St. Anton, in the Austrian Tirol, is one of the world’s best known resorts. Its serious terrain attracts the hard-core skiers, putting it up there alongside Chamonix and Jackson Hole, and it has hosted the Alpine Skiing World Championships on several occasions, most recently in 2001. St. Anton’s reputation also extends to its famous après ski scene too with the Krazy Kanguruh a strong contender for the title of ‘the Alps most legendary ski bar’ for nearly 50 years. But this cult ski resort isn’t all about tough skiing and hard partying. Its broad appeal has expanded along with the Arlberg ski area, which now stretches to 340km of pistes (one of the six largest ski areas in the world) and offers skiing for all abilities. Off the slopes, you’ll find a wide range of shopping, dining and accommodation with plenty of luxury/gourmet choices, excellent leisure facilities and a pedestrianised centre. St. Anton is also one of the few ski areas that can claim to be where it all began: the Arlberg Technique of downhill skiing, which developed here over a century ago, is basically the style we’re all skiing now. Pioneer and local boy Hannes Schneider took the technique on a world tour to Japan and the USA, spreading the sport of skiing around the planet, the rest, as they say, is history. BASE: 4278ft SUMMIT: 9222ft VERTICAL DROP: 4416ft NO. OF. LIFTS: 79 Gondolas: 11 Chairs: 37 Surface: 31