Warth is a high Walser village on the Vorarlberg side of the Arlberg, a cluster of wooden chalets and ski lifts at the end of the Lech valley's road. It sits at around 1,500 metres, a short ride from Lech, and it has a reputation among skiers as one of the snowiest places in the Alps; locals will tell you that winter can bring metres at a time. In summer it is quiet and rather beautiful, with the meadows steep above the road and the cowbells carrying across the whole valley.
The Walser story is the interesting part. These were people from the upper Valais in Switzerland who migrated eastward in the Middle Ages, taking up high, difficult land that no one else wanted, and building villages like Warth, Mittelberg and Schröcken. They kept their own dialect for centuries, and the farmhouses still show the careful, practical style of mountain people who knew how to survive a long winter. You can see it in the wooden walls and the low roofs, and in the way the village faces the sun.
The riding is all about the Hochtannberg Pass, which runs between Warth and Schröcken at about 1,676 metres. The road is wide, well kept and generous, with long bends and fine views down toward the Bregenzerwald on one side and the Lech on the other. It tends to close in winter, sometimes for days at a time because of avalanche risk, and even in late spring or early autumn it can be cold and wet. Check conditions before you commit. On a clear summer morning, the pass is one of the pleasantest roads in Vorarlberg, and a good place to practise the art of holding a steady line.
For fuel, do not rely on Warth. Lech is six kilometres away and busy with chic hotels, but the nearest large town is Oberstdorf, across the border in Germany, about eighteen kilometres off. Fill up in Bezau or before you set out, and then you can enjoy the pass without arithmetic.
Take a coffee at one of the village cafés and look at the mountains: the Biberkopf and the peaks around the Lechquellen are close, and on a clear day the light on the snow patches is remarkable. It is a good place to end a day of riding, though a cold one if the wind comes from the north.