Stubai Off-Piste
Stubaital offers excellent opportunities for high snowsure skiing off-piste mainly at the Stubai Glacier where the Powder Department has designated 15 runs, the conditions on which are regularly updated and safety information provided.
Freeriding in Stubaital
Stubai have taken their off-piste skiing to a new level with the 15 designated off-piste runs on the Glacier from their Powder Department. Essentially these are all lift-accessed (some with a little climbing) and they can all be seen in video form online and through GPS downloadable and trackable form.
With names like Hard Rock, the Wall, Canonball and North Face, the level of information provided in Stubaital has put off-piste skiing more transparently (and more safely) on the agenda. But it is important to remember that freeriding is only for advanced and expert skiers and that’s is just the start of it – preparation and safety are absolutely essential however good you may be: Stubai should be applauded for making it much easier for skiers to obtain the correct and up to date information.
The Stubai Glacier website contains all the relevant details and so freeriders and powder hounds are really recommended to read up and prepare for their trips here as well the ‘outdooractivities’ app, available to download to your mobile. Visit the Freeride Checkpoint at Gamsgarten where the latest mountain and avalanche information is displayed in digital info panels. Transceivers can also be checked there.
There are more opportunities for skiing with guides as well. For example it is possible with a bit of ski-touring to ski off-piste to Solden in the Otztal. See our page on Stubaital Ski Schools & Mountain Guides or contact Stubai Tourism for more information.
Off-piste group classes can be booked at the Freeridecenter in Neustift at three different levels: Rookie, Advanced and Pro. They meet at Zum Steinbock bar and café at Eisgrat high up on Stubai Glacier and, subject to conditions, ski between 9am and 4pm only stopping for a short lunch.
Ski Touring in Stubaital
Stubaital is also popular for ski touring. Most ski tours, with 30-45 minutes of up-work, end up back in the resort or at a hut with taxi back.
For extremists, the couloirs to the right of the Gamsgarten gondola are only a few metres wide and make even the resident mountain goats nervous. From the top of the Schaufelspitze, 3333m, which takes about 45 minutes to reach on foot, there’s a steep 45 degree couloir.
Easier, less threatening and more accessible powder runs can be found off the double chair Wildspitz and the four-man chair Rotadl. There are lovely touring runs off the top of Daunkopf, accessed from the top of the ski route Wilde Grub’n.
Photo: TVB Stubai | Stubaier Gletscher | Andre Schoenherr