Worldwide Ski Resorts • Austria • Auffach
Overview
The small village of Auffach is one of the three constituent resorts of the Austrian ski region of Wildschonau (translated into wildly pretty) in the Tirol. While no one could ever pretend that this is a major player in the winter sports destination stakes, it is a remarkably quiet and beautiful region that is much favoured by beginners and families alike. It is a quaint little place of traditional appearance and life goes by at a very gentle pace. Facilities are limited, but there are enough shops, bars and restaurants to make a stay comfortable, so long as you are not looking for too much sophistication. There is a sufficiency of accommodation ranging from some pleasant, medium grade hotels and a number of excellent, friendly guest houses. The other villages in the Wildschonau range are Niederau (the largest) and Oberau, both a bus ride away.
Profile
The resort stands at 830m and provides access to only 19km of local pistes reached by a gondola from the village, but a total of 64km of pistes throughout the Wildschonau region. These are served by a network of 29 lifts, although of these, only 3 are slow chairs or gondola, the rest being drags. The other disadvantage is that the other villages are not linked by lift and transfers are made by bus. The entire region is relatively low and snow cover is not guaranteed although Auffach, being the highest village, fares better than its neighbours.
The local slopes tend to be mostly blues and reds, although over at Niederau, there are some unpisted routes and a very much overgraded black run. Needless to say, there is nothing here that will challenge the advanced skier. Undemanding intermediates however have a good choice of comfortable runs throughout the region and beginners are well served by some excellent nursery slopes and a wide choice of progression runs to move on to. Snow boarders have a small terrain park and a half pipe above the village, but cross country skiers have no facilities here. The ski school is adequate.
Mountain Information
Auffach’s local slopes continue above the tree line and are quite wide and open, although there are some interesting tree lined slopes that lead back towards the village. It has one of the best red runs in the region. For the rest of the Wildschonau, the slopes at Oberau and Niederau are mainly wooded and undemanding and short. Paragliding from the slopes is available. There are a few pleasant mountain restaurants, although most skiers return to the villages for lunch.
Apres Ski
This is a friendly, family focused village. There are a total of 8 bars and a nightclub. All of them are good fun, but do not expect to be up late. There are a few other pursuits off the slopes to investigate, including a bowling alley and an ice rink.
Austrian Resort Guide
Resort Information • Auffach
 |
Resort Height | 830m |
 |
Top Station | 1903m |
 |
Bottom Station | 828m |
|
Vertical Descent | 1075m |
 |
Drag Lifts | 9 |
 |
Chair Lifts | 0 |
 |
High Capacity | 2 |
 |
Opening Dates | Dec-April |
 |
Rating Expert | 2 |
 |
Rating Intermediate | 5 |
 |
Rating Beginner | 7 |
 |
Apres Ski Rating | 5 |
 |
Snow Reliability | 6 |
