Its Après Time

Not everyone goes skiing to wake up at the crack of dawn in order to catch that first lift. For every person whose idea of fun is a mogul field on a near-vertical double black diamond, there is another person who heads to the mountains for the type of party atmosphere you can only find in the après ski. 

For the uninitiated, après ski is simply French for ‘after ski’. Sounds innocuous you may think, but pick the right resorts and you will find it is far more than a warm mug of gluhwein and a slice of cake in the chalet after a hard day on the slopes. 

Proper après is loud, raucous and convivial. It normally always involves booze, europop and, depending on where you are drinking when the lifts close, potentially a perilous descent down the slope half cut. Unlike driving, there seems to be no cultural taboo in Europe to skiing or boarding down the slope with more alcohol in your blood than Richard Burton after a long day, you see.

So where do we find these meccas of madness? Where, as best man or maid of honour, can you convene a weekend stag/hen do that will do friends proud? Below is a list of where I have personally gone and think hits the right note. 

Solden, Austria

Ah Solden. A week-long stag do here was enough to probably lop a few years off the end of my life. But what an epic week it was.

Like many resorts in Austria, Solden takes the concept of après and turns it up to 11. The town is not a looker, but the decent height of 1350 metres above sea level tends to make the snow pretty reliable (and there are two glaciers just in case) and there is plenty of KM of nice long piste to occupy yourself during the day.

But it’s when the clock hits 4pm that the fun really starts. You will be spoilt for choice on the mountain, which boasts many pubs, huts and ski bars and, between March and Mid-April, the Electric Mountain Festival – which I personally have experienced, whilst dressed as Father Christmas, and is a must for anyone who is into house and techno.

With 12 clubs in the town itself, scores of bars (inducing one with a slightly dodgy poker room out back) there is a reason this place is dubbed the “Ibiza of the Alpes”. Fans of rock music such, like yours truly, should head to Black and Orange once the Europop and the repetition of the song Johnny Dapp – not a typo – gets too much.

St Anton, Austria

I have been here over New Year and it is crazy, not least because it’s the done thing to let fireworks off in the street. 

St Anton is a skier’s paradise. It is part of the Arlberg ski area, which includes another famous resort, Lech-Zurs. This adds up to 305 kilometres of piste accessed by 85 lifts, earning it the nickname “the cradle of Alpine skiing”. 

But let’s not dwell on that. You are reading this because you want to party and St Anton provides this opportunity in snow shovels. St Anton has après heritage, with the famous Krazy Kanguruh opening as far back as 1965 and boasts an “unforgettable après-ski party” experience. Situated near the bottom of a home-run you also dont run such a high risk of skiing into a tree when you leave suitably inebriated.

Sticking with the animal theme – and conveniently right opposite – is the Mooserwirt, dubbed the “mother of all après ski bars” by Playboy no less. 

Bar Cuba  and Scotty’s in the town centre alongside Basecamp, with its resident DJ, at the bottom of the slopes are very worth a visit. St Anton is definitely prettier than Solden, less “clubby”, but more expensive. 

Val d’isere, France

No list of après resorts would be complete without Val d’isere, perhaps my favourite resort in the Alps – though you may want to save up a bit if you are going to do it right. 

Around the same size as St Anton in terms of the number of runs available, Val is also perhaps the most snow-sure of the large European resorts, with an average elevation of 1900 metres above sea level, 500 more than St Anton. Like Solden, it has glaciers – just in case you hit a really bad year – and is a paradise for freeriders. 

The après is top-notch, with the star of the show being the infamous La Folie Douce – a bar that is as well known for its balcony DJ sets and magnums of champagne as it is the more classic après pursuits of beer and shots with eurodance. 

A bit more down-to-earth, but not by much, is the Danish bar, Le Petit Danois, which gives away free shots during happy hour and Bananas – a bar/restaurant  with a weird fusion of Mexican, Indian and French food. Its open to 2am if you fancy a late one. 

Dicks Tea Bar is perhaps the best loved of all the après venues. Opened in 1979 this venue opens at 4pm for “regular” style après revelry, before turning more club-like “After Dinner Club” at 1am – continuing right up to 4am. Extra points if you come out of there at dawn with your ski gear still on.