Skiing in Obergurgl, Austria
Obergurgl is a village in the Ötztal Alps in Tyrol, Austria. Located in the municipality of Sölden, the village has approximately 400 year-round inhabitants, and is mainly a tourist resort.
At an elevation of 1,930 m (6,330 ft), Obergurgl is the highest parish in Austria. The parish church was consecrated in 1737, and in 1967 extensions were added based on plans by Clemens Holzmeister.
Obergurgl forms part of the ski resort area of Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and lies at the southern end of the Ötztal Gurglertal valley, the longest side valley off the Inntal valley. It is a popular hiking area during the summer, with hanging valleys to the east that lead over into the Italian province of South Tyrol. There are numerous peaks over 3,500 m (11,500 ft) and several glaciers, which offer the more adventurous hikers a challenge.
The “Diamond of the Alps”, as the secluded mountain village with international flair proudly calls itself, owes its great appeal to sun-flooded slopes between 1800 and 3080 meters above sea level, top modern mountain lifts without any waiting times plus top-class hotels and mountain restaurants. Thanks to its altitude, Obergurgl-Hochgurgl is one of the first winter ski resorts in Austria to open the season in mid-November, offering 25 mountain lifts and 112 immaculate slope kilometers for skiing, snowboarding and freeriding – promising also excellent snow conditions for winter holidays until the end of April.
Although it was 20th of April at the time of the visit, snow conditions were perfect!
