Sölden – a modern ski resort

The resort village of Sölden is located in the Ötztal valley, its dead end rests against the mountains along which the border with Italy runs. It is about 35 kilometers from the entrance to the valley, from the airports and beyond – more than 250 kilometers from Salzburg or Munich, if there are traffic jams, the road can be very long. Therefore, if possible, it is better to get through Innsbruck, from which it is only 83 kilometers and an hour’s drive.

Yotztal is located in one of the most mountainous regions of Tyrol and all of Austria, around dozens and dozens of three-thousanders, including the main Tyrolean peak – Wildspitze (3774 m). The panoramas are truly impressive. The town itself, like all ski resorts, is small in area, its peculiarity is its elongation along the track running along the bottom of the valley. The main street is Dorfstrasse, its name translates as “Village Street”, an echo of the times when there was no big skiing here. Streets with this name are in almost every Austrian resort.

The length of Dorfstrasse is two and a half kilometers, along it there is a large number of hotels, restaurants, shops, all the active life of the city, including nightlife, is concentrated here. The main road traffic of the Otztal Valley passes through it, so if you like silence, it is better to settle a little further away, beyond the Otztaler Ache river, over which there are five bridges in the city, crossing them is easy and pleasant.

The history of these places is lost in the depths of centuries, only echoes reach us in the form of archaeological finds. Here, not far from the village of Vent, on the Similaun glacier in 1991 at an altitude of 3200 meters, a perfectly preserved human mummy was found, whose age is about 5300 years. The find was given the name Otzti (Ӧtzi), and it is now exhibited in the archaeological museum in Bolzano, Italy. Who was this person? Whether it was a hunter, a villager, or a priest – scientists are still arguing, but it is safe to say that this discovery greatly contributed to the influx of tourists to the local places. Here, near Vent, Stone Age hunters’ camps were discovered. Around the first millennium BC, people came here from Vinschgau (modern Italy) through mountain passes and founded settlements throughout the valley. The first mention of Sölden dates back to the twelfth century chronicles.

Hochsölden, a resort on the piste

Those interested in the history of the region will be referred to a detailed list of important dates in the corresponding section of the official website, while we will move on to the most relevant topic of today – downhill skiing. The first ski lift was built in 1948 on Hochsölden, the upper satellite of Sölden. Several hotels have been built at an altitude of 2090 meters, today it is one of the highest mountain stations in Austria (only the neighboring Hochgurgl, 2150 m) with 100% skiing from the door on the ski-in / ski-out principle. Accommodation there is mainly for fairly wealthy people, the level of hotels is very high.

Most guests of Sölden settle down, in the valley. From the village to the ski area today, two cabin lifts are thrown, the lower stations of which are located right on the main street. The distance between them is one and a half kilometers, ski buses run regularly through the city, so getting to the lift from almost any point is not a problem. In addition, as a rule, you can store your equipment at rental points next to the lift for 2-3 euros per day. Part of the housing stock – the Unterwald, Innerwald and Ausserwald districts – is not at the very bottom of the valley, but on a kind of shelf-cornice, raised above the city by 50-100 meters. Although they are located right next to the slopes, living there may not be very convenient, since these areas are connected to the center only by a lift that works until ten in the evening. There is, of course, a highway, but taxis are not cheap, and walking along it is quite tiring. Just in case, check the location of your accommodation when booking.

Gaislachkogl Station, 3048 m

Well, friends, it’s time to go to the mountains! We start early in the morning, best with the first lift. If you come a little later, with the bulk of the people, then a queue of half an hour, or even longer in high season, is practically guaranteed. Each of the two city lifts throws into its own skiing area. The main ones, perhaps, are the cabins that lead to Giggijoch (2284 m), where the main training area of ​​Sölden is located – several pleasant wide blue runs. Next to them – a couple of black ones. There are always quite a lot of people: someone is hanging out here and mastering the local slopes, someone is rushing to the glaciers, someone is returning from there – eternal Brownian motion. This sector also has a fairly large snowboard park “Area 47”. From here you can go down to the very bottom through Hochsölden on red or black runs with almost a kilometer of elevation gain.

The second large skiing sector above Sölden is Gaislachkogl, the highest point of which is 3048 meters. The lift cabins also lead to the top from Sölden. The queues from the city here are usually a little shorter. There is a good balance of trails of varying difficulty in this area: experts, intermediate skiers and beginners will find several interesting long trails here. It is not bad to have lunch right there in one of the restaurants on Gaislachalm (1982 m), and at the end of the day to slide through the dense forest straight into the city. In general, there are not very many forest trails in Sölden, about twenty percent, here are mainly open slopes, most of which are laid at a considerable height. You can get from Gaislachkogl to Gigijoch quite easily and quickly, the sectors are connected by trails and chairlifts. For the most tireless skiers, there is a trail from Mittelstation (2174 m) that is illuminated in the evenings, black or blue options.

Freeride against the backdrop of the World Cup track and the Rettenbach lifts

Well, the two lower areas have been considered and run-in, let’s move on to dessert. What is in Sölden is the third large region, which unites two glaciers – Tiefenbach and Rettenbach, the tracks on which start at 3250 meters. Elevation differences are 400-500 meters, the length of the tracks is up to 2.5 kilometers. Here is the largest area in Austria for skiing on glaciers – twenty square kilometers! Wide slopes, mostly blue. There is little interesting here for experts, but can the complexity of the slopes be of interest?! Isn’t the feeling of free flight and the immense width of the surrounding spaces what we actually come to the mountains for?! It is no coincidence that a large number of skiers head to the glaciers in good weather. There is only one way here and it is quite long, especially considering the queues: from the top of Rotkogljoch (+2662 m) there is a descent to the so-called “Golden Gate” – the Einzeiger quad chairlift. And then on three queues of the gondola lift to Schwarze Schneide. On the way, experts should stop at the descent from Rettenbachjoch (3014). After all, it is here that the Alpine Skiing World Cup starts with a giant slalom every year at the end of October. The route, however, is not very long, about a kilometer, wide, with an average slope of about 35% (19 degrees) and an elevation difference of 300 meters.

The vast fields of the Tiefenbach glaciers

On a sunny day, the views from the glaciers are simply stunning. The so-called BIG 3 Rallye, a route that allows you to climb three different peaks in the region over 3,000 meters high, has special observation decks with removable bridges so that you can feel like a grain of sand flying over the endless expanses of snow fields. It is definitely worth getting there to rise above the “hustle and bustle”, to dream …

In case of bad weather, skiing on glaciers becomes very uncomfortable: strong winds in open, well-ventilated spaces, noticeable cold and poor visibility – not the best conditions for skiing pleasure. Unfortunately, in bad weather, which happens quite often, the road to the glaciers can be closed. In this case, the skiing area is significantly reduced. Maybe it is worth arranging a day of rest in such a case? Especially since all the conditions are created for this in Sölden and its surroundings.

Aqua House in Langefeld

First of all, these are the water activities that people love. The easiest option is to steam in the sauna of your hotel. A more advanced option is the Freizeit Arena sports complex with a swimming pool and a wellness center. And, finally, the last, the best, is the Aqua Dome thermal complex in neighboring Langefeld, twelve kilometers away by bus, taxi or car. A futuristic complex of fantastic beauty, carefully incorporated by designers into the landscape of the surrounding mountains. A large number of outdoor and indoor pools with slides, several types of baths and saunas, spa treatments, etc. Lying in the open air in hot water and admiring the snow-covered slopes and peaks is a special pleasure that is rarely found in ski resorts. The water, which is naturally heated to a temperature of 34-36 ° C, comes from a well from a depth of 1865 meters. We definitely recommend visiting this complex, after which you will probably want to visit it more than once.

David Guetta performs at the Electric mountain festival

As for après-ski, everything is in order here. Sölden is one of the most “party” ski resorts, sometimes it is called the Alpine Ibiza. Someone agrees with this definition, someone believes that Ibiza is too much, but the fact remains – the nightlife in the village is quite active: many bars, several clubs, even striptease – there is everything. The audience in each institution is different: somewhere young people, somewhere older people. Everyone, if desired, can easily find adventures for the lower back of the body. In high season, most popular restaurants are full, it is better to take care and book a table in advance.

Local residents are very sincere and friendly towards the guests of the resort. The quality of service is also at its best everywhere. In one word – Austrian service. By the way, it is not necessary to live in Sölden itself, you can book accommodation in one of the neighboring villages, in the same Langefeld it will be a little cheaper, quieter and calmer. And you can get to the mountain by bus.

Sölden by night

Many people, coming to Sölden, ski only there and it is absolutely useless. After all, twelve kilometers up the valley is Obergurgl with its 110 kilometers of slopes. There are four times fewer people on the slopes there, the slopes themselves are long, interesting, for all levels of skiing. Funny fact: the English have the opposite situation. Until recently, their tour operators took their tourists only to Obergurgl, and only recently have they started working with Sölden hotels.

If we consider Sölden separately, then, to be honest, the resort, due to its features, is not that big and diverse in terms of skiing. For example, many advanced skiers go around all the interesting trails in two or three days, and then they have to ski on a few of their most favorite ones. For those who love variety, ski safaris can become boring by the end of the week, especially if the weather is unlucky and the upper trails on the glaciers are closed. True, quite good off-piste skiing can compensate.

Sunset over the Ötztal Mountains

We should also note the rather high traffic of the slopes: by lunchtime, all the lower ones are very decently broken, and then it becomes especially tight for beginners. We can say that the resort lacks a bit of balance: there are few difficult slopes for professionals, and for beginners – broken lower slopes in the afternoon. So always have Obergurl in stock, many do not even suspect that there is a large and interesting skiing area nearby. The resorts did not have a common ski pass for many years, and now, finally, a merger has taken place: if you buy a ski pass for three days or more, you can ski in any of the zones of your choice. So now in terms of skiing, the trip will definitely be very rich, diverse and interesting. What we actually want from a ski tour.

In conclusion, we note that Sölden is an excellent option to open the season for those who ski several times during the winter. The resort starts operating steadily from the end of October. At the same time, you can combine a visit with watching a live World Cup stage and, inspired by the exploits of slalom, go to conquer the surrounding peaks yourself. The same peaks that James Bond conquered some time ago. The film called “007 Spectre” was released on world screens in 2015 and the winter-mountain part of the film was filmed in Sölden. Several episodes were filmed at the Ice Q restaurant at the Gaislachkogl station at an altitude of 3048 meters, on the slopes and mountain roads, in the valley. Viewers around the world were able to get acquainted with the magnificent and majestic landscapes of the Jotztal Alps. Isn’t it time to see these mountains in person?!

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