# Ski instructors in Silvretta Montafon

> Vorarlberg's largest ski area, above Schruns and Gaschurn: long descents, a 12 km run from the Hochjoch and a freeride reputation it takes seriously.

- Region: Montafon, Vorarlberg
- Country: [Austria](https://alpinepal.com/en/ski-instructors/austria)
- Time zone: Europe/Vienna
- Currency: EUR
- Coordinates: 46.9931, 9.96301
- Official website: http://www.silvretta-montafon.at/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2286879

Page: https://alpinepal.com/en/resorts/silvretta-montafon
Last reviewed: 13 September 2026

## About Silvretta Montafon

Silvretta Montafon is the largest ski area in Vorarlberg, formed when the Hochjoch above Schruns and the Nova above St. Gallenkirch and Gaschurn were linked into one system of around 140 km of piste, from 700 m in the valley to just over 2,400 m. The Montafon is a long, deep valley running south-east from Bludenz towards the Silvretta massif and the Swiss border, and it has always been more of a locals' and Germans' valley than an international one.

The skiing is long. The signature run, the Hochjoch Totale, drops around 1,700 m over 12 km from the top of the Hochjoch to Schruns, one of the longest pistes in the Alps and a proper thigh-burner. The Nova side is steeper and more open, with the area's blacks and its best off-piste, and the resort markets itself hard as a freeride destination, with marked routes and a serious attitude to avalanche education.

The villages are pleasant rather than charming: Schruns is a small town with a railway station, Gaschurn and St. Gallenkirch are strung along the valley road. The Montafon regional pass also covers Gargellen and the small areas further up, useful on windy days.

## Where lessons start

The valley floor is low and there is little to learn on there; the beginner areas are at the top stations of the gondolas, on the Hochjoch above Schruns and on the Nova side, where the terrain flattens into wide, sunny plateaus. Plan for a gondola ride before every lesson. The area is at its best for strong intermediates and advanced skiers who want long verticals and are curious about off-piste — the Montafon is a good, unglamorous place to take a first freeride course.

## Getting there

The Montafon is reached from Bludenz, on the Zurich–Innsbruck main line, where the local Montafonerbahn train continues to Schruns in about twenty minutes; the upper villages are then a bus ride. By road, Zurich airport is around two hours, Friedrichshafen an hour and a half and Innsbruck two. The valley road beyond Schruns is a single route and gets busy at weekends, and the upper villages are far enough from Schruns that a car helps.

## Instructors at Silvretta Montafon

_No instructors have joined here yet._

## Qualifications required in Austria

Teaching for payment in Austria requires the Skilehrer qualification, issued by Landesskilehrerverband.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Hochjoch Totale hard?

Not technically — it is graded red for most of its length — but 12 km and 1,700 m of vertical in one go is a lot, and the lower section through the forest to Schruns gets narrow, busy and slushy by mid-afternoon in spring. Do it in the morning, with a stop at one of the huts on the way, and expect your legs to have an opinion about it the next day.