You may be facing a dilemma now: ‘Where should I spend my winter holiday, that is, which ski resort should I go to?”

We want to help you with this and tell why you should choose Sölden!

1. Sölden has one of the longest winter seasons

The Alpine resort Sölden is open to skiers and snowboarders from early autumn to late spring. So you can easily choose holiday dates that are convenient for you.

The quietist times at the resort are the periods from October to mid-December, the second half of January, and April. During these periods you will have the chance to find near empty runs and to go skiing as much as you want.

Excellent conditions for October, aren’t they? Let’s count the people on the slopes.

2. Three view points above 3000 m

In Sölden there are three well-known peaks, which offer a wonderful view of the mountains: Gaislachkogl (3048 m), Tiefenbachkogl (3250 m), Schwarze Schneide (3340 m).

Skiers and snowboarders can access all 3 peaks. And non-skiers, even in everyday shoes, can also reach the top of Gaislachkogl where the gourmet restaurant IceQ is located. Just by taking a walk you can reach the glacier in the fall or the spring, but in the winter the motor road is closed for tourists and you can get there only on the runs.

1. -Schwarze Schneide (3340 м), 2. -Gaislachkogl (3048 м), 3. -Tiefenbachkogl (3250 м)

3. The lifts in Sölden are continuously upgraded

In order to provide the guests with skiing without queues, the resort is continuously upgraded, new and roomy lifts replace the old ones. This season, the new 10-seater cabin, with a capacity of 4500 persons per hour will be launched. Thus, the resort now has 33 lifts, which have a capacity of 69734 persons.

Sölden is the only glacial resort in Austria where the path to the glacier is paved with ski runs and lifts right out of the very town. The name of this path is «Golden Gate to the Glacier».

The new lift Giggijoch will open in this November

4. A variety of runs of all levels

In Sölden, everyone can find a slope based on his/her preference. You can challenge yourself on steep black runs, where every year sportsmen are trained, or you can run on the comfortable blue slopes. With good reason Sölden is famed for its unusually wide and long runs. The runs pass from one to another, not only lengthwise but also widthwise.

Everyone can find a place on the Sölden slopes

In total, in Solden there are 146.1 km of runs , of which 70.2 km are blue, 44.6 km are red and 29.4 are black. Such figures may not seem that impressive to everyone, but the fact is that Sölden does not set its records by the number of runs, but rather tracks their quality. 400 m2 for skiing are provided here for every skier or snowboarder.

5. Sölden opens the Alpine Ski World Cup

Every year, the World Cup opening takes place in mid-autumn here. Therefore, starting from September world-class stars are trained in Sölden. At this time, you can easily find yourself in the same cabin as a famous skier.

Giant slalom race on the black run 31

6. A lot of entertainment in addition to skiing or snowboarding

Your vacation in Sölden is not limited to skiing or snowboarding. For instance, every night we organize our guests’ transfer to the top, where barbecue and sledging on the illuminated runs are arranged. Here you can also go skating, try paragliding, horse riding, or go to the swimming pool. But if you want to relax for real, we recommend you go to the Aqua Dome thermal springs or visit a good SPA complex.

Sledging for adults and children

7. In Sölden snow is guaranteed before your arrival

However strange this may seem, far from every ski resort can impress you with its availability of snow in winter. For example, the season 2014/2015 was hard for many resorts. If memory serves, in December of that year, many tourists came to go skiing in Solden, though they had booked a hotel in a neighboring valley.

Due to its high location and two glaciers Rettenbach and Tiefenbach there is a lot of natural snow here. At the same time, 76% of the runs are equipped with snow making machines. That is why, during your holiday in Sölden the snow will be always guaranteed.

What could be more important than the snow at a ski resort

8. Here, everyone can learn skiing and snowboarding

In Sölden there are 5 skiing and snowboarding schools, where some 300 instructors in total work in peak season. The instructors speak many languages, including Russian. We are pleased to find the perfect instructor for you.

At the same time, you should keep in mind that great instructors are booked in advance. So there is no need to wait for the beginning of the vacation and it is better to book a lesson well before your arrival at the resort. So you can be sure that you will have both a pleasant and safe holiday in the mountains.

A group of students attend our instructor Sergey’s lesson (picture by Viktor Malyshev)

9. The resort with the largest vertical drop in Austria and a 15 km long run

Sölden is the only Austrian ski resort with a drop of almost 2 km of altitude (1350-3340). On the longest 15 km downhill trail you can come down from the top of the glacier (Schwarze Schneide) to the valley (the lower lift station Gaislachkogl).

The five longest runs are marked on the map below:
1.) 15 km long trail with a vertical drop of 1900 m from the lift E62 upper station 3250
2.) 10 km long run with a vertical drop of 1700 м from the top Gaislachkogl 3048
3.) 9 km and a vertical drop of 1400 m, starts from the C374 lift upper station
4.) 8 km and a vertical drop of 1300 m, from the C31 lift upper station
5.) 9 km and a vertical drop of 1100 m, from the A14 upper station

The map 1-5 shows the longest runs. The steepest slopes are marked with the letters from A to E

The map also shows the steepest black slopes: A) slope No.3, where the night show takes place, B) slope 31, where the World Cup takes place, C) the 7th black slope detoured by many people on the red one, D) the 14th run, which has also a mogul slope E ) Slope 25 with a beautiful view of the mountains at the top.

10. James Bond “Spectre” shooting location

Sölden was well chosen for the new James Bond film shoot. Here you can see the mountains in all their natural aspects: rocks, glaciers, forests and mountain rivers.

Moreover Sölden has excellent service: a good selection of restaurants, first-rate hotels and apartments, a lot of free parking spaces (including on both glaciers) and free WiFi throughout the resort.

If you have any questions about resorts in Austria, feel free to contact us and we will help you to make the right choice.