March 16, 2025

Solden - Austria Winter Trip 8th Feb - 15th Feb 2025

Solden Austria Winter Trip 8th Feb - 15th Feb 2025

Solden - Otzal:

So prior to the trip being booked in i can't say id ever heard of this area/resort ? its situated in the Tyrol province "which i have of course heard of after already visiting many resorts in this province - Saalbach -Hinterglem - Hintertux - Mayrhofen to name a few".

After researching the Solden area i kicked myself for not knowing it.... after all it was heavily featured in the 2015 Blockbuster movie - SPECTRE "james bond".

Screen shot from : soelden.com

Travel & Arrival:

So for us it was Flights from Birmingham, UK to Innsbruk. Austria. Innsbruk is always a joy to fly into as its nestled between the mountains and the views flying in and out are beautiful..... The landing on the other hand wasn't the cleanest with a few choice words from the passengers.

Bags all sorted and onto the transfer bus "approx 1 hour 30mins" so not to bad at all and a really easy route if you were to hire and drive in.

We arrived around 5.30pm got check into the hotel (hotel erhart) so we didn't get to explore to much the first day, but we got our Barings ready for the morning and the first day on the mountain.

Solden Lifts / Ski Area:

From the town of Solden you have two lift stations to choose from - Gaislachkoglbahn and Giggijochbahn which are either end of the main street.

For us it was a short walk over one of the many bridges crossing the Otztaler Ache river, This then put us the correct side of the river for the main town and lift stations.

From where we were positioned it was a quick walk to either lift but buses are also provided as you'd expect and these are covered by the lift pass. "often much quicker to walk during busy periods"

The Gaislachkoglbahn lift takes you up to a middle station of 2174m and to the top of Gaislachkogl at 3058m which is where you will find the 007 Elements " more info further below" This mountain area offers a mix of runs and also includes the Rodelbahn "sledge / toboggan run" which runs from the middle station and is around 7.3Km in length and is really fun, Sledges can be hired from many different places in town.

The Giggijochbahn lift takes you up to 2284m and this point is generally a busy spot with ski schools, Restaurants and Facilities. From here you can carry on up to the black runs at Hainbachjoch 2727 or to the funslope, and speed runs off of lift C36. You can also access the park from here and the C35 lift to Rotkoglijoch 2662m , Its also from here you can start making your way accross to Tiefenbachkogl 3309m / Schwarze Schneid 3250m and Tiefenbach Gletscher.

***Note if snowboarding keep up speed to clear the ski tunnel at the top.

Above- Kris and myself on the Tiefenbachkogl observation deck/ view point 3309m.

Below- views from the same deck but on a clear day earlier in the week.

This side offers some lovely wide runs which are mostly blue but still really fun with some decent gradient to keep you moving, also a black FIS ski worldcup run run "31".

Its also from this side you can start the longest run in Solden and in fact Austria, It starts at the top of Schwarze Schneid 3250m and runs 15Km down to the Gaislachkoglbahn station. "you can complete the black FIS worldcup run within this run"

***Note on a snowboard you need to be competent on the flat spots as the middle of this run does flatten out a bit and although we were all ok, we did see several people un-clipping and walking.

Piste map correct 2025.

The whole area above covers approx. 144km of groomed slopes and is the only ski area in Austria to have three peaks higher than 3000meters that are easily accessible by lift.

Whilst we were in Solden we also took a bus with a journey time of around 15 minutes to Obergurgl 1930m and Hochgurgl 2150m this area then offers a further combined 112km of piste and also has a motorbike museum "more info further down below"

We had been told of a great après bar/hut in this area but unfortunately never made it - Nederhutte / down from the hohe mut bahn top station and apparently a free skidoo back to the village if you've had a little to much!

The above area also seemed to offer plenty of parking in case your driving in yourself from solden.

so that's a very brief run down of the ski area and it has a lot more to offer than what i can write here.

007 ELEMENTS - A JAMES BOND CINEMATIC INSTALLATION:

As mentioned above, parts of SPECTRE "2015" were filmed here so they have installed a great exhibit at the top of Gaislachkogl 3058m. This is free to enter with a 6 day lift pass and 100% worth taking a look inside, You can also pay to enter if you don't have the correct pass.

Above - View from the roof as we awaited the next entry "small videos/clips are played through the exhibit"

Models showing how some of the amazing scenes were captured.

Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum- Hochgurgl 2150m:

This was a real treat to find, Sharing the same building as the Kirchenkarbahn lift station and also free with a 6 day lift pass. the museum boasts over 550 motorcycles as well as other vehicles.

It would be a fantastic place to visit if you find your self touring the area on motorcycle.

As you can see, its a huge display with a lot of variety and the building is stunning to!

Hotel :

We stayed at Hotel ERHART "4 star", and had a great stay. Traditional family run Austrian style with friendly staff, clean rooms and good quality food, although sometimes a little random .

The hotel had a kit room as expected with heated boot racks, but also offered a small gym, sauna, steam room, hot tub and wellness area

The overall feeling was warm and welcoming and the bar was reasonably priced.

Overview:

Over all a fantastic week, due to the altitude the area is pretty snow sure. We had enough and a little top up whilst in resort but we always want for more and dream of those deep powder mornings but that's down to luck and no fault of the resort of course.

The town offers plenty of choice for food and drink although we didn't find après like you would in other areas, That being said they do throw an après party on the Friday at Giggijoch 2284m which i only caught the end of but looking at the state of the rest of the group they'd had a good time.

Most beer seemed to range from about 6 to 7 euros and food prices were to be expected, a meal on the mountain with a beer sitting around 35 to 40 euros.

Buses, 007 elements and motorbike museum all included in the lift pass so that was a treat.

Suitable for all abilities and not to many flat spots to be concerned about if they catch you out.

Resort size was a concern but having the chance to ride at Obergurgl as well made up for it.

As for family trips its well suited with several ski schools, fun slopes and a variety of wide gentle slopes.

The area also looks to be fantastic for the spring/ summer season offering 300km of marked hiking trails taking you beyond 3000m as well as mountain biking / pump tracks / enduro tracks and more.

Which brings us i think to the end of this post!... we hope its been of some use for anyone planning a trip or looking for a new resort to try.

We'll leave you with a few more pics from the trip below.