# Ski instructors in Sölden

> Two glaciers, three lift-served 3,000 m peaks and a season that starts with the World Cup in October — Sölden is the Ötztal's big, busy, snow-sure resort.

- Region: Ötztal, Tyrol
- Country: [Austria](https://alpinepal.com/en/ski-instructors/austria)
- Time zone: Europe/Vienna
- Currency: EUR
- Coordinates: 46.9667, 11

Page: https://alpinepal.com/en/resorts/solden
Last reviewed: 13 September 2026

## About Sölden

Sölden is where the ski season officially begins: the Alpine World Cup opens on the Rettenbach glacier every October, and the resort's whole identity is built around altitude. From a village at 1,370 m the lifts reach three summits above 3,000 m — Gaislachkogl, Tiefenbachkogl and Schwarze Schneid, marketed as the BIG 3 — and the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers, joined by a ski tunnel, keep the upper mountain skiable from autumn into May.

The main winter skiing is on two mountains above the village. Giggijoch is the wide, sunny, family side; Gaislachkogl is steeper and longer, with a modern gondola to the summit and the glass-walled restaurant that starred in the Bond film *Spectre* — there is now a permanent 007 exhibition up there. A gondola links the Gaislachkogl side to the glaciers, so on a good day you can ski from 3,300 m back down to the village in one long descent.

It is a busy, commercial place with a lot of hotels, a lot of Germans and Dutch and a loud après-ski strip, and the pistes below the mid stations get crowded. What it does better than almost anywhere in Austria is guarantee snow, which is why it fills up in December and April when lower resorts are struggling.

## Where lessons start

Beginners are best served on Giggijoch, where the terrain above the gondola top station is broad and gentle and the sun stays late. There is a small practice area down in the village, but the valley floor is a shady corridor and most instructors will take a first lesson up the mountain. Sölden is really a resort for intermediates and above who value long verticals and certain snow; the glacier pistes are surprisingly easy, which makes an early- or late-season week here a good option for a nervous intermediate who wants full-width, empty runs.

## Getting there

Innsbruck airport is about an hour and a quarter by road, Munich around three hours. The nearest railway station is Ötztal Bahnhof on the main Innsbruck–Arlberg line, from where buses take roughly 45 minutes up the valley. The Ötztal road is a long, single-route dead end serving several resorts, and on Saturdays in high season the queue starts at the motorway exit.

## Resort areas

- Giggijoch
- Gaislachkogl
- Rettenbach glacier

## Instructors at Sölden

_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

### Can you ski in Sölden in October and November?

Yes, on the glaciers, which usually open in late September or early October. Bear in mind that the glacier area is a separate, high sector reached by a long road or gondola from the village, that the pistes there are limited until the lower mountain opens in late November, and that national ski teams training for the World Cup will have parts of the Rettenbach closed off. Autumn weeks here are great for getting your legs back before Christmas, less so for a first ever week.