Discovering Sölden: The Ultimate Ski Destination
Updated: Aug 6
Few ski resorts in Europe combine early-season glacier skiing, massive terrain, modern lifts, and a lively alpine town quite like Sölden, Austria. Located in the Ötztal Valley, about 45 minutes west of Innsbruck, Sölden has transformed from a quiet farming village into one of Austria’s most powerful and dependable ski destinations — all while retaining its mountain soul.
Meet Theresa
In this episode of Where to Ski, host John Morgan is joined by Theresa Strein, a Tyrolean local who grew up just up the road from Sölden and now works in the ski industry. Her insights reveal why Sölden continues to attract everyone from first-time skiers to freeriders chasing deep powder days.
A Ski Resort Built on Reliable Snow
What sets Sölden apart is its consistency. The resort spans three mountains and two glaciers — the Rettenbach Glacier and Tiefenbach Glacier — allowing skiing to begin as early as late September or October. While much of Europe waits for snow, Sölden is already making turns.
With over 140 kilometers of pistes, a vertical drop exceeding 2,000 meters, and extensive snowmaking covering roughly 80% of the ski area, Sölden remains one of the most reliable ski resorts in Austria well into spring, often staying open until May.
Intermediate Skiing Done Right
Despite its size, Sölden is exceptionally friendly to intermediate skiers. Areas like Giggijoch and Gaislachkogl feature wide, flowing runs perfect for easing back into ski season or spending full days exploring without repetition.
A classic intermediate day starts early: ride the gondola at 8:00 a.m., head straight to the glacier while crowds are still waking up, enjoy perfectly groomed slopes, and then work your way down the mountain through varied terrain, forests, and panoramic viewpoints.
Off-Piste and Freeride Adventures
While Sölden may not be the first destination that comes to mind for freeriding, locals know better. With terrain on all aspects of Gaislachkogl, snow sticks around long after storms pass. When conditions align, Sölden delivers unforgettable powder days — including deep, light snow that surprises visitors who underestimate Austria’s interior Alps.
Theresa emphasizes that guides matter, especially after storms or windy periods. Snow stability, wind loading, and aspect selection can change rapidly, and local knowledge can unlock incredible lines while keeping skiers safe.
Hochsölden: Ski-In, Ski-Out and Secret Lines
Above the main town sits Hochsölden, a quieter enclave ideal for early starts. Ski-in/ski-out lodging allows skiers to access runs like the steep Kanonenrohr early in the day before traffic builds below. When conditions are right, discreet freeride zones off Hochsölden offer some of the valley’s most rewarding terrain.
A Town That Knows How to Après
Sölden isn’t just a ski area — it’s a full-energy alpine town. Once a sleepy village, it now features hotels, pensions, restaurants, and bars buzzing with international energy. Après-ski here is legendary, both on the mountain and in town, yet it remains optional rather than overwhelming.
From traditional huts serving Kaiserschmarrn and schnitzel to high-end dining at Ice Q — famously featured in a James Bond film — Sölden delivers a food scene as diverse as its terrain.
When to Ski Sölden
October–November: Early glacier skiing, training atmosphere, quiet town.
December–January: Full mountain opens, holiday crowds possible.
February–March: Best balance of snow, sun, and coverage.
April–May: Spring skiing, long days, glacier laps.
Starting early is key. Theresa notes that skiing between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. often means empty slopes and perfect snow before people show up.
Conclusion: Why Sölden Should Be Your Next Ski Destination
Sölden offers a unique blend of reliable snow, diverse terrain, and vibrant après-ski culture. Whether you're an intermediate skier looking for smooth runs or a freerider seeking untouched powder, Sölden has something for everyone.
Hit the link above to listen to the whole episode and discover more about this incredible destination.
Episode Transcript
Here we go, this time to Sölden, Austria. This is Where to Ski and I'm John Morgan, your host. Today we're joined by Theresa Strein.
Sölden is in the Ötztal Valley, about 45 minutes west of Innsbruck in the Tirol region of Austria, easily accessible from Innsbruck, Zurich, and Munich. It's grown from a sleepy town to one of Austria's powerhouse ski towns. It wasn't always like that, though.
Started as a mountain town based on agriculture, mostly wool, cheese, and butter, and evolved to a mountaineer's town, and then to a sleepy ski town in the 1980s, where Austrians and those in the know came here to get some of the skiing on Austria's highest peaks. From there, it just grew, thanks in part to being a location for a James Bond movie. Sölden is also the main ski center in a valley with lots of skiing, which includes Hochgurgl, Obergurgl, which we covered in another episode,
Sölden itself covers three mountains and two glaciers. Skiing starts in October on the glaciers, moves to the whole mountain in December on both man-made and natural snow, and they usually stay open until like May. Some of Austria's most modern lifts serve over 140 kilometers of runs with a vertical of over 2,000 meters.
Then there's the off-piste skiing. Personally, I had one of those days to remember at Sölden, skiing deep powder after a five-day snowstorm. It isn't known for deep snow, but it does keep it, making it one of the most reliable ski resorts in Austria.
Sölden can also be one of the liveliest in the Alps, with some serious partying in town and on the hill. Our guest today is Teresa Strein. She grew up in Wundt, just up the road from Sölden, and she just loves this place.
She's seen it grow from that sleepy town to one of Austria's major resorts, and she knows the skiing in the Ötztal Valley like the back of her hand. She spent time away for her studies and returned to Ötztal Valley to work. Now she enjoys spending a lot of time away from the groomed runs, freeriding, and touring the amazing terrain.
So after this quick break, we'll talk to Teresa and find out about the real Sölden.
Maybe you can tell our listeners a little bit about some of your own ski history and how you ended up in Sölden. Yeah, I mean, I'm born in Austria, I'm born in Tyrol, and I was raised in a small village near Sölden and started skiing very early. I mean, it's like a backyard.
You start walking and afterwards you start skiing. First of all, at my hometown, afterwards I also was a ski teacher for the little guys there. And after my studies in Innsbruck, I ended up in Sölden at the Cable Car Company.
And that's where I started to love Sölden for what it is, for a really broad offer of slopes, of off-piste, of mountains. The diversity is what impresses me the most. As I come from a village where only four lifts are going up and 15-piste kilometers.
So it's very, very small and you come to Sölden and it's the broad piste and also the glacier area. So the amount of possibilities you have is why I stayed in Sölden now for almost seven years now. Yeah, the glacier is what makes it really different because you can open up early and the glacier skiing can be really, really nice.
You get those beautiful fall days up there. It's spectacular. Yeah, as we start already by the end of September, beginning of October, depending on the snow conditions, you can start very early into the skiing season at our glaciers, Tiefenbach and Rettenbach Glacier.
Rettenbach Glacier is more for the pros or advanced skiers as there is also the World Cup slope opening the FIS Ski World Cup by the end of October. And you have the Tiefenbach Glacier, which is pretty nice because it's sunny the whole day. With its broad piste, you get space, you can enjoy wide and easy runs down.
So you can choose what you want, if it's a quite adventurous day or a relaxed day with some, I don't know, drinks at the bar afterwards. I love it there. Yeah, and the mountain is opening, I guess, this weekend, the whole mountain, or at least a lot of the mountain is opening this weekend, right? Yes, today, yesterday, it was Thursday yesterday, we opened up the Giggijoch area.
So now you don't have to drive up to the glacier on your own or by bus. So now you can take the Giggijoch gondola and come to the glacier quite, how do I say, quite comfortable. You start with the gondola, afterwards we have our new Silberbründel.
We made it from a four-seater up to an eight-seater, which takes you to the glacier much faster. Also the Einseigerlift, you know, the small part where everyone had to wait until he gets to the glacier. Now we adapted also this lift from a four to an eight-seater.
And in this case, you're pretty fast inside, pretty fast at the glacier now. That's a lot of new equipment that's gone up, isn't it? Yeah, and this weekend is the first you can try both new lifts in Sölden. Yeah, and to give our listeners sort of a reference point, we're recording this on the 14th of November.
So that's pretty early for a full area opening, especially in Austria. Now, going into the valley, getting up there, it's pretty cool. You get to Otz and then you drive up this valley.
It's a pretty chill valley. You just drive. It's nice.
It's great driving, unless you get caught speeding like I did years ago. A couple of times. You're not the only one.
But you go through a couple of small towns and then you just get into this really charming village of Sölden. And it's gotten, you know, it used to be a sleepy, sleepy little town. Now it's got to be quite a vibrant village.
There's a lot of hotels, a lot of pensions. There's a lot of restaurants and bars. So it's really quite grown in the last few years.
But it's just stunningly beautiful there. Yeah, of course. I mean, as they started building the first lifts about 75 years ago, it was a small village with farmers and cows and things like that.
And now, as you mentioned, we have this whole energy now. We have lots of hotels, restaurants. In the evening, people are stumbling through the town, walking through the town, enjoying good restaurants, enjoying some bars.
And also the locals enjoy going out in the evening when the winter season started. Because in between, it could be quite charming again if just a few people are here and it's calm again. But as soon as the ski area opens, you got all these guests back in town.
And the whole atmosphere is, how do you say, it's vibrant. It's really nice in the evening, getting together also with people all over the world. So Sölden isn't that small village it was years ago.
But it's now some kind of city, a small city in the middle of the Alps. Yeah, it's turned into a real powerhouse. Sölden didn't turn up on people's radar like some of the other large ski areas in Austria until a few years ago.
Now, you've got Sölden, you've got the two gurgles up above. There's a lot of skiing up there and it's getting a lot of skiers going to it. Let's talk a little bit about the skiing.
Oh, yeah. Let's take the easy part first. There's a lot of intermediate and beginner skiing at Sölden.
And you talked a little bit about that up on the glaciers. But a lot of the mountain, I'd say half or two thirds, is geared toward intermediate skiers. Which makes it really attractive for a lot of families.
Yes, despite the Tiefenbach Glacier, we also have the Giggijoch, I already mentioned, with its broad piece. And as you know it, it's perfect to start. It's perfect to have a look.
Okay, how are my skills doing after a long summer at home? And yeah, I saw it yesterday on the live cams, because unfortunately I didn't make it to the mountains yesterday. But lots of people already got up, already tested the new lifts and already had their first drinks at the terraces. And it's perfect to start into winter.
It's perfect to get your first turns back on ski. So what would be a good day, a good route for someone who's, let's say, an intermediate to take during the day? Yeah, as I said, starting at the Giggijoch, you go up by the Gondola in the morning. We start at eight o'clock, so there's enough time to use the whole day or to seize the day.
You go up maybe with a little breakfast at one of our restaurants in the ski area, that's also possible. And go directly into the glacier area. Because, I mean, it's a very broad ski area.
It's a wide ski area, as we have three different mountains up there. Next to the glacier, we have Giggijoch and Geyserkogel. And if you want to explore all of the parts, you have to get into the glacier pretty early to enjoy every ride you want.
I would say afterwards you have lunch at one of our over 30 restaurants and huts in the ski area. And there's definitely something for everyone. We have this classic traditional mountain hut, where you get your Kaiserschmarrn or some Schnitzel.
And we also have some modern restaurants like the Ice Q or the Falcon restaurant, both at the Geyserkogel, where you can enjoy a really good cuisine. For example, the Ice Q is already a premier restaurant up on 3000 meters. And that's the thing, you can choose.
You can choose if you want to take the original way or you can choose to enjoy your martini up on 3000 meters. After a couple of martinis, I'd take the gondola down. I wouldn't be skiing to have it down.
That's right. And after lunch, you take your last turns. For example, at Tiefenbach, where you, as already mentioned, have a lot of sun, enjoy the last sun rays until you get back out and go down the Geyserkogel.
It's for the intermediate drivers or skiers, but you can also enjoy different runs. You can go through the forest, you can go on steep slopes, you can go outside and have a last look to the mountains like Wildspitz or Similaun, which are two of the highest mountains around the valley. And I think the panoramic view to end the day is my highlight before you get back to town.
Nothing like a schnapps and then going and looking at the scenery. If not too many martinis before the schnapps. It's a little more classic.
On to advanced skiers. There's a lot of skiing there. I've had some of the best powder skiing I've ever had in my life in Sölden.
We went skiing after a five-day snowstorm in November, and it was the type of skiing where if we'd had snorkels, we would have used them. You take a breath and you ski as far as you can in that breath because you couldn't breathe because it was so much really light snow. Is that sort of normal in Sölden? Of course, because Sölden isn't that well known for free skiing.
We do not really promote it as we want to have our secret spots. But as you already mentioned, there are a lot of runs, especially at the Geisler Kugelmountain. I don't know where you have been in Sölden, but the Geisler Kugelmountain, there are runs on all sides of it.
You have one side going down to the Rettenbach Valley, where you come back from the glacier. There are some nice turns. You get the front.
If you go down from the top of the Geisler Kugel back to the middle station, you have really nice runs. You can also go on the other side, looking to Obergurgel, Hochgurgel. On that side, you also have... Every side is different.
Every side is... How do I say it? It's really adventurous. There are so many runs. Also me, I didn't do every run.
I have one or two on my to-do list still. For example, on the glacier, you also have pretty nice runs. If it had at least 20 or 30 centimeters of snow, you can have lots of runs down the glacier face or what's left of it.
Tell me, where did you go for your freeride runs? I would be interested to know. This was a big dump. It was about 150-180 centimeters over a couple of days.
We drove up toward the... They finally opened the road to the glacier. It was off to the right of the road, almost to the glacier. We just got out.
We skied over a bit. Then we just dropped down. We just tore it apart for about an hour.
I still remember it now. It was, I think, one of those days of skiing that you always remember. We don't want to talk about it, but the second winter of COVID was amazing.
It had snowed for days. We had time because we were working just part-time. There were no people from outside.
It was just Austrians or Tyrolean people allowed to come to Sölden. That was the most impressive winter I ever had because everything fits together. If you have time, if you have snow, and if you have all the space for yourself.
I don't know. Maybe another winter will come like this, but this one will definitely stay in my mind for the rest of my life. You had fun that winter.
You weren't sitting in some room all locked down. Even better. No.
As soon as they opened up, the borders still were closed, but we were allowed to go out and do everything. We were the lucky ones getting so much snow. Nobody had seen in the past years.
Amazing. There's a lot of the areas groomed. You get a dump and they'll groom out a lot of it, especially up on the glaciers.
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Global Rescue, pack your peace of mind. How would you do a day of doing the frontside skiing, looking at groomed runs on a nice day? Difficult to say. If you're on the glacier and you get these perfectly groomed slopes in the morning, and you get up by the Schwarzeschneidbahn at Rettenbach Glacier and take the first run through the glacier tunnel, you know it, right? Yes.
And on the other side, this panoramic view opens up. You get out by the first rays of the sun and take the first round down these groomed slopes and get outside in some, yeah, more or less powder runs. I don't know how I should say it.
Okay, sorry. That's okay. No, no.
It sounds like the first place to start is on the glacier and work your way down. If the glacier road is still open, I would definitely start at the glacier to get… Now, one place I've never skied over there was above Hochsölden. What's that like up there? Yeah.
Hochsölden, I mean, is perfect if you enjoy skiing in and skiing out. If you are a person that says, okay, I'm going to Sölden, I want to leave the car at home and I want to get up early, get out of the hotel directly on the slopes and can go from the slopes directly back to my room. There are some runs down.
It's called the Kanonenrohr. So, it's the cannon, yeah, barrel of the gun, for example, if you want to say it like James Bond, where you get a very steep slope to start and afterwards in some kind of valley and it's pretty nice to go down there. You have on the left side all the hotels of Hochsölden and enjoy some runs on your own because most of the people are already at Giggijoch or are at the glacier because they want to enjoy the broad pistes and also the views.
And you have some time on your own as soon as they get back from there. So, I really enjoy this slope and I also enjoy on the other side of Hochsölden, you get some pretty nice free ride runs if the snow is really good. So, that's one of our secret spots.
That looks pretty good up there. I thought that might be sort of a spot to hit, especially in the morning and just be able to ski it with no one around. Yeah.
I mean, as I said, if you're sleeping in one of the hotels or I think there are one or two apartment houses up there, you can go on the slopes as soon as you want if they're ready with preparation. You don't want to ski in the dark. I was never a fan of skiing in the dark.
I never would. No night skiing for you. How do you ski this mountain over the course of a day? Some mountains you ski with the sun.
Some mountains you ski and avoid the sun. How does this work with Sölden? Do you try and stay with the sun and let it soften up some of the groomed runs? I assume it depends whether you ski powder or not. Yeah.
I mean, the ski area of Sölden is on the sunny side of the valley, so you get the sun really early and you have to start early if you want to avoid it. What is a possibility to get later down on the slopes or without sun is the Rettenbach Glacier. There's the sun very late.
And also, as I said, from the Geisdachkogel, if you get down to the glacier valley, the Rettenbach Valley, it's also without sun pretty long, especially in the winter months. So these would be some areas I would hit if I want to avoid the sunny days or sunny hours. Now, going back to some of the off piece, the free riding, does it help to have a guide if you're going there as a visitor? I would assume it helps to have a guide take you and show you where the good stuff is and to keep you out of trouble.
Of course. Of course, yeah. I mean, the father of my boyfriend is a skiing instructor and also a mountaineering guide.
I mean, I grew up here, but he's showing us new lines, new rides every winter, I guess, because a guide, he knows the area in a different way. He knows where to run if the weather is not good, or he knows what the wind did to the snow in the past days. These are things I'm not quite sure about.
So if I go out and want to go free riding and, for example, there was a lot of wind the past days, I wouldn't be sure to go into a side on my own or into a line on my own. So I would also prefer getting a guide or someone who has the experience for the lines and for the faces. It also keeps you out of some of the trouble, too.
If you get into a lot of snow, you can get into avalanche situations, and that's no fun. No. They know how to keep you out of that trouble.
Can you ski down into town, directly into town in midwinter? Yeah, of course. I mean, at the moment, we don't have the valley runs open as there is not enough snow in the lower parts. But normally, by the end of November, beginning of December, we expect that they will be open.
We also do a lot of artificial snow. About 80% of the area can be... That's huge. That's huge, yeah.
We invested lots of work and money into getting things done. Because, I mean, at the moment, it's like that. In the higher parts, we have very good snow and perfect for skiing.
But down in the valley, it's still green and it's still autumn. I mean, it's pretty at the moment. It's red, it's green, it's orange.
Every color is there at the moment. But we need to prepare already the slopes with some artificial snow so that the natural snow stays longer and easier on the slopes. So, when you get big dumps of snow, you're not a far drive or a far trip from Innsbruck.
You can take the train and go to Otz and take the bus up. Or you can just jump in a car and drive. Or even from, say, Munich, it's not a long trip.
Does it get really crowded on some of the holidays? I remember some of the German holidays got really crowded. German holidays and Saturdays are a perfect example. Because people are going back home, people are arriving.
Saturday is the typical switchover day. And also because Obergurgel-Hochgurgel is the next village. So, you also get the people from Obergurgel-Hochgurgel that have to drive to Sölden to get to Gorgel.
And, yeah, sometimes it's really crowded. But the tourism office and also the Bad Baden-Kemper car company, we are working on alternatives. So, the bus, the local bus, is going every half an hour, for example.
Or there's another bus that doesn't stop at every village, but it stops at the bigger villages to get the people faster to Sölden from the train station, for example. So, we want to move people from the cars to the buses and to the trains to get it less crowded, especially on weekends. How would you ski on a crowded day in Sölden? Where would you head to first to avoid all the people? I would take the first gondola at 8 o'clock in the morning at the Geisler Kugel.
Because it starts earlier than, I mean, the gondolas from the valley, Geisler Kugel and Giggijoch, start early at 8 o'clock. And afterwards, you have to look, okay, what's the next lift I can go up? And at the Geisler Kugel, you can take the next gondola, the 3S Geisler Kugel, up to the mountain at 8.10, 8.15. And if you manage to take one of the first gondolas, you have a perfect sunrise ride from 3,000 meters down to the valley. As soon as you are at the middle station, don't go down straight away.
Take the right part up to Heidealm. And, yeah, that's where you avoid the crowds until 10 o'clock. At 10 o'clock, you know, okay, now the ski schools are coming, other people from breakfast are coming.
So my tip is get the time from 8 to 10 to get as many runs as possible. That makes perfect sense. And that happens a lot in a lot of places where you get a powder day or something like that, and people just want to be there and beat them out and get the skiing in and, you know, quit a little early.
What's the best part of skiing in Soln for you? The best part of skiing, I mean, as I said, getting up early, taking the first runs, especially at Heidealm, Heidebahn. I really like these slopes and pistes down there with the river.
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