 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello everyone,
It's my first post here and I'd like to say hello first!
(Hope I've posted in the right area)
Anyway my question is something that may seem almost impossible to find but I'm going to shoot anyway. I'm looking for a resort in Switzerland that doesn't have that many pistes, isn't that busy, not a concrete jungle and has plenty of black/red runs where I can safely ski at a reasonable rate without the risk of another person being too close for comfort and preferably a resort where the whole mountain isn't being churned up into moguls by 2 pm. As well as being able to break out the DH skis. So basically a kind of advanced level resort/skiers paradise. I have been going to Wengen since I learnt to ski, almost 12 years now, however I find it gets a bit too crowded at times. So are there any resorts that you can think of that fit the criteria? I've looked at ischgl, crans and flumserberg so far.
Many thanks in advance 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome. I suspect that you are looking for a place that caters for off piste skiing or aspiring off piste skiers as well as the mainstream piste skiers. Not been there myself (yet) but Engelberg is on my list of places to visit, for many of your reasons. No doubt someone who knows the area will be along to say what it really is like there.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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ischgl is of course in Austria. I've skied Laax/Flims which is a nice resort though possibly more red run orientated than black. Would somewhere like Klosters meet your criteria
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Zinal - very pretty, very quiet, like JohnHSmith, much more aimed at offpiste/ski touring than piste skiers with most of the runs being red/black and lots of long fast drag lifts to put off beginners. Now linked to Grimentz.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Andermatt, perhaps, also more aimed at offpiste/touring.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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eetherington, why Switzerland?
Disentis? Sedrun? Many, many places that meet your criteria.
Also out of high season Monterosa in Italy for example.
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Monterosa + 1
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eetherington, i admit I am somewhat biased having bought there after many years skiing akll over the place but I confirm that Grimentz (linked to Zinal as above) is one to try. In low season weeks you can generally walk straight onto the lifts and there are very few poeple on the pistees. I prefer Grimentz to Zinal because Zinal uses a telecabine (every 10 minutes) to ascend from the viallage whereas Grimentz has 2 choices: a gondola going up to the bendolla plateau or a telecabine going to Zinal.
Even with a lot of publicity in the UK markets this season, these 2 resorts are genuinely unspoilt and well worth a visit.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I second the Grimentz option-admittedly rather unscientifically this is after one long weekend, but it was a great little spot. Our visit happened to coincide with fresh snowfall and the opening of the Grimentz to Zinal cable car. We had a very happy day over in Zinal skiing their dedicated freeride zone, and hurtling about on wide empty pistes (end of Jan but a weekend). Though linked, the ski areas of both resorts are very different in feel. The numbers on the mountains were small which meant the fresh snow was far less tracked out than in a bigger resort or one with more beds. I don't think I saw a mogul all weekend! We rented a funny little apartment (clearly a local family's holiday home rented on an ad hoc basis, but cosy and quirky in a 1980s kind of fashion) in the middle of the old village about 5 mins from the lift.
Grimentz is very pretty, low key with a handful of bars and restaurants. I was told by a swiss instructor I met later in the season (in Engelberg) that actually the Russians are buying and building chalets in Grimentz, but there was no real sense of the usual bling and rampant consumerism that comes with it.
We did go to Engelberg later in the season, but I would caution against that if you want to avoid crowds. The weekenders up from Zurich and Luzern made for a huge lift queue at the bottom first thing on a Saturday and all pistes were chopped into moguls by lunchtime. It's a far bigger resort in terms of beds per km of piste I would guess.
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Take a look at Samnaun, this area is linked to Ischgl but is a little more low key and has some great ski-ing of its own. Another one of my favourites is Bettmeralp in the Valais area, this is traffic free and only reachable by cable car. I agree with the other posters who have mentioned Andermatt,Sedrun,Engelberg,Grimentz,Disentis,Zinal all great places to visit and all very underated when compared to some of the so called mega resorts. Sometimes it is nice to get off the beaten track and try somewhere the average punter hasn't even heard of
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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eetherington, Veysonnaz in the Four Vallees. Great skiing and access to all the other resorts in the area (i.e. Verbier). Good restaurants in the mountains and in the village and good places to stay.
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