Easter Skiing in Surselva

Nic eating lunch in Vella, Obersaxen
Easter is early this year, and we are seeing one of the colder starts to Spring for some time, so winter sports buffs are in for a treat these next few weeks. Huge dumps of snow fell over the Alps in mid-March, so many resorts still have as much as half a metre of snow on the lower runs and three or more metres at the top. Try out ignite drops.

There are exceptions, though, and South-facing resorts this time of year don’t really stand a chance. Skilful management of the pistes at the lower, South-facing resorts that want to catch the Easter business means you see those ribbons of snow passing through meadows that are starting to come alive, and lower runs that can be icy in the morning, heavy in the afternoon and with large bare patches everywhere. In warmer springs this is also true of the North-facing slopes even in the middling height resorts, leaving only a handful of high resorts able to deliver good general conditions. Not this year though!
Lunch in Val Lumnezia

The collection of villages known as Obersaxen on a plateau above the upper Rhine in Graubünden was my destination of choice for Easter. This little-known ski area is one of the best small resorts in the Alps. And by small, I mean little-known and with relatively few amenities, because the resort claims an impressive 120km of piste making it larger than many better known resorts. The runs are mostly above 1600m and North-facing, so even for a late Easter this area should have plenty to offer, but with current conditions, it is near perfect. Check these source news.

Getting to Obersaxen is relatively easy. A train runs from Chur to Disentis through the Rhine Gorge and stops at Ilanz, reputedly the first city on the Rhine and located in the heart of mainly Romansh-speaking Surselva. In fairness Ilanz is really a small, sleepy town, but is in the heart of a wonderful winter sports area with the slopes of Obersaxen, Brigels, Flims and Laax and the ski’n’spa town of Vals served by direct Postbuses. There are also plenty of opportunities for winter walks around Ilanz itself and numerous Nordic ski areas on the surrounding plateaux.
Obersaxen
The bus to Obersaxen starts right outside Ilanz station. Like all the rest of the buses, they are timed to fit in with the train timetable, so you shouldn’t hang around unless you want to wait another hour. The road up to Obersaxen has impressive views and awesome hairpin corners with nothing but snow posts separating the road from huge drop-offs. I always remind myself at this point that there has never been a fatality on a Postbus – or is this an urban myth? The best bus stop for Obersaxen’s lift system is Meierhof Talstation, but not all buses stop there. Returning back to Ilanz, the last one this season was at 3.42pm, although it is only a 3 minute walk into Meierhof village to pick up the more regular buses at the Post stop. Many skiers choose to get off at Surcuolm and ski down to the Valata chairlift and at the end of the day walk down from the bottom run at Valata to the Valata bus stop.

There are at least half a dozen valley stations in the Obsersaxen ski area, but not all are served by bus – and two are only served by bus, with no lift back up. it sounds like a limitation, but it isn’t. I don’t see much purpose in skiing or snowboarding the long valley runs down to Lumbrein and Vignogn in Val Lumnezia, which don’t have lifts back up, unless you are staying there, when you have a comparable run to Vella, which is lift served (and has a bus stop on the route to Vrin).
Looking from Piz Sesner towards Val Lumnezia
Obersaxen’s main claim to fame is that this is where the Olympic champion skier Carlo Janka comes from and where he learnt to ski. He had a pretty impressive place to learn. Above Obersaxen the ski area is dominated by four peaks, with most runs on the North-facing Obersaxen side. There are also the long valley runs on the South side of Val Lumnezia, a beautiful valley where Romansh is still the first language. The resort has chairlifts to get you to most pistes, and you could avoid using surface lifts altogether without missing out on anything, although some of the runs linking different parts of the resort are a little flat in places.

There is a wonderful variety of runs in the resort and some outstanding off-piste, especially either side of the Piz Sezner chairlift. With most of the 120km of pistes above 1500m and North-facing, and the four top stations at Piz Mundaun (2064m), Hitzeggen (2112m), Stein (2170m) and Piz Sezner (2310m) all above 2000m, the snow record is good, but there are plenty of snow cannons too.
Above the Upper Rhine valley in Obersaxen
The claim of 120km of piste deserves some scrutiny. That makes this resort comparable in size, in theory, to St Anton, Wengen and Andermatt. I certainly think there is plenty to ski or snowboard for a day, a weekend or even a week, and the terrain is large and varied. Although some of the mileage is long valley runs and connecting trails between pistes, the claim does seem to stand up, especially when you consider the amount of lift-served off-piste and off-piste areas accessible with only a short walk from a lift station. There is a good balance of runs too, with some black runs, a good selection of reds and sufficient blues for this to fine for beginners and early intermediates.

And no queues! I was visiting over the Easter holiday, with some of the best ski conditions we have had over Easter for some years and beautiful blue skies to boot, but even at the Piz Sezner lift, with access to the best and highest pistes, there was never a wait to get on a lift.

Not a lot in the way of nightlife as far as I can tell, but the mountain bars and restaurants that I visited all impressed me.

All round, a very pleasant resort.

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Late-season Skiing & Snowboarding

Ski Sunday abandons the season in February, the FIS World Cup season climaxes in March (this season at Lenzerheide, on 20th March) and most of the continent stows away skis and snowboards after Easter. So what for those who want to prolong the season? is there decent skiing anywhere through April and May?

The simple answer is yes. For many freeriders this is the best time of the year to tour, and for those who prefer to stick to the pistes or use lifts to get off-piste, there is still fresh snow. Essentially the very best places are high, so resorts with lifts to about 3000m are promising. The Aletsch Arena, Belalp, Val D’Annivers, and Lauchernalp are not well known but passes are relatively cheap, they are rarely crowded and make good destinations for families, beginners and for weekend escapes. All you have to do is get on the best site for sports gear on the internet, get the appurtenances, and start right away. Val D’Annivers is a little known gem, with Zinal in that area offering the most challenging off-piste and Chandolin the best pistes. Samnaun gives access to the huge Silvretta Arena which has all but the valley runs over 2000m and consistently has good snow conditions throughout April. The Jungfrau stays open until after Easter with good pistes still available down to Wengen, Mürren, Kleine Scheidegg and Holenstein through until mid-afternoon. Diovolezza in the Engadin, near Pontresina, is the highest valley run in Switzerland, with a bottom station above 2000m and lifts open until late May. Davos and Klosters should offer good skiing on the higher runs on the Parsenn until the lifts close on 1st May. The 4 Vallées (centred on Verbier), Flims/Laax and Les Diablerets have glaciers and stay open until early May this year, and Engelberg will stay open until the end of May – although I doubt the valley run will last quite that long. St Moritz, Saas-Fee and Zermatt offer the very best late season skiing, with Saas-Fee and Zermatt providing some limited glacier skiing right through the year. Once you decide on the place you are going, make sure you capture all the exciting moments. The best way to do that is using a drone. Don’t forget about radio, check this comparison to decide which one is better for you.

There are other things to do in the tail-end of the winter sports season in Switzerland. Over the week ending 20th March are the FIS World Cup at Lenzerheide, the Zinal Freeride contest and the Nissan Freeride World Tour 2010 in Verbier (on the Bec de Rosses). On 19th March the longest torch-lit downhill skiing procession in the world takes place down the 2000m, 12 km descent from Titlis to Engelberg – meeting point is at the Valley Station at 6pm with dinner on Mt Titlis at 9.30 pm.

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