Part of the Arlberg ski area, St Christoph sits on the Arlberg pass – down the road from Zurs and on the other side of the Galzig mountain from the epic St. Anton and its world-renowned après-ski. With a convenient position between the two, this is a brilliant place if you want to explore the Arlberg area at both ends.
It made its name when, in the 14th century, Heinrich Findelkind raised money for a hospice to shelter travellers from harsh conditions.
With Innsbruck airport only 100km away, you won’t need to drive for hours to get here. With traditional wooden architecture and its picturesque setting in the Arlberg mountains, St Christoph oozes charm. The village itself is a tiny hamlet of only 13 buildings consisting of hotels, restaurants and bars and has an intimate atmosphere and authentic alpine feel. It makes a change from the lively, bustling atmosphere of St. Anton – perfect for families who want somewhere quieter to stay.
At 1800m, this is one of the highest ski resorts in the Alps. Playing an important role in the development of alpine skiing, it houses the Austrian Skiing Federation academy which offer excellent tuition and is a popular destination for ski instructor training.
Most of the accommodation is practically ski-in ski-out - or at most a short walk to the main lift so you shouldn’t be having to lug the skis about. St Anton, is a short trip via the St. Christoph chair lift and red piste. Shuttle buses provide access to nearby ski resorts like Lech and Zurs.
The ski pass covers all of Arlberg –giving you access to a vast 260km of slopes and nearby resorts including St. Anton, Lech and Zurs. All routes are easily reachable and the lift system can carry around 150,000 people/hour.
Location: Austria Alps.
Established: 1900
Open: December-End Of April
Downhill: 260km
View our detailed St Christoph snow forecast or snow report and see all live webcams, piste maps, road and travel maps and lift pass prices. For a picture of historic snow conditions see the snow depths month by month with our St Christoph snow history.
Nearest Airport & Transfer Time: | |
Innsbruck | 100km, 1 hour 10 mins |
|
|
Top Altitude: | 2811m |
Bottom Altitude: | 1304m |
Resort Altitude: | 1800m |
Longest run: | 10.2km |
Slope Orientation: | NSEW |
Vertical Drop: | 1011m |
Skiable Vertical: | 1507m |
Night Skiing: | No |
Glacier: | No |
Downhill Runs: | 260km |
Beginner slopes: | 42% |
Intermediate: | 46% |
Advanced slopes: | 12% |
Lift Pass Price: | €235 (adult 6 day) |
Nearby resorts: St Anton, Lech, Zurs, Arlberg |
Getting lessons is the best way to learn and develop your confidence here. Several independent instructors offer fantastic tuition and Ski Schule Arlberg have offices in St. Christoph - their children’s area has a playground, magic carpets and a drag lift where little ones can get to know their skis. The nursery pistes in nearby Rendl are gentle and tend to be quite quiet.
There are nice short blues in the village labelled 8A and served by the Maiensee lift. Once you’ve mastered these, Blue 8 leads all the way back to St Christoph. Your instructor will probably take you to Blue 5 - it’s worth retracing the routes you take in lessons to practice as some blue runs are tougher than others (Blue 36 is famously difficult – better suited to progressing intermediates).
For more experienced skiers, Red 7 near the Galzig lift is a particular highlight. Rendl and Gamped is also brilliant as it’s fairly quiet and contains a mix of terrain – we’re fans of Rendl’s Red 1 and Gampen’s Red 21 – both of which lead to St. Anton.
While piste 37 is classified red, it’s still great for experts as it’s quite steep and has fantastic snow. There are several excellent black runs including number 2 near Galzig where you can show off your short turns. Experts have over 180km to discover off-piste with great bowls and chutes around Stuben and Rendl and some world famous powder around St Anton. For something closer to St. Christoph, check out Maienvarsen. Book a guide and head to the top of the Valluga mountain if you’d like a challenge – you’d regret not trying it!
Freestylers can check out the fantastic STANTON snow park that includes rails, boxes and jumps of up to 10m! The Rendl funpark provides even more challenges for confident freestylers.
Considering its size it’s not surprising that St. Christoph isn’t a party capital - with a few high end bars, the village has a very intimate vibe. However, St. Anton’s legendary après ski is nearby if you want to turn things up a little.
Most of any après-ski in St. Christoph revolves around the Arlberg Hospiz Hotel. It has a number of restaurants including the Sun Terrace, Tyrolean Restaurant and the Hospiz Alm Chalet. This really is fine dining – the Hospiz Alm has been awarded two toques – a prestigious Austrian food accolade. Dishes at all the restaurants are normally traditional and intriguing and menus include food like duck, guinea fowl and beef broth soups. You can certainly expect a memorable meal and evening – small touches like the Hospiz Alm having a slide to take you to the bathroom make sure of that! The hotel also has some the Brotherhood and Hospiz Alm wine cellars that are well worth a visit.
Nearby St. Anton is the place to be if you want to sample some serious après. It’s home to some of the best après bars in the world including the legendary Mooserwirt and Krazy Kangaruh. For the more sporty among you, St. Anton has activities that range from ice skating to horse rides. It’s also home to the ‘Arl.rock’ Sports Centre - with everything you’d want from tennis courts to a bowling alley but best of all a rock climbing area. You’ll find climbing walls both inside and outside suits all abilities from beginners to experts who will love the ‘dot above the I’ wall which becomes an ice wall in winter!
This is one of the highest resorts in the Alps at 1800m and in previous years has seen fantastic snowfall which is a good start if you’re looking for somewhere with great conditions. Over half of the routes in Arlberg have snow-making facilities to top up the conditions throughout the season. Shuttle buses run to Lech and Zurs which are known for having brilliant snow so you should be able to access plenty of good quality terrain if things aren’t looking too good at base towards the end of the season.
If snow is poor lower down, hop on the Arlenmahder lift or (after a short ski) the Valluga lift - which leads to one of the highest points in Arlberg.
Get up early for the best skiing and head over to St. Anton – if you’re not sunbathing in one of the après bars, the Arl.Rock sports centre is a great way to spend an afternoon – it has climbing walls and tennis courts and also contains a 4-lane bowling alley.
If you celebrate Christmas in St. Christoph, you’ll experience a wonderful time in a beautiful setting. Some restaurants normally do a special menu for the big day and in past years, nearby St. Anton has hosted a 3-day market and choir performances to get you in that festive mood. Even If that doesn’t, activities like tobogganing and ice skating certainly will. St Christoph Christmas ski holidays ‣
See in the New Year In St. Christoph in a relaxed environment with award-winning food at Hospiz Alm Restaurant. Head to St. Anton for events - the entertaining weekly St. Anton ski show starts around now and the New Year celebrations in the main square are great fun. St Christoph New Year ski holidays ‣
Families will enjoy February Half-Term In St. Christoph – the children will love Ski Schule Arlberg where there’s a magic carpet and playground to help them to learn to ski. There are usually events going on over in St Anton – look out for their regular ski show. St Christoph Half Term ski holidays ‣
The village has an elevation of 1800m and over half of pistes have snow-making facilities so, if you’re spending Easter in St. Christoph, you probably won’t have to fret about snow – especially if Easter falls early. St Christoph Easter ski holidays ‣
St. Christoph is part of the Arlberg ski area which has 260km of pistes. This small village offers a lovely setting for a quiet family holiday – sharing St Anton’s ski area but avoiding the town’s infamous nightlife. The Chalet Hotel St. Christoph is ideal for families – it’s right next to the ski school meeting point so you don’t have to worry about being late for lessons. The main ski lift is only 2 minutes away as well –lugging your skis for ages in the morning won’t be an issue!
At 1800m (one of the highest resort altitudes in the Alps) St Christoph’s snow supply is usually decent throughout the ski season. The Arlberg ski area has plenty of routes to suit everyone – with the short, easy 8A runs in the village a good place to begin (if you stay in Chalet Hotel St. Christoph you’ll be right by these) and the runs near Nasserein also fairly gentle. More confident skiers will love some of the challenging red runs – including routes like Red 1 (which takes you from Rendl to St. Anton).
Ski schools are an important part of most family holidays and in St. Christoph you need not worry. Ski Schule Arlberg has an office in the village and a beginners’ area complete with playground, draglift and the all-important magic carpet.
There aren’t many activities and events running in St Christoph but St. Anton has loads to please the whole clan – such as a weekly ski show (which often involves ski demonstrations and fireworks). You’ll also love the Arl.Rock sports centre – where it’s possible to do pretty much anything from bowling to tennis.
Most of our packages include flights and transfers but some are self-drive and it’s possible to do accommodation-only bookings too.
St. Christoph is a good base for groups – it offers quick access to the slopes, you avoid the St. Anton noise but still have easy access to its famed après-ski. Chalet Hotel St. Christoph is in a brilliant location for groups – it is ski-in ski-out and the main ski lift is less than 2 minutes away. It is quite a large chalet – which gives you the chance to get to know other guests during the week.
The blue 8A runs in the village are nice and short for learners and the runs in Rendl should be good for less experienced skiers too. There’s loads of terrain for any confident members of the group including Red 7 near the Galzig lift – and 180km of off-piste is there to explore too (full of bowls and chutes).
St. Christoph has little nightlife but with St. Anton around the corner, world-class après-ski is never far away. The Mooserwirt is a particular favourite for a lively night out. Its 62 year-old DJ, Gerhard, is a local legend. St Anton has plenty of restaurants to choose from before you hit the après-ski hard – serving anything from Indian to Italian food. There will probably be some events happening in St. Anton during your stay – from the weekly evening ski show to the ‘White Thrill’ race (usually as the season ends). If you have a spare day, head to the Arl.Rock Centre in St Anton where you’ll find bowling, football or even rock climbing.
Most of our packages include accommodation, flights and transfers. If you fancy a road trip, then self-drive packages may be for you and we also have some accommodation-only deals – good if you all are travelling independently.
Accommodation | Number of nights | Price (per person) from |
---|---|---|
Hit The Sky | 7 | £ 1174 |
Hotel Maiensee | 7 | £ 1282 |