 Poster: A snowHead
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I am looking for info on this place. It's close to St Moritz and some other ski areas but as far as I can see it has not much of its own skiing.
Would this be a good place for a skier keen on challenging skiing incl off piste. Do not care much about night life. Looking at 7-10 day trip.
Cheers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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snowman, Pontresina has two ski mountains up on the Bernina Pass, Lagalb and Diavolezza. The Lagalb area has a single gondola taking you up the mountain and on a powder day has fantastic skiing down the front side. Diavolezza has a single gondola and a couple of lifts in the area and is less interesting, unless you decide to try the run down the Morteratsch glacier! It's been a long time since I did it so I'm not sure to what extent the Morteratsch is still possible and whether you need a guide to do it these days. You have to have time on your hands cos the return journey is by train back up to the Bernina.
It's well worth a visit. And if it turns out to be not enough to keep you happy, St.Moritz is just down the valley and has tons of stuff to keep just about anyone busy!
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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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Steilhang, thanks for the info. Is there a free skibus between Pontresina and St Moritz?
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snowman, yes, I think there is a free ski bus, but I can't find any info on it right now!
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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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snowman, Had a week in St Moritz last year and discovered that they consider Diavolezza to be one of the three constituent parts of the resort. It's really a 30 minute bus ride from St Moritz and quite separate. There's a good day's piste skiing there and the glacier run is worth doing once (very flat at the end) for the outstanding scenery. But I think you'd get bored spending 7-10 days there unless you were able to explore the off-piste. We didn't have guides on that trip, so I can't comment on it. You might be better off staying in St Moritz and going to the Pontresina area for one or two days, although I suspect the accomodation is more expensive there.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I was at St Moritz for a week last season. I ended up skiing Diavolezza for two of the days. Had I got another free day, I'd spend it at Lagalb.
To answer some of your questions at random:
- There're TWO off-piste runs off the top of Diavolezza. One being the ski itineray with a train return. The other is off the back side of bowl served by the chair lift, with a return by bus. You can find the information on St Moritz web site. I didn't do the second route because I didn't have a buddy to go with. I did the itineary but didn't dare to venture off the marked path. It would have been more interesting had I been able to explore around a bit.
- Within the front face of both Diavolezza and Lagalb, there're countless lines you can ski off piste. Again, I was being extra careful being alone. With a buddy, I would have been more adventureous. I'd say for competant off-piste skier, there's easily enough skiing for 3-4 days or more on those two mountains alone. I suspect neither mountain appeals to piste cruisers.
- St Moritz can be reached by bus or by train. The fare is included in the all-area lift pass. There're two more moutains to explore in the St Moritz side. That should add enough terrain to satisfy a 7-10 days stay.
- As for staying in St Moritz vs. Pontresina, it's really down to cost vs. nightlife. The skiing in the Egadine Valley is spread out such neither base are particularly convenient for ALL areas. Even from the centre of St Moritz, you still have to WALK several flights of stairs to get to the nearest lift! I found it easier to actually take the bus to some of the satelite stations to avoid those stairs!!! However, centre of St Moritz village has a distinct edge when it comes to sampling the night life.
- There're several other nearby villages that you might want to look into. Some have more convenient lift access to ONE of the ski areas. But none will be convenient to ALL.
- Last but not least, you can stay at the top of Diavolezza and get first track each day!
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abc,
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| Last but not least, you can stay at the top of Diavolezza and get first track each day! |
You can also stay in the Lager/Hotel on Bernina and get to choose whether to do Lagalb or Diavolezza first  The last time I did it was about 15 years ago, and I had one of the best powder days I've ever had on Piz Lagalb. Lagalb is one of those (relatively) little known gems that just have to be on your list of places to tick off!
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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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Steilhang, that was where I stayed on my first ever real ski trip with school. Back then there wasn't a gondola at Lagalb, just a long T-bar. Fun times.
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I see Pontresina as a lower cost alternative to St. Moritz, but without a step down in amenities unless you're looking for 5 star glitz. It has excellent hotels and it's linked via free bus to all the valley stations in the St. Moritz network. I find Pontresina to be an ideal base, because it only takes a few minutes to get to either Corvatsch or Corviglia via bus and you are that much closer to Diavolezza. It's quieter than St. Mortiz but that's fine with me since I'm more interested in the skiing than the apres ski. I'm very impressed by the easy access to off piste terrain throughout the Engadine. Take a guide and you'll be amazed by the quality of snow and terrain and the lack of people off the groomed stuff. Not an option for the ski in/ ski out crowd.
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