the ski resort & the village of Lech being closed during winter.

The ski area is accessible by bus or combination train & bus via Dornbirn or Garmisch Partenkirchen & Reutte im Tirol. The journey is certainly doable, however the easiest travel option is either by rental car or direct private transfer from an airport or major city with a railway station.

Warth Schröcken Accommodation

The villages of Warth & Schroecken are at opposite ends of the ski resort, separated by a road distance of 10km. Warth is the higher elevation village (1494m) & has more accommodation with direct access to the lifts including via the new (ish) Dorfbahn gondola direct from town. The ski-in ski-out the Hotel Steffisalp is in prime position on the edge of town right at the main chairlift up to the slopes. Closer to the village centre, the stylish new PURE Resort Warth has excellent lodgings & facilites.

The village of Schroecken doesn’t have the direct lift access of Warth, but has several ski pistes & routes that make their way down the village at 1269m elevation. Free ski buses link the village to the ski lifts at Hochtannbergpass (1679m).

Between the villages of Warth & Schröcken the ultimate on mountain stay is at the Hotel Jägeralpe near Hochkrumbach. Slightly further up the valley near the pass, the ski-in ski-out Hotel Adler provides wonderful alpine accommodation in contemporary surrounds.

A sad reality is that Warth Schröcken accommodation books out quick in the high season, so one may find oneself looking elsewhere for a roof over the head. Try nearby Schoppenau lift connected Lech or down in the Lechtal (the Lech valley) at Holzgau or Steeg.

Facilities & Services

Whilst neither village is anything near what one might refer to as a major service centre, Warth does have far more of the basic day to day requirements than Schroecken. Near Warth’s town-centre (the Tourist Office & bus terminal!) there is a Spar food market and a great butcher come deli-cafe called Wälder Metzge (which amongst other things serves up a great value & delicious slab of warm schincken with bread and salad).

There is also a bank and loads of ski shops – if one could only digest skis! It is not much, but there is enough to self-cater if staying in an apartment. Schroecken is alot smaller & spread out than Warth. The tiny village centre has the expected selection of hotel restaurant bars & cafes, a ski shop & a life-giving Spar food market.

Restaurant wise, every hotel in Warth & Schröcken has a good restaurant. There are a few cafes and a couple of sneaky local joints like the Älpler Stuba on the outskirts of Warth. Bars are better near the main lifts around the Steffisalp Sporthotel but each restaurant also has a bar section. Doing a late lunch and drinks at the Jaegeralpe and then taking a bus back to the village is a nice option.

Anyone looking for a raging St Anton-esque nightlife will be disappointed. Anyone looking for a quiet village after 9pm will be well pleased!

Nearby Resorts

Some of the finest ski resorts in Austria are either skiable from Warth Schroecken or just a bus ride away. Lech is connected by gondola, from whence one can head all the way to Zurs & St Anton via Stuben. St Anton is a mission though, particularly as the last gondola from Lech back to Warth is at 1600hr. In the opposite direction, the Powderhounds favourites of Diedamskopf & Damuels Mellau are only a bus ride away.