Is St. Anton, Austria, the Après-Ski Capital of the World? Here’s What It’s Like.

it’s 4:30 pm, and the sun has just dipped behind a mountain peak. You’re outside on a crowded wooden deck, savoring a refreshing draft beer. To one side, a group of older skiers in their expensive Bogner ski jackets celebrate the last rays of sunlight by ordering two more bottles of Riesling. On the other side, a cadre of hardcore skiers who likely spent the whole day out of bounds clink their shot glasses together and down another round of Jäger.

The DJ puts on a German “schlagermusik” song (think modern polka-type music with a dance beat dropped behind it), and suddenly, everyone from the wine drinkers to the Jäger drinkers is singing along, enhancing the beat by pounding their ski boots against the deck. The fact that everyone speaks languages ranging from Dutch to Italian to Portuguese and has no idea what the words are doesn’t really matter (and schlager lyrics are generally nonsensical, anyway).

Ski slopes of St. Anton, Austria

Welcome to St. Anton am Arlberg, the biggest resort in Austria’s largest ski area and a destination often called the “world capital of après-ski.”

“It was fun to see people of all ages there. There were clearly really good skiers there and really not good skiers,” says Caitlin, a San Francisco resident who traveled to St. Anton this past January. Caitlin, who grew up skiing in Colorado, preferred not to use her last name. “In general, everyone clearly thought that this was like an important part of the skiing experience, which I thought was really cool.”

In St. Anton, Austria, après is not just “important.” It’s also nearly unavoidable as you’ll have to ski down past the resort’s top après bars on your way back to the base at the end of the day. If you manage to resist Taps, Krazy Kanguruh, and the MooserWirt as you whizz by, then it’ll be the final of the four most famous après-ski spots in St. Anton, Austria, waiting for you at the bottom: the aptly named Basecamp.

Outside Basecamp in St. Anton Austria

The first famous spot skiers will pass in St. Anton’s après-ski scene is the Krazy Kanguruh. It opened in 1965 and the fact that it’s still standing attests to the area’s long history of ensuring the fun doesn’t stop after the last run of the day. Since 2009, the Krazy Kanguruh has belonged to Olympic gold medalist and alpine racer Mario Matt.

But if the Kanguruh’s catchy Euro tunes aren’t your thing, you could round the corner in the same building and order a pint at Taps, where the music is more EDM-inspired. Expect the Taps crowd to be a lively group with lots of electronica-loving Swedes, says Nicolas, a college senior who spent four months of his pre-university gap year skiing in St Anton and working at Basecamp.