A ski holiday in Obergurgl Austria, where the US ski team train
Touch down in Obergurgl, Austria, for a ski holiday where the US ski team train. Words by Simon Miller
Want a snow sure European ski resort? Why not follow the US Ski Team and head to the Austrian Gurgls? Wedged high up in Austria’s Ötztal valley bordering Italy, Obergurgl, with an altitude of 1930m, and Hochgurgl, at 2150m, are open from late November to the end of April, with guaranteed snow affording them a longer than average winter season. And in a world of rising temperatures, melting glaciers and increasingly expensive ski holidays, snow surely is my number one criteria when picking a ski destination.
I visited Obergurgl with my daughter at the tail end of what had generally been a season bereft of snow in the Alps. Lucky us then to be presented with good conditions, even in the dog days of April. Plenty of coverage on piste and more than enough off piste to enable us to find untracked areas. Unfortunately the weather prevented us from our other ambition for this trip – crossing the border to Italy with a ski guide for lunch.
Obergurgl is a high-end resort with lots of four and five star hotels to choose from. It is a popular family destination with relatively few of the twenty-something ski groupies notorious for both skiing recklessly on piste and trashing off piste areas, who can blight the more popular destinations. There are lots of intermediate skiers about – and of course, the US Ski Team, who have started training here. This all contributes to a relaxed, unpressured atmosphere aided by wide, well groomed pistes, where everyone has plenty of space.
Even the “end-of-day” run back to the resort never felt overcrowded. The vast majority of skiers stick to the pistes, but for those who want to venture off, Obergurgl and nearby Hochgurgl have plenty of easily accessible options – so with relatively few off piste skiers and good conditions we indulged ourselves. On the upper section of the Kirchenkarbahn and Wurmkogl II lifts, our efforts were rewarded by finding new lines with fresh snow, even three days after the last fall.
Top tip: join the Ski Club of Great Britain for excellent travel insurance that includes off piste skiing without a guide. I wouldn’t advocate true backcountry off-piste without a guide but for what we were enjoying in the Gurgls, accompaniment wasn’t necessary. That said, as part of our membership package, we were able to ski with the resort rep who showed us around the 140km resort before depositing us at the ever popular NederHütte, a free-flowing beer, boot stomping air-guitar venue beloved by the après ski crowd.
The following day and on the guide’s recommendation, we decided to go snowshoeing. I’ve done this before on several other ski holidays, but never fully got to grips with it. Why sacrifice valuable ski time to tramp around with tennis racket-shaped implements on your feet? It’s a fool’s game, I thought. But I finally saw the light.
The food is ‘gute burglerlicher kuche,’ or ‘good honest home cooking.’ Excellent soups, lamb, duck and trout served with sophistication and elegance
After a brief introduction from our guide (helpfully called Guido), we trooped off into the snowy woods. Our itinerary was to trek through the ‘Stone Pine Valley’ from the Zirben Alm Hütte for about 1.5 hours to the Schönwieshütte restaurant for lunch. When I’ve tried snowshoeing before I always found myself looking down, focusing on where my next step would be. But on this trip I got why the activity is booming in popularity: I managed to lift my head up and look around. With Guido’s prompts, I was able to properly appreciate the scenery, identify regional birdsong, spot chamois, follow fox tracks and even listen out for marmots emerging from hibernation.
Yes, snowshoeing had been a total eye-opener, both for me and the 12-year-old. There is plenty of skiing in both Ober and Hochgurgl to keep you busy for a week but my die-hard Bond fan daughter was insistent that we also check out Sölden and in particular, the ‘007 Elements’ interactive, immersive Bond exhibition helpfully located at the top station, with an altitude of 3340m. Locations in and around the resort were used in the 24th James Bond film, Spectre. We stopped for an unforgettable drink at the chic Ice Q restaurant at the top of the Gaislachkogl Peak, where Bond first met Madeleine Swann when it doubled as the Hoffler Klinik, and recreated Q’s moment of danger at the Gaislachkogl gondola mid station. You will leave the 007 Elements experience with the Bond theme ringing in your ears – not least as it’s played in the gondola lift on the way down.
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We stayed in a classic Austrian family run hotel – Hotel Enzian. I’m a big fan of these types of hotel which are in my experience the best way to enjoy a mountain holiday. Not cheap but offering good value; they offer the perfect mix of activity, relaxation and indulgence. The Enzian has a great spa with all sorts of hot rooms and ice baths and the restaurant offers high quality traditional cooking with various twists. Food that isn’t so much fine dining as it is ‘gute burglerlicher kuche,’ or ‘good honest home cooking.’ Excellent soups, lamb, duck and trout served with sophistication and elegance by people who love what they are doing and are proud to be there.
It’s clearly a winning formula, as evidenced by a cohort of guests I meet who have been coming to the hotel for ski holidays for over 20 years. At the end of our trip, my daughter and I both agreed that Obergurgl is a great European ski option. Easy to get to, fantastic snow security and with a variety of snow experiences on offer. In our opinion, Obergurgl ticks all the boxes – and some. Next time we will make it to Italy too.
Obergurgl is around an hour and half’s drive from Innsbruck airport; Hotel Enzian has rooms from around £150; visit hotelenzian.at
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