Stuben am Arlberg Intermediate

Compared to nearby St Anton and Lech-Zurs, Stuben is less crowded and often has the best snow conditions. There are only a handful of marked red and blue runs on the Albona, but they’re well maintained with a 1,000 meters vertical from top to bottom. You can also choose between North-facing and South-facing slopes  – the latter will usually have more give in them but can be icy in the morning and slushy in the late afternoon.

When intermediates have finished exploring the on-piste opportunities in Stuben (the off-piste is almost limitless but can be very challenging), they can ski to Alpe Rauz and ride the Valfagehr chairlift to connect to the St Anton ski area. With so much on offer, it’s almost pointless to highlight any single run, but if you’re returning to Stuben and like long uninterrupted runs, try the descent from the top of the Schlindergrat chair. First take the red piste (85) then the blue (100), then a further blue (102) which snakes under the road and back to Stuben – that’s over 1200m vertical and a real thigh burner if skied top to bottom non-stop. (Lesser mortals can stop off for refreshments at the popular Ulmer Hutte mountain restaurant on the way.)

Lech-Zurs is another vast area to explore and easily accessed from Stuben by taking the Flexenbahn lift from Alpe Rauz. Perhaps the best way to sample its slopes is the popular White Ring ski circuit from Zurs to Lech via Zug then back to Zurs – mostly wide, open, well-groomed red and blue runs which are ideal for intermediates with plenty of restaurants on the mountain and in the resorts themselves (especially Oberlech).

And if both St Anton and Lech-Zurs are not quite enough, beyond Oberlech, and connected to it via the Auenfeldjet, is Warth-Schroecken. This is a smaller area but big enough to justify one or two day-trips from Stuben, particularly as there is so much enjoyable skiing at Lech and Zurs along the way, It’s almost entirely composed of runs suitable for intermediates – mostly blue and red runs although there are a few blacks and ungroomed routes for those wanting tougher challenges. Intermediates from Stuben should have no trouble getting to it and back before the lifts close, provided they don’t start too late or linger too long over lunch.

Finally the Sonnenkopf ski area (covered by the Arlberg lift pass) at Klosterle is just 5km down the road from Stuben and worth visiting, although few people do, which is part of its appeal. Almost all the slopes suit intermediates You can get to it by bus, car or taxi.