Stubai Ski Area
Stubai Valley is a snow-sure destination that appeals to the skier’s skier and the boarder’s boarder. As well as the Stubai Glacier itself, the mellow, more family-oriented ski area of Schlick 2000 at Fulpmes, 15 minutes from Neustift, boasts stunning alpine scenery, a good sun record and a lovely mountain hut next to practically every run.
Stubai Glacier
Stubai’s impressive glacier stands like a giant meringue at the head of its long, wide eponymous valley. About an hour from Innsbruck, along the route you’ll also find a few bijou family-oriented ski areas, including Hoch Serles at Mieders, the 11er (Elfer) lifts at Neustift and Schlick 2000 above Fulpmes . Though most head for the more extensive terrain of the glacier, these areas are included on the Super Ski Pass, adding variety to a ski week and especially useful on white-out days when the relatively featureless glacier makes visibility a blind joke. Apart from the small, continual clusters of hotels and B&Bs that dot the road’s edge – sleeping communities for those serious about early skiing and early nights — the primary village to stay in is Neustift, a quiet family oriented spot 20km from the valley station lifts to the Stubaier Gletscher skiing.
From Neustift, mostly Germans, Austrians, eastern Europeans and now more Brits either drive to the huge free parking lot at the valley station gondola base for the Stubai Glacier each morning, or hop aboard the free valley shuttle bus. The better hotels also lay on their own shuttles for guests. Two side-by-side gondolas depart from the Mutterberg base station, one branching off at the middle station Fernau in two further stages to reach the top and both offering two further alternatives to ascend by different routes to the ‘Top of Tirol’ just below Schaufelspitze at 3210m..
At the end of a day peeling around a great choice of 110km of red, blue and black trails, you can conveniently ‘drop rather than drag’ your equipment at two Intersport shops on the mountain at Eisgrat (2900m) and Gamsgarten (2620m). There is also a very impressive mountain facility at Gamsgarten, which serves as the focus for children’s skiing here as well as the remarkable 2 km. cross-country track there. This is a really practical arrangement for family skiing and takes a lot of the strain out of a parent’s lot in looking after kids’ early skiing experiences. More ambitious skiers will want to keep their skis on though, to drop nearly another kilometre in height down the wonderful Wilde Grub’n ski route back to the valley station, although this can get busy at close of play.
Stubai Glacier ski area is snow-sure and will appeal to skier’s and boarder’s keen on putting miles under their feet during the day, not shopping or dancing them off at night. Also its combination of Kindergarten, blues, reds, blacks and off-piste genuinely offers something for everyone. Comparing Neustift to the partytown of Sölden, whose lifts are visible across the abyss from the 3,000 metre-plus peak at Schaufelspitze, “we sleep a little bit longer,” says a local instructor.
Schlick 2000
Some 15 minutes up valley from Neustift, away from the glacier, is the charming Tirolean village of Fulpmes and its ski area, Schlick 2000. This mellow, more family-oriented ski area boasts surprisingly stunning high alpine scenery, is wind-protected by limestone peaks, and has a good sun record too. While there are just 18 km of pistes, there is practically a lovely mountain hut on the edge of each of them, most with charming terraces doing a mean trade in ‘vodka feigen’ (vodka and fig drinks).
Get dragged along a pretty forest trail by snow cat and water-ski ropes to the Galthut restaurant, on the half hour between 11.30-1pm. The Sennjochhutte at the mountain top has comfy bar stools from which to watch the world ski by. If you want to drop of the kiddies first, Big Ron’s Kinderland at the top of Kreuzjochbahn1 is an adventure playground with all-day care for 3-13 year olds.
There’s a nice bit of off-piste to be had if you time it right, like the far right traverse off the top T-bar, and a couple of ski routes snaking off the blue runs. All the lovely trees and views in Schlick make a nice contrast to the open white-white-white of the Stubai glacier and the Super Ski Pass works here.
Stubai Glacier Ski Area Statistics
Country Austria
State Tirol
Region Stubaital
Base 1,750 m
Summit 3,215 m
Elevation 1,465 m
Snowmaking 25%
Number of runs 26
Beginner 40%
Intermediate 34%
Advanced 26%
Longest run 10 km
Number of ski lifts 26
Cable Cars –
Gondolas 5
Chairlifts 7
Surface lifts 10
Magic Carpets 4
Riders per hour 36,000
Day Lift Pass Euros 43 ( Stubaital Superski)
6-day Lift Pass Euros 228 (Stubaital Superski)
Season starts Late Oct
Season ends Early May
Web www.stubaier-gletscher.com
Email [email protected]
Schlick 2000 Ski Area Statistics
Country Austria
State Tirol
Region Stubaital
Base 1,000 m
Summit 2,240 m
Elevation 1,240 m
Snowmaking 75%
Number of runs 26
Beginner 63%
Intermediate 31%
Advanced 6%
Longest run 6 km
Number of ski lifts 12
Cable Cars –
Gondolas 2
Chairlifts 2
Surface lifts 5
Magic Carpets 3
Riders per hour 12,600
Season starts Mid Dec
Season ends Mid April
Web www.schlick2000.at
Email [email protected]