The perfect ski holiday in Obergurgl, Austria’s answer to snow-sure family skiing
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The best places to stay, eat, drink and ski in one of the highest ski villages in Europe. Copy link. twitter. facebook. whatsapp. email. Obergurgl is one of the highest ski villages in Europe, set at 1,930m at the end of the Ötztal valley near the city of Innsbruck. The height of its own slopes, plus a mid-mountain link to neighbouring Hochgurgl, which has slopes going up to 3,080m, make it exceptionally snow sure for Austria, with a winter season that lasts from mid-November until late April.
While the ski area is limited by modern standards, with 112km of piste and 25 lifts, Obergurgl is popular with the British and many families loyally return every winter to the small, traditional village set around an early 18th-century church. There is little traffic and the resort also attracts a wealthy international clientele.
Stay on track with the essential facts from the resort below, and scroll down for our insider guide to a day on the pistes, expert ratings and advice. For further Obergurgl inspiration, see our guides to the resort's best accommodation, restaurants and après ski.
It was not Obergurgl's snow record that first put the little resort on the map, but an aviation accident in the summer of 1931. A Swiss pilot called Auguste Piccard pushed his hot air balloon into the stratosphere to a record height of nearly 16,000m. He then crash landed on the remote Gurgler-Ferner glacier, not far from the village.
Eagle-eyed local mountain guide Hans Falkner spotted the landing in the twilight. The following morning he carried out a heroic rescue, leading the frazzled flyers across the crevasses to safety. The feat received immediate world recognition – and Obergurgl never looked back.
