St Anton Jobs & Working A Ski Season

St Anton (Sankt Anton am Arlbeg) is located in Tyol, at the western end of Austria, about 50km from the border with Lichtenstein. St Anton is 200km from Zurich in Switzerland and 250km from Munich in Germany. These cities, as well as Innsbruck (100km), act as airport hubs for St Anton.

St Anton is part of the larger Arlberg area of ski resorts which includes St. Anton, St. Christoph, Stuben, Zürs, Lech, Sonnenkopf and Warth-Schröcken. The entire area is connected by buses and the ski lifts.

An Arlberg Ski Pass gives access to all these resorts, including free bus trips within the Arlberg area.

St Anton is often cited as one of the world’s best ski resorts in terms of its terrain and famous nightlife. Getting a job at St Anton promises an amazing winter season for seasonal workers.

Getting There

St Anton is well connected to the Austrian railway network which is centrally located in town and within walking distance to all shops.

From Innsbruck and within Austria, the best way to arrive is by train. You can purchase tickets for the Austrian network at www.oebb.at/en A ticket is around 20 euros one way. From Munich, you could also take the train from the German network www.reiseauskunft.bahn.de And from Zurich, you could take the Swiss train network. Tickets available at www.sbb.ch/en

If you are coming by car, you will need to purchase a ‘vignette’ in order to be allowed to drive on the motorways and the S16. These can be purchased at the border, at petrol stations and at the little shops ‘Trafik’.

There are also shuttle transfers available from a number of Austrian airports as well as Zurich and Munich. Companies include Ski-Express-StAnton, Tyrol Taxi and Arlberg Express.

With the extensive bus network at Arlberg, there is no need for a car at St Anton. Also, the fantastic rail link means that it is possible to go for a weekend into Landeck, Innsbruck and Zurich when you are not working.

St Anton Village and Vibe

St Anton Tyrolean mountain village is home to around 3,000 permanent residents. Together with the neighboring villages of Pettneu, Flirsch and Strengen, these villages contain all the amenities of a world-class ski resort, yet still retain much of their originality and traditional charm.

St Anton has a well-deserved reputation as the après-ski capital of the Alps – a reputation which started in the 1960s with the opening of the famous MooseWirt and Krazy Kanguruh bars.

However, while St Anton is still an amazingly cool town with plenty of parties and a great après-ski scene, it appears the heyday of the St Anton après scene is over. Many of the town’s bars have shut over the past years. The town council seems intent on making St Anton more up-market and turning it into another Lech, replete with high-end shopping and restaurants. This transformation has been led in part by a local push to ‘clean up’ the town and a distaste among locals for the raucous reputation of the town.

Nonetheless, the après scene at St Anton is still the best in the Arlberg region even if it is not what it once was. Fortunately, the town is not overly expensive which is great for seasonal workers, although this may change as the town further gentrifies.

Each season, among seasonal workers there are usually a lot of British and Scandinavians in addition to the Austrians.

The Terrain at St Anton

St Anton has some of the best terrain in Europe and the world. The mountain is mostly wide open, above the tree-line, with huge bowls and open paddocks of powder. There is back country riding even in-bounds and huge spaces to carve.

There is so much terrain here that it would take you a week just to cover the mountain. This is without a doubt one of the best resorts in Austria and probably one of the best in Europe.

There are also plenty of on-piste intermediate cruisers for those working their way up to expert terrain. These cruisers tend to be steeper than other European resorts. The beginner areas are quite challenging for novices, particularly with the large amount of skier traffic to navigate.

The Warth-Schröcken area on the western side is linked up through a two kilometer, 10 person cable car, opening up even more terrain in the area, while the lift between Zürs and Stuben/Rauz means that the entire Arlberg area is accessible with only your skis.

Mountain stats

• 97 lifts in the Arlberg area
• 348 km marked ski runs
• 200 km off-piste option
• Peak altitude: 2,811 m
• Vertical: 1,507 m
• Longest downhill run: Valluga – Ulmer Hütte – St Anton: 9 km
• Snow-making on trails: Arlberg Ski Area 67 % / St. Anton 86 %
• Expert (black) 16 %
• Advanced (red) 41 %
• Beginner (blue) 43 %
• The Loipe network of cross-country runs extends to around 40km.

At Valluga Summit, the runs are genuinely steep and technical. This area is only accessible with a guide, and you will not even be allowed on the lift without a guide. The back and front sides of Rendl are also excellent riding. The ski routes from the back lifts, Valluga and Shindlegrat, are steep but patrolled.

The world cup downhill course goes into Nasserein – from Black 25. Take it and see how crazy these guys actually are.

Snow

Average annual snowfall is around five meters (197 inches). The snowfall is good for the region, but the large number of tourists and local contingent at St Anton mean that obvious powder stashes can get tracked out quickly after a dump.

Crowds

The lift system is mostly modern, although the beginner and intermediate areas still get quite crowded. There is also a rather unfortunate culture of people trying to push ahead in queue lines. On a powder day, all the locals seem to come out and can track out the nicer areas rather quickly.

Snow and Weather

Average annual snowfall is approximately 7 meters. 86 per cent of the pistes in St Anton can be covered with additional artificial snow when the need arises.

Environment

St Anton is dedicated to being environmentally sustainable. Man-made snow at St Anton is environmentally friendly in that the crystals consist only of water, which has been processed to drinking water quality. Regulations stating that no chemicals may be added apply to the whole of Tyrol.

When the melted snow and ice from the artificial snow flows into the brooks and rivers in the spring, it returns to its original state without any damage to the environment.

Furthermore, electricity production from the Kartell Reservoir is stored by use of the existing Rosanna power plant. Due to this, since 2006, St Anton am Arlberg has been self-sufficient in the supply of electricity.

Season Dates

The season usually kicks off in early December and runs until the end of April.

Lift operating times are 8.45/9.00 a.m. to 4/4.30 p.m.

Terrain Park

St Anton has a fairly comprehensive terrain park known as Stanton Park. This has been made in conjunction with the company O’Neill and has already hosted several freestyle competitions.

The park is located directly in front of Rendlbeach terrace bar and restaurant, giving the perfect viewing platform when taking a break. The park has a bunch of rails and features and several very decent, large jumps.

How to Find a Job at St Anton

A list of jobs that are available at St Anton can be found in Landeck at the Labor Service Office:

Arbeitsmarkt Service Landeck Innstr. 12 6500 LANDECK (Labor service Landeck)
Contact person: Mrs Barbara Strobl/Mrs Isabell Förg
Phone: 05442 62616-201 [email protected] | [email protected]
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.00 am – 4.00 pm Friday 8.00 am – 3.00 pm

Information on all jobs in the area is available at www.arlbergjobs.at

The Public Employment Service of Austria has information on getting a job in Austria as well as labor conditions www.ams.at 

Tour operators

Tour operators are a popular choice for those with EU passports although many of the British companies will only hire UK nationals. Some of the major British companies include:

Espirit Holidays | Flexi Ski | Mark Warner | Crystal Holidays

Tour operator jobs in St Anton earn around 100 euros a week, but lots of tips to go on top of that. Transfers mostly go into Innsbruck and aren’t complicated. Lech transfers are horrible after a recent dump as the Arlberg pass closes.

International Applicants

Those with EU passports can work in Austria. See Work a Ski Season in Austria for further information. Speaking German will be a big advantage when going for a job.

Staff Perks

Working for a tour operator, you will get a season pass to all areas, staff accommodation and board hire.

St Anton has a deal with Vail resorts in the US. Season ticket holders can ski the USA ski resorts at Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, Arapahoe Basin and Eldora in Colorado as well as at Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood at Lake Tahoe in California on five consecutive days for free. Holders of the American Epic Pass get the same benefit at St Anton and the Arlberg ski area.

Accommodation and Renting

Staff accommodation is usually provided with all the tour operator jobs, as well as many jobs in town.

The St Anton tourist office has a list of landlords offering accommodation available for the winter season in St Anton and other villages. They are happy to assist if you contact them:

Tourist Information Head Office
Dorfstraße 8
A-6580 St. Anton am Arlberg

Phone: +43 (0) 5446 22690
Fax: +43 (0) 5446 2532
[email protected]

Monday – Friday: 8.00am – 12pm and 1pm – 5pm.
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 9am – 12pm.

Where to Live

St Anton by far is the best place to live out of the towns in the area. It has the best parties and the best bars. There is a gondola from the base of the hill up to the mountain and you can ski all the way back into town if you want.

Pettneu is a second good option which is also linked up by the bus. Nothing is too far away in St Anton and the buses connect well. Most chalets are located in the Nasserein area.

Nightlife in St Anton

Après-ski in St Anton is still great, despite the attempts by the town council to gentrify the resort and make it more up-market, akin to Lech.

People still stop riding at around 2pm or 3pm to start the après-ski. The Krazy Kangaruh (KK) and the MooseWirt are the two most famous bars with dancing on the tables, plenty of beer, shots and Euro Trance. These bars sit opposite each other on the piste which is the home route back into town meaning at around 7pm everyone snowboards down the rest of the way to St Anton village, a sometimes precarious journey!

For early après-ski, Tapps is the first destination for most people. It is part of the same building that houses the KK but has the added bonus of a lovely, sunny balcony which is great late season.

In town, Anthony’s (in the basement of Anthony’s Hotel) is a good place for a beer and it also has live bands while Tom Dooleys bar in Nasserein, which also has live music, is now the place to hang out on that side of town.

Other Tips

There are many events at St Anton each season. Some of the better events each season include:

• The Christmas Market
• New Year’s Concert
• Powder Snow Weeks
• Stanton Ski Open
• “Ladies First” The Feel Good Weeks in January
• Ski-Club Arlberg Week
• Snow Volleyball Tour
• New Orleans meets Snow
• Snow Crystal Days

The season opens with the Krampalar Devil’s Run early December where kids dressed in Halloween gear accompany St Nicolas run around the town.

In town, there are also ice rinks as well as curling halls and ice climbing is possible too. The indoor sports center has tennis, volleyball, squash, bowling, indoor soccer, climbing, bouldering, ice climbing. Simply put, to work a season at St Anton provides you the opportunity to have an unbelievable season combining work and play.