Obertoggenburg

Between the Säntis mountain and the peaks of the Churfirsten lies the picturesque Toggenburg valley, with the villages of Wildhaus, Unterwasser and Alt St. Johann sharing a reasonably-sized ski area. Unterwasser is probably the most convenient destination for day-trippers using public transport, but you can get here in around an hour from Zurich by car and there is ample car parking in all three villages at the base stations. The villages and slopes are very family-friendly. However the runs are graded mainly red, so the skiing and snowboarding is best for intermediates, and it is difficult to avoid using surface lifts to get around.
Johann.

Ski Area Obertoggenburg
Resorts Alt St. Johann, Ebnat, Kappel, Toggenburg, Krummenau , Wolzenalp, Obertoggenburg, Unterwasser, Wildhaus
Ski Region Eastern Switzerland
Piste (km) 60
Top run (m) 2262
Bottom (m) 900
Max Drop 1362
Snow’n’Rail Y
Black (km) 5
Red (km) 40
Blue (km) 15
Lifts (#/hr) 17750
My Rating 4
Alpine 3
SnowPark 3
Nordic 4
Hiking 1
Family 2
Apres Ski 2
Free Ride Y
Snow making Y
Fun park Y
Snow park
Half pipes
Spa

In Brief

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Meiringen-Hasliberg

This family-friendly resort has a surprisingly good range of slopes for all abilities and styles, albeit in modest quantities. Famous for being where Sherlock Holmes met his demise, it makes a good day out from Interlaken or Luzern or a pleasant destination for a short break.

Full details on the resort can be found at my database of Swiss Winter Resorts under the entry for Meiringen.

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Brig

The main ski and snowboard area near Brig is Belalp, although Rothwald and Rosswald each provide about 25km of additional piste. As well as 60km of piste at Belalp, from the Hohstock at 3112m you go through a 160m long tunnel out to a fabulous area for freeriding. The resorts can all be reached quite quickly by bus from the town. In addition a number of the major resorts in Switzerland are within an hour of Brig by public transport.

Ski Area Brig
Resorts Belalp, Blatten b. Naters, Rosswald, Rothwald
Ski Region Valais
Piste (km) 60
Top run (m) 3100
Bottom (m) 1501
Max Drop 1599
Snow’n’Rail Y
Black (km) 20
Red (km) 34
Blue (km) 20
Lifts (#/hr) 9870
My Rating 4
Alpine 3
SnowPark 3
Nordic 5
Hiking 2
Family 4
Apres Ski 4
Free Ride Y
Snow making Y
Fun park Y
Snow park
Half pipes
Spa

In Brief

Brig Station
Brig Station

Brig is an elegant small town at the start of the Simplon pass, high up in the Rhone Valley. The town has excellent rail and bus links to a number of winter sports destinations including the Aletsch Arena (e.g. via Fiesch), Belalp, Goms, Saas-Fee, Andermatt, Lauchernalp and Zermatt. There is also a thermal spa nearby, but it is only open in summer – however the wonderful spas at Leukerbad are only one hour away.

The nearest significant ski area to Brig is Belalp, reached by cable car from the pretty village of Blatten b. Naters. Blatten (not to be confused with another Valais village in the Lötschental of the same name) has regular buses from Brig station that cover the breathtaking 8km journey in less than half an hour.

Belalp is a small jewel of a ski area, with two bowls under the Hohstock (3226m) and Sparrhorn (3020m) providing acres of  relatively safe and accessible off-piste as well as perfectly groomed pistes to suit all abilities. See the separate post on Belalp for more details.

Useful links:
Aletsch Arena,
Belalp,
Brig,
Rosswald.

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Brigels

Family-friendly, sunny Brigels (Breil in Romansh, the local language) consistently scores well in assessments of small resorts, for instance winning the 2009 ADAC “Klein und Fein” award. The facilities are excellent, the pistes are beautifully groomed and there are plenty of long runs and off-piste areas for all standards of skier and snowboarder. For daytrippers, the best lift is at Waltensburg/Vuorz, about 45 very scenic minutes by train from Chur or about 2 hours by car or train from Zurich. Courtesy ski buses link Brigels and Waltensburg with the chairlifts from the valley stations. Lying halfway between Flims and Andermatt and not covered by the Snow’n’Rail scheme (although the ski pass is relatively inexpensive, especially for families), this is one resort where you will rarely wait to get on a lift or ever worry about crowded pistes.

Ski Area Brigels
Resorts Brigels,  Waltensburg, Andiast
Ski Region Graubünden
Piste (km) 75
Top run (m) 2418
Bottom (m) 1100
Max Drop 1318
Snow’n’Rail
Black (km) 5
Red (km) 55
Blue (km) 15
Lifts (#/hr) 6680
My Rating 4
Alpine 3
SnowPark 3
Nordic 1
Hiking 2
Family 4
Apres Ski 1
Free Ride Y
Snow making Y
Fun park Y
Snow park
Half pipes
Spa Vals (37km away)

In Brief

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