Oetz

At the head of the Ötztal valley, perched high above the small town of Oetz is the small resort of Hochoetz. Oetz is the place that you drive through on the way to Sölden and Obergurgl and think that it’s quite pretty , and then turn your attention back to the job in hand, however its worth making the effort for a day or two.

It’s very much a family orientated resort and with plenty of facilities to store the little ones while you go off for the day. The 34km of pistes are very much beginner and intermediate level with only one short but steep black run to speak of, and although most of the runs are pretty short, they are generally wide and very well maintained.

The Hochoetz area was joined with Ochsengarten back in 1999, and it’s in the Ochsengarten side of the resort where you’ll find the steepest terrain and the best open powder runs. Around Hochoetz you’ll find a number of drops off cat tracks, some rocks and a few short chutes which are great fun on a powder day.

Being family orientated means that the hard core shredders usually go elsewhere, so you should find it gets less tracked out than other resorts, although being only a 30 minute drive or train from Innsbruck, it can be pretty popular with the locals.