Sölden

Our Take

Sölden in the Ötztal is Austria's answer to the question of what happens when you combine a legitimate glacier ski area with a World Cup racing pedigree and a nightlife reputation that has generated its own Wikipedia controversy. The Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers above Sölden are where the Alpine Skiing World Cup season opens every October -- the only standing glacier start on the circuit -- and the same terrain is available to recreational skiers with appropriate humility about the pitch and conditions. The ski area has three separate zones: the main Sölden mountain with 40km of pistes including World Cup-level black runs, the Gaislachkogel summit at 3,048 meters with dramatic views of the Ötztal Alps, and the two glaciers at 3,250 meters (Rettenbach) and 3,150 meters (Tiefenbach) reachable by tunnel bus in the glacier season. The vertical range from glaciers to valley base at 1,350 meters approaches 2,000 meters -- substantial even by Alpine standards. The World Cup races in October are the resort's annual main event, drawing international media and the associated chaos. Non-race-week Sölden is one of Austria's best skiing.

Nerd Stats

Fun Facts

• The Ötztaler World Cup races in late October open the Alpine Skiing World Cup season every year -- the Rettenbach glacier is the only standing glacier opener on the circuit.
• The Ötzi glacier mummy was discovered in 1991 near Sölden in the Ötztal Alps -- the 5,300-year-old Iceman is now in a museum in Bolzano, IT.
• Sölden served as the filming location for the James Bond film Spectre (2015) -- the opening glacier chase sequence was shot on the Rettenbach.
• The Gaislachkogel summit restaurant, Ice Q, was Bond's 'medical research center' in Spectre and actually serves food between cinematically dramatic shots.