Ahh, summertime… perfect time to reminisce about, what else? Winter! My time skiing in Lech, Austria to be more precise, fulfilling my dream to ski in the Alps. Yes, the warm, humid days of the Atlanta summer make me long for winter… Well, I have to say that it is not like we are in the midst of a heat wave (we are under 90F still) but a little drama doesn’t hurt when writing the intro for this post, right?
So, in this post, I want to share of my time this past February skiing in Lech, in the Vorarlberg region of Austria – its westernmost region. I have skied in Utah, Colorado, the Chilean Andes but had not skied in the Alps – an item in my bucket list. I needed that to change and the opportunity arose to ski in Austria with a college friend through a cheap fare we found with KLM to cross the Atlantic in style. After some research and word-of-mouth feedback, Lech seemed a great spot to check out, on the high-end of skiing towns in western Austria.
Driving to Lech
Driving into Lech from tiny Liechtenstein (where we had stopped on the way from Munich – a slight detour to check off my last tiny European state to visit), the scenery along the S16 highway was amazing – trees and slopes covered with fresh snow. The drive was not too long (2-3 hrs perhaps?) and soon enough we left the highway to get to Lech via Stuben and Zürs. We hit some cool through-mountain and mountain-side “tunnels” and, eventually, approached Lech, all covered in fresh snow at around the time when the early “quitters” were leaving the slopes.
Lodging in Lech
It took us a bit to find our destination for the first night in Zug, just a couple of kilometers off the main part of Lech. We had a slight incident whereby our original pension (Stierfall) had overbooked itself and they got us booked in the place next door but that was not all a bad thing as the second place was nicer anyway (Stäfeli, Hotel-Garni).
Staying in Zug seemed less than ideal since we could not just walk to Lech (well, we could but the road was narrow, no sidewalks, potentially icy, etc.). However, either we could drive down/up OR take advantage of the great shuttle buses that operate in the area taking people in and out of Lech to neighboring villages – phenomenal way to keep people off the roads and make things easy! We had a shuttle stop just down the small hill from our hotel which was cool and made it all easier.
Due to being high season the week we went (“spring break” in Austria and some other European countries), we were unable to find accommodations for two nights in a row. So we checked out of the hotel the next day and later that day checked in to our second hotel in Lech. This time, we were very lucky with another switch-a-roo. Yes, we had another incident with overbooked places (c’mon Austria!). But, this time, not only was the place better but it was in PRIME location, pretty much at the end of the slopes that deposit skiers right in the heart of Lech. All we had to do, was cross the main street and we were at our hotel, the Hotel Tannbergerhof. It was not only a phenomenal location but the second story suite we were assigned looked right at the end of the slopes and the street below. Wow. How I wished I had stayed there a whole week!
Another option that I would recommend considering is staying in Oberlech, a series of hotels/inns in the midst of the slopes above the town of Lech (hence the area’s name). It sure makes it easy to ski when you do not have to deal with shuttle buses and the like (not that I had to from my second hotel intown!). Plus, easy to go for a quick re-charge nap and keep skiing later in the afternoon! Oberlech offers plenty of places for refreshments in the middle of the skiing day which was very much to my liking.
Eating in Lech
Now, one thing we did not realize is that most people have their dinner at the hotel they stay at and those restaurants have just the tables needed for their guests. It felt like most or all restaurants we found were part of a hotel. If you don’t make reservations ahead of time for any possible open table, you find yourself (like we did) unable to just walk in to a restaurant and get a table. We lucked out eventually as one of the restaurants we walked into had just had a table cancel so we were able to eat a real meal. At least, hunting for a restaurant allowed us to enjoy exploring the town at night – it was a winter wonderland indeed.
For the second night, we made reservations ahead of time. The hotel staff at Tannbergerhof had recommended a couple of places in Oberlech so we followed their advice. It was an adventure… We took the gondola up to the area and then walked trails (sometimes covered in ice at that time of night) roaming around a little lost until we finally found our place. We did a poor job of either listening to OR following the directions several people gave us and, apparently, got very close to the place without realizing it. It was dark and much colder than I expected (we were in higher altitude than in Lech and I was not prepared for that) and I was hungry! Anyway, we found the place eventually to my great relief. The meal, as anywhere else, was simply delicious. The cool thing is that the staff was not just seasonal workers coming into the area. These were local folks, working the local restaurant near the farms that their family had owned for generations – pretty cool.
During the day, having lunch was easy as people are out skiing and there are plenty of tables available. We chose to have lunch in one of the hotels in Oberlech where I enjoyed a phenomenal schnitzel with a glass of wine. The sun was bright and it was a good break from the skiing.
And now, skiing Lech!
During that lunch, we met a couple from Munich who has an apartment in a nearby village and they come all the time since it is so close. They explained how Lech and neighboring villages connect through ski runs/paths and the occasional lift/gondola (to eliminate the need for loading up in a shuttle). They shared how they spend the whole day traversing the area from place to place skiing without ever walking or taking a shuttle. Sounds phenomenal to me – wish I had had much more time there to do just that!
I had not skied in a few years but found my skiing legs, as usual, pretty quickly. Blue runs quickly stopped being intimidating. We went up high for our first run and ended up going slightly off track downhill on a slope between two runs, crossing a long pile of snow. Don’t know how we got confused and got off the run but it was fun (after I was done with it).
It was not to be the only ‘confusion’… At the end of the slopes in Lech, one can take a sharp right turn down a normal run to end up across from my hotel OR one goes straight down a mogul course which is a shorter distance (see earlier photo taken from my hotel room). I had no idea it was a mogul run (blessed ignorance…) and went through it. At first I thought it was just a couple of bumps until I realized where I was. I decided to just go for it as if I knew how to tackle moguls (which, of course, I know because I have watched winter olympics on and off – and I have stayed in Holiday Inns). I have to say, that I did actually quite well navigating the moguls. Perhaps some unknown instinct within me? I am glad I did it – it was fun!
The slopes were usually quite broad and the skiers not typically as rude or aggressive as they can be back home… OK, some went REALLY fast but you could tell they knew what they were doing and not endangering others. I will say, though, that most people there seemed to be seasoned skiers vs. the casual once-a-year or once-every-few-years skiers we have at home *myself included* which made me feel safer in my underskilled skier status. They would know how to navigate around me should I stagger or fall and were not doing non-sensical things. I had one epic fall and a minor one. Nothing untoward happened to limbs or bones, thankfully – all good fun!
Après-ski and “during”-ski in Lech
But the best part of this are the stops to refresh oneself. The first morning, we happened upon a small watering hole up high where a waitress had to help me with a stubborn jacket zipper that would not open (or would it??…). There I discovered that a beverage of choice is seltzer water with white wine. I took one of those as I figured the lower alcohol content was better since we were just starting the skiing.
Later on, in Oberlech, we ran into a few places that were hopping with the lucky souls who get to ski there. One had pumping music and great views so we plopped ourselves down at the bar for a beverage.
When we finished skiing, we ended up at the bar area in front of our hotel, right by the street. A happening spot, it was right under our suite’s windows. Being that it is right at the exit of the slopes across the street, the spot was teeming with folks who had wrapped up their day. An Aperol spritz was in order as was people-watching. Ahh… I love skiing and I love doing it somewhere where there is a scene to take in! Hope to return someday!!
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A guest post by Chris Sanders.
