Ski the Valluga with a Guide

The Valluga is the one descent in the Arlberg you cannot ski without a guide. The small cable car to the 2,811 m summit will not let you on with skis unless you are with an IFMGA mountain guide — which makes it one of the few genuinely exclusive runs in the Alps.

Getting to the top is worth the trip on its own. An incredible platform on the summit ridge with the whole mountain range spread out beneath you, and most people who go up do not ski down.

There is more than one way down. The classic Valluga north face drops toward Zürs — around 1,000 vertical metres of steep, sustained skiing on snow that changes with aspect as you descend. It is the one people come for and it demands decisive skiing.

Request a guide, tell them how you ski, and they will advise you on the variant that fits.

The Valluga summit stands at 2,811 m above St Anton am Arlberg, reached by the Arlberg lift network to Valluga Grat and then a small cable car to the summit station. Carrying skis on that final car is only permitted with a qualified mountain guide.

The north face descends toward Zürs, around 1,000 vertical metres of steep, sustained skiing. The entry — a traverse and a steep exposed section — is the crux. Below it the face opens out before funnelling toward the valley.

The wider Valluga and Schindler sectors hold further steep terrain, and Stuben across the valley gives north-facing alternatives, so a day here rarely depends on one descent alone.

The season runs January to April, and only in good conditions.