1

What about Pitztal/Kaunertal, Stubaital or Hochzillertal?

2

2nd week April is very late in the season. Lech is part of the Arlberg ski-pass region and their season closes 3rd week of April.

Snow, decent or not, you just can't count on it in Lech. The snow would be better in St Anton. Lech, because of altitude and location, gets less snow than around St Anton itself. Lower pistes icy, etc. But the higher level pistes that would be open in St Anton at that time of year are more likely to be intermediate level.

If you can postpone making travel reservations, woukld you risk leaving it all last minute, and go where the snow is? Accommodation itself probably wouldn't be an issue.

The other relatively snow-certain alternatives would be a resort with access to glacier skiing.

3

2nd week of April can be a bit hit and miss even on the glaciers, but what you will find if things are open is nice and quiets resorts. I would maybe suggest Mayrhofen or Ischl. Ischgl tends have good late skiing and Mayrhofen has the option of a Galcier within easy reach. If you are not set on Austria check out Cervinia in Italy high enough to still have good snow and the option of skiing in both Italy and Switzerland.

4

I in fact have lived my entire life in Lech and work as a ski instructor in Zurs (the town that is 3 km away from Lech). The resort is actually called Lech-Zurs am Arlberg. Your dates are very late in the season and snow is almost always present, but the weather tends to be very warm by that time. Don't be surprised to get plenty of slush, but I believe you will find the conditions similar in much of the Alps at that time of the year. I must say, I have no clue what the second poster is referring to since St. Anton is in fact FAR lower in altitude than Lech. The very top half of St. Anton's ski pistes are at around the same altitude, but since the lower half of them are far deeper in the valley, you will see very little natural snow. St. Anton by that time of the year relies almost entirely on artificial snow. St. Anton is also much more crowded on average and tends to attract a heavy party-going crowd BUT it offers much cheaper accommodation. Lech is smaller, offers more variety in terms of ski pistes, is less crowded and is more charming in my opinion.

As a side note, the Arlberg region of Austria (this includes the towns of Lech, Zurs, Stuben, St. Anton and St. Christoph) was rated the third best ski resort in the world by the Discovery Channel. Regardless of whether you stay in St. Anton, Lech or either of the other 3 towns, they are all interconnected by ski lifts and free bus shuttles. This means you can enjoy skiing in all these towns and it is entirely possible to ski from Lech to St. Anton in half a day (depending on your skill of course).

Now you mentioned you have a son, do you plan on putting him in ski school? There are a few differences between the quality and price of the ski schools between the towns.

So hope that helps! If you have any more questions concerning Lech-Zuers I will be more than happy to address them :]

5

re #4

No clue at all? I have to wonder.
From your sales pitch, it sounds like you're selling something.

6

RE: #2 I don't need to sell anything, as stated above St. Anton and Lech are in the same region and part of the same mountain range. I'm simply describing the differences between the two towns. I'm sorry if my sharing information of an area in which I reside is offensive to you. When incorrect information is given, I will correct it.

7

cant comment on the original question, but from my experience, the artificial snow in st anton is RUBBISH and I hated boarding on it. my husband also hated skiing on it. it was sticky and had the consistency of sand. terrible! we went there over the new year break and due to the high number of skiiers and the lack of natural snow, they had to make the artificial stuff. we ended up taking a lift back to base because we wanted to avoid the fake snow. Ive snowboared on artificial snow in Australia and whilst it is also not ideal, it is much better than whatever chemicals they use to make it in St Anton.