Ischgl or St Anton or ? 1st week of April

Hi,

Long time reader, first time poster here. I'm going to be in Austria 1st week of April, some business in Vienna then 5 days free then flying out of Munich back to Canada. I'll be with my wife (we usually ski black diamonds or some double blacks in North America - usually Tremblant and Whistler most years) and kids who are intermediate skiers.

We want to get the kids into ski school for at least part of the day so we can ski the harder stuff.

After having done a lot (and I mean a lot) of reading, I am more confused than ever - there are sooo many possibilities. I thought we had settled on Ischgl, but when I check the snow depths, St Anton has a fair bit more (200 cm, 100 cm lower in Ischgl compared to 390 cm, 155 cm in St Anton.

My basic question is - is this just a ridiculous amount of snow and we're quite likely to be just fine and have a good time in Ischgl (or should we start checking out St Anton or one of the gurgls)?

i have been to both resorts.last year Ischgl-St Anton and this year ischgl again.lets first talk about the snow.of course st anton will have more snow by then.last year if you remember europe had a huge problem of no snowfall since the end of January.at the end of march most of the resorts in Austria were dry and i went in st anton and they still had a lot.but let me tell you that.i was in ischgl 2 weeks ago and they had massive snowfalls.i cant guarantee that it will stay till April.but i tell you that.if they have a good ammount the ski in Ischgl,the pists,the lifts are much more nicer.in fact i have been to many places,i am an advanced snowboarded and ischgl is one of my favorites.very nice,long and wide red runs and it was never crowded.never waited for a lift.it has been voted as the best ski lift system in europe one year.in st anton many times i had to wait a lot,the pists were crowded and the mountain had some very dangerous points.
let me also tell you something else.your choice depends on what you are looking for.forget about the snow for a moment.st anton has great apres ski life and nightlife.for somebody who wants that and wants the place to be alive then thats the one.ischgl on the other hand hasnt got a big of a choice for apres ski and nightlife.it is quiet,more of a family vacations resort with amazing cosi restaurants with local cuisine(at list if you know where to find them).but nothing else to do.
i would advise you that.wait till the last minute to see the snow conditions.dont worry about hotels.its the end of the season.you find many rooms even last minute and maybe even in a better price.global crises has been there too believe me.i was there on feb which is high season and still they had plenty of rooms.imagine on April.really dont worry.wait by then,check the snow and if ischgl has still good ammount go there.if not st anton for sure.
if you pick ischgl though feel free to ask me for tips.i know some amazing places to dine that is hard to find.

Quite frankly both are awesome resorts. I wouldn't be worried about snow reliability in either Ischgl is usually open into May and St A up until the end of April and into May.

Ischgl and St A seem to compete for the liveliest après in Austria/Alps and it seems to swing from one resort to the other season to season. They are both 'party' resorts but it is avoidable-choose accommodation carefully for this reason and both areas are quite spread out.

Strangely the stats will show you that St A has more blue (easy runs) but I believe that many of these would be reds easily in other resorts. I could prattle on for ages about each resort but will try to summarise a bit. Ischgl has great off piste-St A has more challenging off piste and more of it.

For pisted runs Ischgl has a great variety of runs. And the lift system is really top-notch.

I assume your Canadian and over the pond you like to know your vertical stats-they're about the same. St A pass with Lech and Zurs is a real bonus it's not lift linked but a short bus ride. These along with Stuben (generally some of the highest snowfall in the Alps) are superb areas particularly for intermediates.

In conclusion I don't think you'll be disappointed with either. There has been talk for years now of trying to get a lift link between St A and a resort in the same valley as Ischgl. If you have a car could you do both?

Thank you Den and Griz for your replies. Definitely leaning towards Ischgl now. If you have a restaurant recommendation or 2 that would be great.

We will have a car, so maybe will take a day at St Anton as well - great suggestion thank you!

Hi again. Was just about set to pull the trigger on a place in Ischgl, but I read a report of only 60cm of base on the lower pistes...although we will have a car, I would prefer to find an apartment/vacation rental near the lifts and may start looking at St Anton again. We'll have our kids with us so après ski doesn't matter to us (actually we don't want to stay in a noisy area and be awakened by the bars emptying at 3 am). Any thoughts/insight?

Thoughts...that 60cm on lower pistes for mid March is a good depth.
Not sure what your expectations are with this, do you need village slopes with deep snow? Most traditional alpine villages have meadow as village slopes, unlike high altitude French resorts, which are very rocky, and would struggle with 30cm of cover.

That is a good point I guess. I was hoping to ski down to the village, but maybe not realistic in April?

It seems that Ischgl gets less snow, but it tends to stay around longer then St Anton:

http://ski-resorts.findthebest.com/compare/171-600/Ischgl-vs-St-Anton-am-Arlberg

Is this accurate?

As a hugely broad generalisation, I believe the slopes in Ischgl are less steep than in St Anton. Could this account for the snow holding better?

Dons flameproof jacket, helmet on :mrgreen: