Ski Holidays in St Christoph, Austria

• St Christoph Resort Statistics+

  Slope Direction	N S E W
  Very Easy Runs	0
  Easy Runs	0
  Medium Runs	0
  Difficult Runs	0
  Toughest Run Name	Valluga - St Anton
  Skiable Vertical	1507m
  Number Of Lifts	85
  Top Lift Height	2811m
  Night Skiing	N
  Snowboarding Parks	1
  Half Pipes	0
  Swimming Pools	2
  Night Clubs	14
  Mountain Restaurants	12

• St Christoph Piste Map+

  

• St Christoph Transfer Times+

  Munich:	3 hours
  Friedrichshafen:	2 hours

St Christoph is a tiny, historic settlement on the ancient Arlberg Pass, 500 vertical metres above its better known neighbour, St Anton. The resort began life as a monastic settlement here for 500 years.

The main building is the Hospiz Hotel where once travellers could shelter when caught out by the weather; today it is one of the two five star hotels in the area and claims to have Austria's best wine cellar. It was also the place where, on January 3rd 1901, the Arlberg Ski Club, the first in the Alps, was founded.

St Christoph provides direct access to the Arlberg's spectacular skiing. Located at 1800m it is very snowsure and its season starts a week before St Anton's in November and continues a week after St Anton' s lift close, in to May.

Unlike some of the other pioneer resorts, it remains as important today as a century ago. Located in the northern Austrian Arlberg region, the terrain surrounding it is vast, with more than 270km (170 miles) of marked ski runs shared between St Anton and its equally well known neighbour, Lech. Although there is no official link between the two by ski lift or piste, it's possible for good skiers to make the crossing with a guide.

St Christoph has a long and extremely illustrious history in competitive skiing. As well as the first ski club, the 'Arlberg technique' of downhill skiing was pioneered in the area, becoming the main way to ski at the time.

Its chief practitioner, Hannes Schneider, taught the technique all over the world, effectively starting downhill skiing in Japan (where today there are 600 ski resorts) and in New Hampshire, USA, where he later settled in the ski resort of Cranmore to escape Nazi persecution after he refused to join their army.

St Christoph shares in the glory of St Anton (seven kilometers/four miles by road), which has been a major force in ski racing over the past century, most recently staging the Alpine World Championships in 2001.

However, whilst St Anton has a reputation for being a hedonistic heaven, with a reputation both on the slopes and in the après ski as it attracts the most daring skiers, St Christoph is very much the opposite - a tiny resort, with limited facilities and nightlife that will mostly appeal to those who enjoy remote and isolated locations as well as spectacular skiing, and a very high standard of room and board.

• Skiing for Beginners+

  People have learned to ski in St Christoph for over a century and there are there are good nursery slopes with their own lifts just above the hamlet.
  
  The chairlift leads up to Galzig with the links to St Anton, but once you've mastered your turns you can take easy blue run number eight back round to St Christoph from the top of the chair instead.

• Intermediate Skiing+

  With more than 100 runs for intermediates, it can't get much better than the Arlberg anywhere. The Valluga area has some of the longest fast cruising pistes, up to 10km (six miles) long.
  
  The Galzig directly above St Christoph offers a big choice of blues and reds as does the Gampen area. If you need to extend the choice still further, hop on a bus over to Lech for much more terrain, all included on your Arlberg lift ticket.

• Advanced+

  One of the best ski resorts in the world for advanced skiers, in addition to the 30 black runs in the Arlberg, there are 200km (125 miles) of off piste trails left ungroomed.
  
  That's before the guide takes you to terrain that is even off the off piste routes. The runs from the top of Valluga are particularly intimidating and you'll find steep mogul fields, chutes and gullies all over the mountain.
  
  The Arlberg ski school runs a range of courses to provide experience of different powder snow conditions for various abilities of skiers.

• Snowboarding at St Christoph+

  A freeriding Mecca, the Arlberg offers the kind of powder fields that boarding was born for. The Arlberg therefore has a reputation for offering some of the world's best natural terrain for boarding.
  
  There is a snow park for freestylers too, although unlike in most resorts this is the lesser attraction for most.

• Other Activities And Facilities at St Christoph+

  Facilities are limited in St Christoph and are mostly in the hotels. Activities like snowshoeing and toboggan runs are available outdoors.
  
  You'll find about 40km of cross country skiing trails, 70km (44 miles) of cleared winter hiking paths and a four kilometre (two and a half mile) long toboggan run. You can also take a sleigh ride.
  
  Down in St Anton, a short bus or taxi ride away, the large Arlberg leisure complex has great swimming and spa facilities. The village also has bowling, indoor tennis as well as squash courts, ice skating and a good selection of shops and fashion boutiques lining the main street.

• Apres Ski And Dining Out+

  Whilst St Anton is big on après ski with infamous après ski bars such as the Krazy Kangeruh or Mooserwirt, St Christoph is the antithesis with very little choice of an evening.
  
  What there is, however, is very high quality, for example the cozy bar with live music in the Hospiz, and the hotels all have superb restaurants.
  
  For more choice though you'll need to start the evening down in St Anton, where there are 60 or so options, then get a taxi back.

• Ski Holidays in St Christoph suitable for Families+

  Children from three years old can take classes with especially trained instructors at the St Christoph ski school, who are experts at making their days on the slopes safe and fun for children.
  
  A special 'Snowman' ski pass is available to children aged up to about eight (the pass is based on the year of birth of the child rather than precise age). This costs a flat rate of 10 Euros (at time of compilation!) regardless of the number of days on the slopes.
  
  Guests staying in the Hospiz hotel have access to a Children's Club with staff to supervise children aged three and over with a full programme, from 9am to 9pm daily.