St Jacob in Defereggental

St Jacob is situated in a narrow valley at 1400m. Access is by bus from Lienz railway station about three or four times a day. The trip takes just over the hour and be ready to change buses at Huben.

  St Jacob is a small village but the largest in the valley and has a tourist office and all facilities and a choice of restaurants. Other villages in the valley and close to the XC trails are Brugen, Feistritz, Maria Hilf and Erisbach where full board would be the best option as these centres are really only a collection of houses. Do not stay at St Viet-Dorf as it is about 4km up a huge hill from the XC trails. The photo is looking down valley from Erisbach.

The groomed XC trail extends for 15km, the length of the valley, generally following the river but there is a good hill at Feistritz and the 3.5km section from Erisbach to Maria Hilf is a good downhill run. An intermediate standard of skiing is needed for the trails. Much of the trail is in the shade and keeps the snow in good condition. Some skating tracks are provided but classical is everywhere. A free ski bus runs up and down the valley. A groomed walking trail from Erisbach to Patscher Alm is suitable for skating or classic and has great scenery and little traffic.

The Brunalm downhill resort is close to St Jacob while a bus service goes up the valley to Staller Sattel where there is a small T bar area and about 4 km of groomed XC trail that goes to a restaurant and to the saddle (Sattel) on the border with Italy. The views are great and with the right skis and conditions one could ski down the narrow road to a cross country resort below but it is more than 1000m climb to get back up! There is also a snack bar at the saddle and a restaurant at the ski lift where one can wait for the bus as it can be a bit windy up there. The XC area that is visible in Italy is Antholz-Obertal and information is at www.camping-antholz.com

This area is at about 1800m so is much colder, there is plenty of snow but it does tend to freeze later in the season after a sunny day.

For a change from skiing there are some good mountain walking tracks with a variety of views as they rise steeply up some side valleys.

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