 Poster: A snowHead
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For 3 out of our last 4 ski trips we have stayed in Samnaun and skied in Samnaun and Ischgl and love it! The lift system is fantastic; nearly everything is above 2,000m, so the snow conditions are good; it’s a large area; and, it’s not too crowded, even at half term. We’re planning to go to Samnaun again next February, but want somewhere different at new year. It will need to tick many of the same boxes as Ischgl/Samnaun and we’d ideally like to get there by train from an airport to avoid new year traffic jams. We did Zermatt this new year (not the first time we’d been there), but we found the infrastructure to be slow and annoying compared with Ischgl and the resort too disjointed. Is Arosa a suitable alternative, or will it be disappointing after Ischgl? Anywhere else we should consider? (We don’t want to do the 3 valleys or Paradiski again, and the transfer is likely to be too long and slow to get to Tignes)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I haven't been to Ischgl so can't make that comparison, but Arosa doesn't compare with 3 Valleys or Paradiski in extent of skiing. It is reachable by train - the last narrow gauge stretch being spectacular - but the immediate area is smallish, though the cable car link over to Lenzerheide adds quite a lot.
The other obvious Swiss possibility if you want to travel by train is Davos (or Klosters). That has more total skiing, but consists of several ski areas needing bus or train connections.
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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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Was not particularly impressed with Davos the one time I skied there, dont really like the town (though might be biased due to dislike of working on WEF) and thought skiing a bit disjointed. If you dont fancy Arosa / Lenzerheid what about Flims / Laax, easy access from Chur with fast trains to Zürich.
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I really like Arosa but it's not for everyone. The link to Lenzerheide has opened up a lot more skiing than was previously available. Not been to Ischgl, so can't make any comparison but my views on Arosa from a few years ago are here: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=141594&highlight=arosa
Nothing much had changed on my last trip (apart from the prices!) a couple of years ago.
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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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I far prefer staying in Lenzerheide on the east side. We go to Arosa for a couple of days and in terms of the intermediate/advanced runs we ski them all in that time. There is a bunch of lower blue runs etc lower down in Arosa that are cramped and full of ski schools etc so we don’t really go lower than the midstation if we can help it. Queues are longer in Arosa but it has some nice runs and decent enough infrastructure. Don’t know Ischgl to compare but food on the mountain is good but very expensive.
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Nice review though @LOTA! Enjoyed reading it and think it’s a very fair analysis of the ski area. I think I am as fond of Lenzerheide as you are of Arosa 
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Not many places have a lift infrastructure as good as Ischgl's with a large high altitude ski area.
You could try the Verbier area which is fairly readily reachable from Geneva, but in all honesty I don't think the lift infrastructure is significantly better than Zermatts.
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| abricotine wrote: |
| I far prefer staying in Lenzerheide on the east side. |
It is worth pointing out to the OP that the Swiss Postbus system (needed for Lenzerheide) is as easy as the trains, and I think you can book it as part of the rail ticket from the airport. The buses are usually timed to allow a change from arriving trains.
We have done the converse of the trip mentioned by @LOTA in the linked report, crossed from Lenzerheide to Arosa and skied all day there, returning on the train and postbus using the lift pass.
Flims/Laax is the other big resort accessed from Chur (end of the standard gauge railway from Zurich) and again needs the postbus. Note that in Chur the bus station is upstairs from the station (head out of the station in the direction of the town centre and go to the right where there are escalators) rather than straight outside which is what you often find with Swiss railway stations; possibly because the space directly outside is where the Arosa train stops, it operates as a tram running on the streets within the town before getting to its own dedicated line up the valley.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| j b wrote: |
| abricotine wrote: |
| I far prefer staying in Lenzerheide on the east side. |
It is worth pointing out to the OP that the Swiss Postbus system (needed for Lenzerheide) is as easy as the trains, and I think you can book it as part of the rail ticket from the airport. The buses are usually timed to allow a change from arriving trains.
We have done the converse of the trip mentioned by @LOTA in the linked report, crossed from Lenzerheide to Arosa and skied all day there, returning on the train and postbus using the lift pass.
Flims/Laax is the other big resort accessed from Chur (end of the standard gauge railway from Zurich) and again needs the postbus. Note that in Chur the bus station is upstairs from the station (head out of the station in the direction of the town centre and go to the right where there are escalators) rather than straight outside which is what you often find with Swiss railway stations; possibly because the space directly outside is where the Arosa train stops, it operates as a tram running on the streets within the town before getting to its own dedicated line up the valley. |
Watch out for old duffers in battered Subarus!
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| LOTA wrote: |
I really like Arosa but it's not for everyone. The link to Lenzerheide has opened up a lot more skiing than was previously available. Not been to Ischgl, so can't make any comparison but my views on Arosa from a few years ago are here: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=141594&highlight=arosa
Nothing much had changed on my last trip (apart from the prices!) a couple of years ago. |
Great review. It does sound promising, but the “dark red” down to Lenzerheide sounds slightly off-putting!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| munich_irish wrote: |
| Was not particularly impressed with Davos the one time I skied there, dont really like the town (though might be biased due to dislike of working on WEF) and thought skiing a bit disjointed. If you dont fancy Arosa / Lenzerheid what about Flims / Laax, easy access from Chur with fast trains to Zürich. |
Thanks. Will take a look at Flims / Laax
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| T Bar wrote: |
Not many places have a lift infrastructure as good as Ischgl's with a large high altitude ski area.
You could try the Verbier area which is fairly readily reachable from Geneva, but in all honesty I don't think the lift infrastructure is significantly better than Zermatts. |
This is the problem we are facing - we’re concerned that other resorts might be a bit disappointing because they won’t have such a good combination of snow quality and excellent lift system as Ischgl, but we fancy a change.
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| j b wrote: |
| abricotine wrote: |
| I far prefer staying in Lenzerheide on the east side. |
It is worth pointing out to the OP that the Swiss Postbus system (needed for Lenzerheide) is as easy as the trains, and I think you can book it as part of the rail ticket from the airport. The buses are usually timed to allow a change from arriving trains.
We have done the converse of the trip mentioned by @LOTA in the linked report, crossed from Lenzerheide to Arosa and skied all day there, returning on the train and postbus using the lift pass.
Flims/Laax is the other big resort accessed from Chur (end of the standard gauge railway from Zurich) and again needs the postbus. Note that in Chur the bus station is upstairs from the station (head out of the station in the direction of the town centre and go to the right where there are escalators) rather than straight outside which is what you often find with Swiss railway stations; possibly because the space directly outside is where the Arosa train stops, it operates as a tram running on the streets within the town before getting to its own dedicated line up the valley. |
Thanks for the tips
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You know it makes sense.
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| mrs_frostee wrote: |
| LOTA wrote: |
I really like Arosa but it's not for everyone. The link to Lenzerheide has opened up a lot more skiing than was previously available. Not been to Ischgl, so can't make any comparison but my views on Arosa from a few years ago are here: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=141594&highlight=arosa
Nothing much had changed on my last trip (apart from the prices!) a couple of years ago. |
Great review. It does sound promising, but the “dark red” down to Lenzerheide sounds slightly off-putting! |
The trick is to wait until all of the other passengers on the cable car have skied off. You will then have the slope to yourself until the next cable car arrives (plenty of time!). It is wide and you can take it very slowly!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| mrs_frostee wrote: |
| Great review. It does sound promising, but the “dark red” down to Lenzerheide sounds slightly off-putting! |
I don't remember it as a problem, the main trouble being as @LOTA said that everyone is setting off at the same time after the cable car arrives.
But do beware the black below it, which starts OK but then gets steeper and steeper. There are warning signs, you just need to keep to the left for the easier routes.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Agree with @j b, I ski quite happily all the blacks in Lenzerheide and Arosa but prefer to avoid the 2 blacks on the east side of Lenzerheide which are invariably steep and icy as they don’t get loads of sun (one is the downhill course which has also been shut in recent years when I’ve visited).
If a steep red sounds off putting to your group I would suggest lots of the west side of Lenzerheide is really super mellow skiing and there’s a very fast and modern two way link bringing you to/from the east side. With the odd exception the lifts are fast and modern and we love it as there are rarely waits of more than 5 minutes.
If you don’t fancy the post bus from Chur then you can pre book a taxi for 100chf or thereabouts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PS there are a few T bars in the area too
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