Arosa

Hi out there, has anyone got any comments on Arosa good or bad on any topic? I'm new to this resort and it would be good to get a feel for the place.

paulo1960 wrote:Hi out there, has anyone got any comments on Arosa good or bad on any topic? I'm new to this resort and it would be good to get a feel for the place.

Have a look at this ........

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/destinations/resorts/winterresorts/arosa.html

Cheers

I'm a big fan of Arosa and have been there three times, but it may not be everybody's cup of tea.

Predominantly a hotel resort, small ski area with some modern lifts but one or two old boneshakers as well. Very impressive park area for those who like that sort of thing. Lots of footpaths so more walkers in the ski area than any other resort, I think.
Very easy to get to by train; not the easiest drive as the road up from Chur has 365 bends. Lots of interesting off-piste days out with a guide.

Any particular questions please give me a shout. (I've a few days lined up there again in January).

Not the biggest resort, but definitely worth a visit. If you get the train up during the day that is an experience in itself! The town itself is a little spread out, but there is a bus that services the areas which are a little further up the hill. If you like off piste you can do a three resort in one day ski tour which is really amazing (as Lota says, get a guide). The fun park is quite big as Arosa is the home of Olympic snowboard gold medal winner Gian Simmen. Any time I have been there the pistes have always been well prepared and as the resort does not get many day trippers it is also usually fairly uncrowded relative to other resorts close by.

ir12daveor

What does the three-resorts-in-a-day involve - and where do you ski to? Sounds like something I'd like to try next month.

LOTA wrote:ir12daveor

What does the three-resorts-in-a-day involve - and where do you ski to? Sounds like something I'd like to try next month.

There are a few possibilities depending on the skill level of the group and avalanche risk. I tend to do one of the technically easier and safer options.

First, you will need to have an avalanche transciever, probe and shovel and know how to use them. The area between the resorts is not secured in any way or patrolled. If you have no experience in back country skiing then only do this with a guide.

If you start in Arosa you head from Hörnlihütte down into Urdental (The valley behind Hörnlihütte). You then follow this valley down into the woods where you follow a track to one of the lower pistes of the ski resort of Tschiertschen, where you can take the lift up again.

In Tschiertschen there are a few options to get to Lenzerheide. One option involves a lot of Traversing but is technically very easy and goes from Churerjoch down towards Malix, then you traverse and join a hiking path (possible to ski on it) to get back to the Heimberg lift in Lenzerheide. The other options are more technical and involve dropping into some quite steep terrain before joining up with the other route from Churerjoch.

From Lenzerheide there are a few options. The easiest is to go from Rothorn into a small hanging valley which is above the main valley (Alplital) connecting Lenzeheide and Arosa. Once you get down into Alplital it is very flat and it is a traverse back to Arosa. Another option is to drop down the back of Schwarzhorn where you will get one of the best possibilities for some really nice powder turns, but then you will have to climb back up to Hörnlihütte to get back to Arosa.


The track leading from Urdental to Tschiertschen.


Just over Lenzerheide on the way from Tschiertschen. The easy route traverses from a saddle further to the left on that rocky ridge. The technical option drops in through the couloirs you can see on the ridgeline.


The first section from Lenzerheide to Arosa.


The hanging Valley on the way to Arosa.


The flat section heading out of Alplital towards Arosa.


Looking back up Alplital towards Lenzerheide. The hanging valley we came out of is visible just to the left of the rocky peak.

The tour can be done without every having to walk uphill or put touring skins on your skis. As I have described it it is relatively non technical and someone who can ski beside the piste in a ski resort without too much problem would be able to do it. It is however avalanche territory and there are regularly avalanches in the area. I usually do it the day after the Avalanche risk drops from 2 to 3, then there are normally some tracks but not many. A guide will know all the options for the tour.

For me the best part about this tour is not so much the riding, but the views you get when you are back in those deserted valleys. You really do feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. Its beautiful.

Fantasic. Wonderful pictures, thank you so much.

This has really whetted my appetite. I have skied with the Private Ski School in Arosa before and, looking on their website, found they do this 3-in-one-day tour - supplying the guide, transceiver, shovel, probe, airbag rucksack etc.

Really inspired to do this - especially if the weather is as good as it looks in these pictures. Interestingly an old Good Ski Guide from 1989 has the track from behind the Hornlihutte as a marked run; whether it was patrolled or not is not clear, but it was definitely a formal route.

So thanks again - will report back on what it was like.