J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ir12daveor

LOTA wrote:No, it's not the Rider's Palace; why would I go to a cycling hotel on a ski holiday? :mrgreen:

Ha ha... but the term ride is used very often for both Skiing and Snowboarding. )

Those of you going to Laax for the skiing/boarding won't be disappointed. It is a good resort and has a good variety of runs. It is however in my opinion overrated. There are equally good or better resorts around that just don't have the same reputation and therefore are less crowded or have less of an attitude around the resort. I was contemplating heading up there this weekend as its one of the few places open at the moment, but the weather got a little too warm so I didn't bother.

To the person worried about the hotel... Its not the Riders Palace that you are staying at is it?

Engelberg is quite close to Stans and will have lifts open into May more then likely. There is a glacier area that goes up to about 3000m and a few runs under that that I have boarded in mid May the year before last.

Laax is a good resort but it is over hyped compared to the likes of Lenzerheide. Laax gets a lot of coverage because it hosts events like the Burton European Open Snowboarding event and has a huge fun park by Crap Sogn Gion. Because of this it become a "cool" place to go and there are plenty of people wearing their trousers around their knees trying to be seen around the resort.

Having said that there is a good variety of terrain there, and it has a nice big height difference top to bottom. The valley run down to flims is good fun and there is some good off piste places if there was some snowfall lately.

I live about 1hr 15mins from Laax and about 1hr 20mins from Lenzerheide. Unless it is super quiet or there is some special reason to go to Laax I would choose Lenzerheide over Laax. If looks like it will be very busy in Lenzerheide I go to Tschiertschen or Elm.

Arosa is a great resort, but if you are driving its a bit of a pain for a day trip. The road up to the resort seems endless and has (they claim) over 360 turns in it. The train journey up is really scenic and worth doing, but if you go to Arosa in my opinion its better to overnight there.

At the end of the day its personal preference, and if you have a rental car and are planning on travelling around the areas you suggested then you have quite a lot of places to choose from.

There is no legal requirement to have winter tyres on a car in Switzerlan during the winter. However, insurance companies can decide not to cough up for an accident if the car is not fitted with winter tyres and it is deemed that they would have reduced the risk of an accident. (below 7degC).

The car rental companies will all have winter tyres on their cars to satisfy their insurance requirements.

Snowchains are a different issue. In most cases with winter tyres you won't need them, but there are occasions where they might be compulsory going up to some ski resorts if there has been a fresh snowfall, and there are times that they may need to be used just to get you up a steep hill.

Chains are available at any hardware store. Large shopping centres will have a Coop or Obi hardware store where you can get them. The chains I have seen in the petrol stations have been similar to the ones I have seen in the hardware stores and the ones I carry in the car myself during the winter.

Tony_H wrote:Ok, just planning ahead for next season. I intend to make 3 trips if possible, and my I will select from Austria, France, Switzerland and Italy.
I have done some research and checked out WTSS, and my shortlist has been drawn up. Here are my selctions for Switzerland. I would be most grateful if anyone who has been to all/some/any of these resorts would give me some feedback.
I am looking for info on the ski area in terms of ease of access, possibly ski back to resort, lift queues, snow, and any other useful info you wish to share.
I have selected the resorts based on their access to reasonably sized ski areas and offering suitable accommodation and atmosphere for me.
Heres the Swiss selection:

I've been to all the resorts except Crans-Montana

Tony_H wrote:
Laax/Flims

Plenty of skiing areas, but in my view overrated. It gets very crowded on weekends in high season and is really best known for the fun park/half pipe area that hosts the Burton European Open every January. There is relatively easy access up to the resort from both Flims and Laax and you can ski right back down to the valley in both places.

Tony_H wrote:Klosters

This is a large area which takes in Davos too. The Parsenn skiarea is shared by Davos/Klosters, but you can get individual daycards for the Jacokshorn and Madrisa areas too. The three areas are not connected together, but each one in itself is big enough to have a good day on. The place gets busy in high season, and you can expect ques getting from the valley up to the ski area from Klosters on a busy day. The run from Parsenn back down to Klosters is really nice.

Tony_H wrote:Andermatt

Quite a large area but fairly spread out. You need to get a train up to the main area from the town which takes a bit of time, but there is really nice skiing around the Sedrun area of the resort. The Gemstock area is not connected in and does not have that many lifts. It is fairly well known locally as a freeride area but the terrain can be steep and prone to avalanche (so I've heard, haven't freerided there myself).

Tony_H wrote:Crans-Montana

Never been.

Tony_H wrote:Zermatt

Amazing area, views of the Matterhorn from the town nice ski area, but not all of it was open either time I was there as it was not high season. It is very similar to Saas-Fee in all respects except the view of the Matterhorn. Its a car free village but look out for the silent electro cars that pounce on you out of nowhere.

Tony_H wrote:Wengen

AFAIK if you get more then three days together you can use the Murren/Schilthorn area and Grindelwald too (might have to pay a little extra), but all these areas together give a huge area with an amazing diversity of conditions.

You're lucky man. I've seen about 3 slides this season (luckily 2 from a distance!) where it was a small slide that started but triggered other slides and brought a whole lot more of the mountain down with. All of them were on ground that would have been 50/50 to ride, two of the routes were ones that we had been considering. Was very happy that we had played it safe when we saw what came down.

Just heard on the news that a guide got buried today somewhere down your way, he was located and dug out by his clients. Luckily uninjured.

Churwalden is part of the Lenzerheide resort. (Lenzerheide, Valbella, Parpan and Churwalden)

www.lenzerheide.ch

There is a lift directly from Churwalden that takes you up to the Statzerhorn pistes on the west side of Lenzerhide. The Statzertali lift services a nice wide piste which should be perfect for getting you back into it. There is also a lift that (Pradaschier) keeps you right above the town of Churwalden.

From this area of the resort you can access all other areas. Drop down to Parpan and cross under the road to access the Rothorn side, or go higher and connect further south to the rest of that side of the resort.

The Sports bus is included in your ski ticket and goes between the main towns and lift stations of the resort.