SÖLDEN

SOELDEN.COM

Austria is a country in two parts when it comes to its many famous ski resorts. The majority have quite low-altitude ski areas compared to those of its neighbours and tend to end their seasons in early April, sometimes even before the Easter holidays. But Austria also has more glacier ski areas open late into spring, and in some cases into summer, than any other country on the planet!

More than half of these glacier areas are in the Tirol region, and this winter one in particular has stood out for having a deep snowpack all season and everything open over Christmas and New Year when lower resorts were struggling. Its ski area crowned by twin glaciers, Sölden is Austria’s only ski resort which has opened up three mountains higher than 3,000m with state-of-the-art mountain gondola lifts.

Gaislachkogl (3,058m), Tiefenbachkogl (3,250m) and Schwarze Schneid (3,340m) symbolise the special “BIG3” experience on skis, a truly memorable adventure comprising stunning views above the sea of summits in the Ötztal Alps and endless glorious long ski runs in the spring sunshine.

Avoriaz is currently posting the deepest snowpack in Europe, nearly 3m thick, so that bodes well for a great spring skiing season this year, right through to 23 April.

Along with boasting the best snow record in France and access to an amazing 650km of slopes spreading across the border into Switzerland, Avoriaz offers a short transfer from Geneva, making it the perfect choice for maximising your ski time.

Holiday company Ski Weekends, who operate six fantastic ski-in/ski-out chalets in Avoriaz and a further two ski-in/ski-out hotels, specialise in maximising your time on the slopes. Their priorities include making it possible to ski on the days you arrive in resort and again on the day when you’re heading home. Apart from full-on skiing, Avoriaz offers a fantastic après-ski scene, arguably the best in the Alps for a purpose-built resort. Highlights include the fabulous La Folie Deuce cabaret bar-restaurant, but there are plenty more great bars with sunny terraces where you can relax and soak up the rays after a great morning on the slopes.

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