Vent

The praise is for snow and calm. The area sits between 1,900 and 2,680 metres, which earns it a reputation for exceptional snow reliability, with skiing holding into late April largely on natural cover. There are no queues at all on the two chairlifts and two tows - a rare uncrowded hill in the Ötztal. Vent is also a ski touring base, with the classic routes to the Wildspitze and Similaun starting here.

Size is where the complaints start: fifteen kilometres of mostly easy and intermediate piste, which an experienced skier works through in a day. There is no terrain park and no large lift-served freeride zone, and the upper Wildes Männle section runs on a second-hand chairlift bought from Leogang and installed in 2018. In practice the place works as a supplement to its neighbours - reviews keep noting that Sölden and Obergurgl are twenty minutes away.