Graubünden – Page 2 – Alpine Winter Sports

05/06/2014

150 Years of Winter Tourism

In the autumn of 1864, reputedly, Johannes Badrutt wagered some English summer guests the cost of their stay at the Hotel Kulm in St Moritz if they did not enjoy wintering there as much as they had enjoyed staying there over the summer. They arrived in time for Christmas and stayed through until Easter. In contrast to the gloomy, short, damp days of an English winter cooped up indoors, they were able to sit outside in the almost endless sunshine. Badrutt had won his bet, and with that the winter tourism industry was born.

That famous wager was made 150 years ago, and St Moritz will be celebrating it in style.

Winter tourism now vies with summer tourism in the Alps for the numbers of visitors and overnight stays. Badrutt and his son, Casper, went on to be responsible for a series of innovations, including coining the term Palace to describe a grand hotel and creating the world’s first bobsleigh course. And, of course, Badrutt’s Palace to this day remains one of the most iconic hotels in the world, and St Moritz the epitome of winter holiday resorts.

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Arosa-Lenzerheide

Two of my favourite resorts are now linked together to create one of the most significant Alpine resorts – the largest in Graubünden, and one of the ten largest in Switzerland.
Arosa piste
In some ways it is a con, much like Davos–Klosters or any number of resorts which simply have a lift joining separate areas. But it is a convincing con. A double cablecar now stretches between the Hörnli summit in Arosa and Urdenfürggli above Parpan, gateway to the varied Lenzerheide circuit. Lenzerheide is a fabulous resort, reputedly a favourite of Margaret Thatcher, and had initially opposed the link to gay-friendly and family-friendly Arosa. There are many goods reasons why, but the simple fact of the matter is that the larger resorts are doing better at the expense of smaller resorts, and Arosa felt the pinch sometime before Lenzerheide. However the strong Franc probably pushed the Gemeinde of Lenzerheide to go for the link.

Interestingly enough the valley between the two resorts is very skiable and part of a famous off-piste itinerary. There may be environmental objections to making it part of the extended resort, but I reckon it is only a matter of time before lifts serve pistes under the new cable car.

I visited the area last weekend, and I was impressed. The snow conditions were fabulous and Spring snow conditions only really affected the lower and South-facing runs. It has not been a vintage season, and generally I have gone high to find good snow conditions, but I was impressed with the quality of the pistes for April – and the fabulous bowl below Hörnli still had some great off-piste, particularly on extreme skiers right.
Lenzerheide ski area
Both resorts offer a lot more than skiing and both have been favourites of people who simply like being in the mountains in winter. Neither has featured strongly on the ski package circuit, but with lifts up to 2865m, resorts above 1500m, great parks, fabulous scenery, a variety of activities, good apres-ski and a variety of North-facing runs, this is a ski and snowboard area everyone should put on their must-visit winter sports destinations.

15/10/201315/10/2013

Ski and Snowboard Deals in Graubünden

As was the case last season, Graubünden is offering skiers, snowboarders and other winter sports enthusiasts some of the best winter sports deals in the entire Alps. We are not talking obscure resorts with minor discounts, but really outstanding offers at top destinations.

I am salivating at being able to take advantage of the new lift connecting Arosa and Lenzerheide, but there are also some great deals there too. When you stay in Arosa for 2 nights or more in selected hotels and holiday homes, kids get free ski–school group training all season. Lenzerheide, not to be out-done is offering a free lift pass if you book a stay for before Christmas.

Davos and Klosters offered a similar deal last year and I guess it was successful, because again you get your lift pass for free if you stay in one of the participating hotels or holiday homes before Christmas too.

Scuol is one of my favourite small resorts with its pleasant, scenic slopes and its spa, and this resort too is providing free lift passes if you stay in the participating hotels, but this time it is throughout the whole season.

Incidentally, the participating partners in my experience include pretty much every hotel, even the youth hostels and B&Bs.

Meanwhile St Moritz is offering lift passes for CHF25 (that’s £18) for the duration of your stay throughout the season if you book two nights or more in participating hotels in the Engadine. This makes the Youth Hostel in St Moritz a really attractive option for budget skiing and snowboarding in one of the world’s swankiest towns (with some of the world’s best slopes too).

Finally Flims/Laax, surely one of the best resorts for snowboarders, is offering one-day lift passes at CHF39 if you book in advance, and a range of combined bed and breakfast with lift pass deals from as little as CHF545 (GBP370) per adult per week. Incidentally the resort now has a shuttle bus service from Zurich airport.

Full details on the deals and offers are here.

05/10/201309/10/2013

Lenzerheide and Arosa link up

It has been mooted for some years. What has been a famous off-piste tour has finally become something for everyone. From December what some claim is the largest linked ski resort in Graubünden will open with a gondola running between Arosa and Lenzerheide. The only real downside is that you have to take the gondola in both directions – you cannot ski on piste between the two resorts, although there is an off-piste itinerary you can take. Maybe one of these days it will be marked and patrolled.

The combined area will have 225 km of groomed pistes, a 50 km freeride area, a snow park and 42 lifts up to altitudes of 2865 metres.

You can click on the map to get a better idea of the terrain, with a full-size piste map available from either the Lenzerheide or Arosa pages at SwissWinterSports.co.uk.

I’ve always loved Lenzerheide, but by public transport you need to take a bus – not the end of the world, but it is always nice to let the train take the strain. Conversely, much though I like Arosa with its spectacular railway link, the ski area itself has always felt a little limited. For some time the gemeinde in Lenzerheide had opposed the link but they have recanted and now this new super-resort is a reality.