Solden Travel Guide, Austria

Stubai Glacier is the country’s greatest Glacier Ski Resort offering skiing at an altitude of 3,200m at the top of the mountains. The scenery is breathtaking and the altitude guarantees snow from October until June and beyond. There are great chances that you can ski here all year round as the snow conditions are excellent.

It is a resort for those who enjoy the thrills and like their adrenalin pumping on the black diamond runs but also for those who want to marvel at the beauties of nature and enjoy fresh mountain air. Families with kids also like coming here and enjoy the gentle runs.

There are slopes for skiers of every ability and comprise 110K of trails divided in the following way: 42,4km for beginners, 36km for intermediate to advanced, 10,2km for expert, 17km for Backcountry Skiing.

Even if there are not many km for backcountry skiing it is definitely the best backcountry terrain with beautiful surrounding all around.

Getting to the glacier is made easy by the free skier’s shuttles that run daily between Schönberg and Stubai Glacier and there are free shuttle buses from the parking areas to the gondola station. The parking is free and quite spacious.

The infrastructure in the resort is very efficient and there are 25 high-speed lifts that can take you to the top in no time. There are 5 Gondolas, 3 Super Six Chair Lifts, 3 Double Chair Lifts, 3 Magic Carpets,1 snow carousel, 1 Quad Chair Lift, 9 Surface and Practice Lifts. All of these being able to transport 36,000 people per hour.

So if you just want to admire the scenery at the top of the mountains without having to ski, the lifts will get you there in no time, you don’t have to be a skier. You can extend your connection with nature by taking some of the winter hiking trails that are well marked.

There are few places in the world that you can ski at an altitude of 3000m with a panoramic view around you stretching from Schaufelspitze peak to Fernau Glacier. The skiing or snowboarding experience is amazing, sophisticated and a real adventure.

Snowboarders will fell in paradise here as the terrain at their disposal is huge they will not feel clustered and nor will they feel that they have to share terrain with snowboarders of other levels of ability as the terrain is naturally divided. Feel free to come here even without your favorite snowboard as there are plenty to rent and you’ll sure find one that is the newest in snowboard technology. So there’s no need in caring it around with you.

If you like competition and want to see how good you are, there is a Race course at Eisjochferner called "Eisjoch" and a speed trap at Daun Glacier.

Children are not excluded from this paradise and the care and facilities they are provided with is of top quality And the prices for them are more than reasonable. They ski free when accompanied by a parent if they are under 10, pay 50% off the regular fee if they are under 15 and 35% if they are under 19. With these prices, of course you are more than tempted to bring the kids with you. And you really should as it is just normal for the whole family to be together and have fun.

If you worry thinking about what your kid will eat, you should know that there are self-catering facilities especially for them. As for adults and not only there are plenty of restaurants that offer only the best in Austrian gastronomy, and the dishes can be even better enjoyed if you have a panoramic view of the mountains at 3000 m altitude, Eisgrat panoramic restaurant is a must for everyone even for those who are low on budget and can’t afford eating at the restaurant, you can bring your own food as there is a side room where you can enjoy your sandwich.

One of the favored places for them is Ski Club Micky Maus where they have plenty of space to play and ski on 5,000 m². The slopes are safe, the ski school has great instructors expert in teaching children. For a change you can keep the kids indoors at the “Spielparadies” where they can play and have fun under supervision. Leaving your kid at this kindergarten is the best solution if you want to ski free of worries.