J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ir12daveor

LOTA wrote: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.

It is a ski tour route marked on the SAC (Swiss Alpine Club) ski tour maps.It is also marked on the freeride maps and in the book "Die schönsten freeride touren in den Schweizer Alpen" (The most beautiful freeride tours in the Swiss Alps). So in that respect it can be considered an official route, but there is no signposting or security of any sort on the route. They do not bomb or control for avalanches and there is no ski patrol back there. If something goes wrong its up to the group to take care of itself and the only rescue is a helicopter.

I haven't been back there since the summer, but if conditions allow I will be back there over the Christmas holidays.

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.

It depends on the weather. I have had days when it was -26 in the car park at the bottom of the mountain and it felt ok due to sunshine, and days when it was around zero and it felt way colder due to being in the clouds.

Temperatures like that are not unusual. This week in Zurich the warmest midday temperature was something like -2, in the mountains that's going to be a lot colder. Bring plenty of layers and it will be all good.

I love my Movement Sparks. :D

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.

These are my kind of pistes.





The off-Piste in this area remains just as untouched!

Tony_H wrote:

ir12daveor wrote:Then avoid the popular resorts! ;-)

:roll: What do you mean by popular?

The ones that tend to be well known and served by tour operators.

Then avoid the popular resorts! ;-)