Like Andermatt, but in Austria: more off piste, less height at the top
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
On paper Andermatt is small. We measure 61 kilometres of piste around the village, and only four of the 55 resorts we cover measure less. Nobody goes for the paper. They go for the 21 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the ninth most of the 55 resorts we cover, the longest running 5.5 kilometres with 1,170 metres of vertical, and for the snow: 76 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,922, which makes it snow sure on our measure.
That is how we read it too. Off piste heads our list of what Andermatt does best, snowfall comes second and being up and coming third, and expert is the one trait we tag it with. Reborn and snowy, a sleeper in the middle of Switzerland.
The honest headline: in Austria you can have more of Andermatt's off piste, or more of its skiing high, but not both from one village. Zürs has 40 kilometres of marked itinerary in a village higher than yours, but its skiing stops well below Andermatt's top. Ischgl is snow sure on our measure with far more piste, but 10.6 kilometres of itinerary. Zürs keeps the thing Andermatt does best.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Marked off piste itinerary | Steeper than one in four | Piste at or above 1,800 m | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkAndermatt | 1,444 m | 2,922 m | 61 km | 21 km | 27% | 76% | December to April |
| Zürs | 1,720 m | 2,440 m | 75 km | 40.2 km | 33% | 74% | December to April |
| Ischgl | 1,377 m | 2,868 m | 152 km | 10.6 km | 34% | 90% | Late November to May |
Zürs: the closest on the off piste
- VillageVillage
- 1,720 m 276 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,811 m 150 m lower
Zürs: 75 km of piste we measure. 31 km blue and easier 42%38 km red 50%6 km black 8%
Plus 40 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Our matching puts Zürs nearest to Andermatt of the Austrian resorts we cover, and for a skier who lives on the itineraries it is an upgrade. There are 40.2 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the fourth most of the 55 resorts we cover and the third most of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against your 21. Zürs also shares the Arlberg with St Anton and Lech, so the pass does not stop at the village.
Around the village, the two are a similar size. We measure 75 kilometres of piste around Zürs, 13.5 more than around Andermatt, and neither has much on its own doorstep. The village is higher, at 1,720 metres, 276 above yours and the second highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. Our read on it is exclusive and quiet, a tiny corner of the Arlberg, and you can still fly to Zurich, or to Innsbruck.
The groomed runs ask more of you. Thirty three percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against Andermatt's 27, and the reds average 24.2 percent, where yours average 22.0 and a typical Austrian red 23.4. Only 21 percent is gentler than 15 percent, the smallest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, so there is not much soft ground for the less confident: 31.3 kilometres of blue and easier, against your 26.9.
The catch is at the top. By our measure Zürs's skiing stops at 2,440 metres, 482 below Andermatt's 2,922. Seventy four percent of its piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 76, but the top sits 60 metres short of the 2,500 our snow sure test asks for, and we have not made that call either way. There is less black, 6.0 kilometres against 8.3, and we class Zürs as upmarket rather than expert: exclusive, where Andermatt is up and coming.
Ischgl: the closest on the snow
- VillageVillage
- 1,377 m 67 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,872 m 89 m lower
Ischgl: 152 km of piste we measure. 43 km blue and easier 28%83 km red 54%27 km black 18%
Plus 11 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
If the snow half of Andermatt is what you would miss most, Ischgl puts more of its skiing high. It is snow sure on our measure: 90 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, the second biggest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against your 76, and 79 percent is above 2,000, against 64. Half of it sits above 2,363 metres, against 2,122. The top is close to yours, 2,868 metres by our measure, 54 lower, and so is the village, at 1,377 metres, 67 below Andermatt's. The season runs from late November to May.
It is also a great deal more mountain. We measure 152 kilometres of piste around Ischgl, against 61, with 26.8 kilometres of black, the fifth most of the 55 resorts we cover, against 8.3. Thirty four percent is steeper than one in four, against 27, though the reds average 20.7 percent, gentler than your 22.0, and only one Austrian resort we cover has gentler reds. Our matching carries over the share of gentle piste, the village height and the top, and finds the biggest difference in the size.
What you give up is the off piste. There are 10.6 kilometres of marked itinerary against your 21, and we do not tag Ischgl expert. Our read is high energy and snowy, and the nights out are the village's reputation. Its lifts take you over the border into Switzerland, to duty free Samnaun, which makes a good day out but is the opposite of a sleeper.
Off piste is the first thing Andermatt does, and Zürs has more of it, 40.2 kilometres of marked itinerary against 21, in a quiet village 276 metres higher, with nearly the same share of its piste at or above 1,800 metres and the same Zurich flight. Go knowing the skiing stops 482 metres lower, the piste is steeper and the easy ground is thin. If the snow matters more to you than the itinerary, Ischgl, and pack something for the evenings.