Mooserwirt

The Mooserwirt (located in St. Anton) is one of the most famous après-ski bars in the world.

The MooserWirt is one of those places you have to see to believe. If you are skiing down the final run into St. Anton and your legs are already screaming, the sound of the bass hitting the mountain air usually does the rest of the work for you. You don’t really plan to stop there. The mountain just kind of funnels everyone onto that massive wooden terrace around 3:30 PM.

One minute you are clicking out of your skis and the next you are caught in a wall of sound. DJ Gerhard is a total legend in the Arlberg and he has been running the show there for decades. When he drops the first track of the afternoon, the whole place just ignites. It is a strange and brilliant sight to see hundreds of people in heavy plastic ski boots dancing on oak benches while the sun sets behind the peaks.

The service is absolute insanity. The waiters there are basically athletes. They weave through a massive sea of Gore-Tex jackets with giant trays of beer and Jägerbombs balanced high over their heads. They never seem to drop a single glass even when the crowd is jumping. By the time the sun is gone, there is a literal cloud of steam rising off the crowd into the freezing night air.

The real “test” happens at 8:00 PM sharp. The music cuts out and you realize you still have to get down the mountain. Watching a thousand happy skiers navigate that last 500-meter stretch into the village under the floodlights is the best free show in the Alps. Some people make it down gracefully and others end up in a heap of laughter in the snow. It is loud and expensive and your gear will definitely smell like beer by the end of the night, but you haven’t really done St. Anton until you have stood on those benches.