Is it spring or winter?

Up here at 1,900 metres above sea level, winter’s in no hurry to leave. Spring or winter – which season speaks to you?

The sun is warming up, the days are growing longer, and signs of spring are everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. There’s a small village in Ötztal, perched at around 1,900 metres above sea level, where winter tends to dig its heels in – and where, in a good year, ski touring and ice climbing remain possible well into May. You’ve guessed it: welcome to Vent!

Thanks to its altitude, Vent is famously snow-sure. While walking boots are being dusted off down in the valley, up here you’ll often find proper winter conditions still holding strong. Our village becomes a haven for anyone wanting to linger in winter just that bit longer. Downhill skiing, cross-country, winter hiking, tobogganing – here, weather permitting, the mountains reveal their quiet beauty one last time. And perhaps it’s precisely this in-between season that holds the greatest appeal.

We’re planning these final winter weeks with care. At present, our hotel is expected to stay open until 12 April. The surrounding ski areas also follow nature’s lead: Vent ski area is currently open until around 10 April, Obergurgl until roughly 18 April, and Sölden (including the glacier) until early May. That’s the plan, at any rate – though as ever in the mountains, it all depends on the snow.

For some, this uncertainty is part of the charm. Dodging spring for just a bit longer to breathe the winter air and feel the snow crunch underfoot – before the seasons turn and new trails emerge.

At that point, we’ll take a well-earned break ourselves. From mid-April to mid-June, our hotel will be closed for the off-season. After that, we’ll be back, ready for what comes next: summer adventures in a landscape that’s high-Alpine in every sense. Because while winter may linger longer here in Vent, when summer finally arrives in Ötztal, it’s worth the wait.