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LECH-ZÜRS
TOURIST OFFICE
A-6764 Lech Nr. 2
Austria
Tel: (43) 5583/2160-0 Fax: (43) 5583/3155
URL: lech-zuers.at
Email: info@lech-zuers.at
ARLBERG
Lech caters to the lower level skier but offers challenges to the advanced adventurer in off-piste runs. Two separate villages with Lech the larger, but Zürs the more sophisticated.
Elevation: Base/Village: Lech 1,450 m (4,757 ft); Zürs 1,720 m (5,643 ft); Top: Lech 2,444 m (8,018 ft); Zürs 2,450 m (8,036 ft)
Vertical: Lech 944 m (3,097 ft); Zürs 730 m (2,395 ft)
Longest Run: 5 km (3.1 mi), Madloch
Terrain: 110 km (68 mi) of Groomed runs; 120 km (74 mi) of off-piste runs; 25% beginner, 40% intermediate, 35% advanced
Skiing Circus: Lech to Zürs and return via separate route; via Madloch - "The White Circus"; also connects to Oberlech and Zug
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Lifts: 32 local, 85 in Arlberg region
Types: 4 gondolas, 17 chairlifts (5 quads, 5 triples, 7 doubles), 11 T-bars
Lift Capacity: 47,728 p/h
Ski Season: Late Nov-early Dec until late April
Cross Country: 27 km (17 mi) of track
Ski School: Oberlech, Lech, & Zürs/400 instructors
Other Winter Activities: Curling; helicopter skiing; ice skating/natural; indoor tennis; mono-skiing; paragliding; snowboarding; sleigh riding, Nordic walking, hiking, tobogganing, indoor ice skating, squash
Après-Ski: 16 Bars, 20 ice bars, 3 discos, 10 cafes, concerts
Shopping/Services: All services available, bars, cafes, restaurants, sport shops, grocery, rental shops
Credit Cards: Cards accepted at shop-owners discretion: AE, DC, EC, MC, VISA
Child Care: Ages 4-15, kids’ ski school for 6 days 170 euros; same for nursery
Lodging: 8,900 beds overall; 3,699 in five and four-star hotels, 2,765 in three-star, 967 in two-star, 531 in private homes, 459 in apartments
Transportation: Gateway airports: Zurich 200 km (124 mi); Munich 330 km (205 mi); also Friedrichshafen 125 (77 mi)
By Auto from airport: Bludenz, Langen, Zürs, Lech
By Ski Bus from airport: Zürich to Zürs/Lech every Friday, Saturday & Sunday
By bus daily from Friedrichshafen
By Train: Zürich or Munich to Langen, then bus or taxi to Lech or Zürs
Best Deal: Low season discounts
Rates: See Rates section
Spotlight On Lech-Zürs |
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(Originally written for OnTheSnow.com) |
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If you like to look, try your luck in Lech. This charming village in Vorarlberg, the westernmost state in Austria, is where the beautiful people come to ski and be seen. But bring money if you plan to compete with their lifestyles. They stay in five star hotels, dine in the best restaurants, and dominate the lively après ski scene.
However, if you come primarily to ski, it is possible to enjoy Lech without feeling like a poor relative. Less expensive accommodations and meals are available and the stream that runs along the main street of the village will be as attractive to you as it is to animated folks at the ice bar. The skiing is mostly intermediate caliber on carefully manicured, ego building terrain. To folks watching from above on high-speed chairs, you can look just as elegant as the guys and gals in their Bogner outfits. Three-mile runs and 3,000 feet verticals are among the possibilities in the circus that connects Lech with Zürs, a smaller, quieter, more exclusive resort. In Zürs you can stay in the sun all day on treeless slopes by working both sides of the valley. Heady off-piste stuff also is available in both resorts. Zürs, more than 5,600 feet high, gets abundant snowfalls. Some really fierce terrain lurks in ambush just a short car or bus ride over the mountain to Stuben and St. Anton. A common ski pass opens gates at 85 lifts in the Arlberg region. You also can people watch at lunch on terraces of hotels in Oberlech, a cluster of buildings adjacent to the slopes, some of which are in the trees. A unique attraction for skiers who opt to stay above the main village is an underground tunnel that connects some of the hotels and uses electric carts to move luggage. Lech is one of 12 resorts in five alpine countries that jointly promote themselves as “Best of the Alps.” And in this case no one can quarrel with that self-declaration. For American skiers, Zurich, Switzerland, is the closest gateway to Lech. |
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