Our second visit to Soelden was during a massive blizzard in mid March 2019. Visibility wasn't great (i.e. it was non-existant). It was certainly helpful to have visited previously, so we had a sense of where to ski.

The snow was deep & the skiing sublime from mid mountain into the tree line. Crowds were lower than normal (i.e every other day!) & most were staying very close to the marked pistes. Huge winds meant limited lift openings but it didn't matter. The freeride skiing was awesome.

Snow quality during & after the storm was better than at nearby Obergurgl Hochgurgl, simply due to the terrain aspect - Soelden is oriented more to the east & Obergurgl to the west. The views across to Soelden the next day when skiing Obergurgl were phenomenal.

Despite some closures due to wind, the lift system is superb on low crowd days. So much more pleasant than our previous visit when the numbers of humans drove us to despair.

Stayed overnight away from Soelden in the town of Oetz - cheaper & better. Day parking in Soelden is excellent (& free) so staying out of town is a great option & a sure way to avoid the worst of Soelden's excesses.

Worth visiting on a mid-week snowy day if you know where to go! See our video here

Solden-I am still undecided about it.
It is huge, the infrastructure is overwhelming, the possibilities unending.
The reason I am undecided is that at Solden this equals large amounts of humanity.
Some areas handle it well and other areas not so well.
I found going through the 'not so well' parts to get to the other parts unpleasant.
There are sections of the town that have great food and drink diversity but there is also an element that caters to a market that I find distasteful. See our video here

So you have saved your euros and are ready to explore the Austrian Alps. Which valley? Which resort? 

If you have a hankering for a ginormous monster with terrific lifts, diverse terrain and a worlds supply of humans. Soelden is for you.

We were here a few days after any snow and the resort was tracked out and a bit sun affected. One thing we found was lots of people both on piste and in all the restaurants.

Chose wisely when traveling to this resort. Mid week. After or during snow. Good luck. See our video here

Soelden is big, perhaps too big. Sometimes (often actually) bigger is NOT better. There are those that would have a different view, and they are possibly in the majority. Each to their own.

There is alot to like about Sölden. The super modern lift system & facilities, high elevation terrain, huge skiable vertical, length and breadth of piste trails, range of easy access off piste freeride and gorgeous views.

But all this seems to come at a price. In order to make the mountain more accessible to the masses, many of the piste trails are totally manufactured and unnatural. With that improved accessibility, overcrowding, long lift lines and piste trails turned into skied off mogul fields by lunch are the norm in particular high traffic areas. Restaurants are flooded with humanity at lunchtime and certain pistes are bordering on dangerous, particularly ones on the 'Big 3 Rallye'. The town of Soelden has its own issues. Lots of bars, shops restaurants etc, but also loads of tawdry strip clubs. All of which leaves a decidedly bitter taste in one's mouth.

We visited a few days after the last decent snowfall and the off piste was either sun affected or in the shaded areas, cruddy and tracked out. Some patches of powder remained, but there was not great reward for effort. Soelden could be awesome on its day, but then again, so are most ski resorts!

So in our view, for what it is worth, come to Soelden with your eyes wide open. Ski it midweek during quieter times pre Christmas or the last 3 weeks of January. And do it on a powder day to make the most the monstrous off piste terrain. Any other time, prepare to tackle a ski resort that has reached its full capacity and is perhaps too BIG. Enjoy! See our video here