Inside information on Montafon...

Hi there,

We were looking at spending some time in Montafon in Austria next season (2012/13).

I am a advanced skier with a love for skiing off piste, and my family are intermediate, but like a challenge when the conditions are good (ski reds happily and blacks in good conditions).

For anyone who has been to Montafon -
- is there a good variety of terrain (something for all of us)
- is there good off piste skiing?
- how easy is it to link to other resorts nearby (Lech, St Anton, Ischgl etc)
- is it a pleasant resort (not a big apres ski guy, but good restaurants and bars are always a bonus!).

thanks in advance for any tips..

Geds.

No first hand experience I'm afraid, but friends went there in January and haven't stopped going on about the place since! They stayed at the Verwall - very luxurious I gather - they even provided a taxi to the slopes! Our friends are 'expert' skiers and loved the skiing on offer and found it easy to bus to other areas - Schruns and Gaschurn I think.

Like Jastem, I have not been however, it has been on my radar for the last three years. I also know a friend and her Husband that ski the Montafon every year and rave about it. I have seen some film footage of the off piste in the area and it looks interesting. The digs range from good hotels to plenty of self catering as I have been looking to book on a number of occasions. If you book can you write a report on j2ski on your return?

Hi,
I spent one week in mid-January this year right after the big snow fall and it was magic ! Went by car and took base in Bludenz a small town at the Arlberg - Montafon crossroad.
Schruns is the main village in the valley , quite pleasant and this is where you want to stay, plenty of bars, restaurants, shops you name it, the train line ends right in the centre and buses depart from here to the other destinations in the valley.
Skiing was great when I was there it will keep you certainly busy for a week, there is no off-piste here.
http://www.silvretta-montafon.at/skigebiet/Pistenplan/
If you want off-piste you need to go to St Anton am Arlberg ( don't confuse with St Anton im Montafon !) To get there take the train with a change at Bludenz. To get to Lech you need to get off at Langen (that's the station before the Arlberg-tunnel) and connect to the bus. Ischgl is a long way , again train over the Arlberg down to Landeck and then bus.
Check the schedules on the austrian rail site http://www.oebb.at/en/index.jsp
For travel within the Vorarlberg area you can use the travel pass of the Vorarlberg transport system V VV
http://www.vmobil.at/fileadmin/downloads/vvv/service/2012_VVV_Tarifzonenplan_120308.pdf
http://www.vmobil.at/fileadmin/downloads/_news_/VVV/preise12_01.pdf
Happy skiing.