Non-stop on- and off-slope action in a compact village base. St. Anton has, along with Wengen and Mürren, a strong British tradition. From the 1920s, successive generations learned to ski here, adopting the distinctive feet-together Arlberg style. Sir Arnold Lunn helped start the Kandahar race here in 1928, and the resort has remained a draw for serious British skiers ever since.
The mountain's main appeal lies in the demanding off-piste runs in the bowls below the Valluga — the best that Austria has to offer. In good snow conditions they are superb, though the south-facing aspect means perfect conditions are only reliable just after a fresh snowfall. Adventurous intermediates also have a lot to work with, both locally and at Lech and Zürs, a short bus-ride away via the Arlberg ski pass. The Galzig mid-mountain hub is the best place to survey the terrain over lunch before picking your afternoon runs.
The village is lively and unapologetically so. Bars and discos run from mid-afternoon into the early hours, with the Mooserwirt at the base of the Gampen lift being the centrepiece of the après-ski scene. On bad-weather days, the Ski and Heimat Museum tells the story of how St. Anton invented modern ski technique — and of Hannes Schneider, the man who made it famous. Those looking for quiet slopes and an early bedtime will find St. Anton a poor fit; those who like skiing hard and staying up later will find it close to ideal.