 Poster: A snowHead
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I am looking to go somewhere new first week of Jan. Normally we go to Espace Killy, 3 Vallees or Breckenridge.
Thinking of St Moritz, St Anton or Verbier for intermediates/advanced are starting to offpiste with good snow conditions in Jan
Suggestions?
Thanks:)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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luwern, defnitely worth a visit. OTOH all three of your choices are good, so go visit all of them 
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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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Yes very nice. Take it from your options that you're not short of a few quid 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Espace Killy has 300km piste all fully linked like the 600km of 3V.
Breckenridge is measured in 2208 acres and is smaller but big in USA. It does have a chairlift at Peak 9 at 3963m higher than anywhere you can find in Europe but skiing in USA is poor value for money.
On paper St Moritz has 350km piste but spread out in 4 unlinked areas. It is however possible to ski from Corvatch to Corviglia and from Diavolezza to Lagalb in one direction only.
St Anton has 280km piste but also divided into two major unlinked areas (St Anton vs Zurs/Lech)
Verbier has 180km piste fully linked together in 4 valleys.
I would say the Swiss resorts should be compared with each other as they are more expensive for the ski passes, food and accommodation.
Austria is good value for money and generally has modern lif, on par with the French and Italian and better than the Swiss who like to retain drag lifts.
St Moritz is large by Swiss standard. It is one of the oldest resorts, relatively hard to get to so good snow. The scenery is boosted by a couple of large lake. The town is dominated by imposing and expensive hotels. It is a place for the rich folks so everything is upmarket, clean, well maintained and in good taste. People are nice and friendly. It is a different way to ski and will appeal to those preferring a relax and refreshing skiing holiday. If you want to bash the piste to the last minutes may be Verbier, Espace Killy, 3V or even Breckenridge would be better.
It is probably one of those resorts many skiers would want to sample at least once. I would rate it as the top Swiss resort comparable or even better than Zermatt.
There was no crowd there when I skied in 2009. Lagalb has only one lift and it is a cable car. Diavoleeza is only better by having one chairlift in additional to the cable car. The wife and I have the whole piste to ourselves when we came down. The main area is Corviglia which has been used to house two winter Olympic in 1928 and 1948, so the resort is pretty much an old daddy. Great off piste can be had in Diavolezza which is sold on a famous ski route going through a glacier.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Thu 28-10-10 23:51; edited 2 times in total
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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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luwern, yes do it, it's different - a traditional winter holiday destination but not ideally laid out for your mile-munching ski-in-out brigade. Been there twice and would go again. I think there's a bit of all fur and nae knickers going on but hey.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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saikee, THAT is a response. Good on you. 
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Astraeus,
I have fond memories of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Zermatt, Davos, St Anton/Lech, Ischgl, Vail/Beaver Creek and Aspen but on average St Moritz tops the lot.
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Is St Moritz any good?
Well yes, it's good! But good for what? And for whom?
It sure is GOOD, for me! 
But I'm not sure whether you will like it or not. It really depends on what you look for in a skiing holiday. The ones you've gone to are quite different. So I can't tell what you like or dislike.
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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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St Moritz is located at Graubunden province (or canton) bordering with Italy. It is not an easy place to get to by road transport and so snow is pretty good due to lack of development in the area. Some link roads with Italy are close in winter. Since the Swiss Fuela pass is closed in winter so the main access road is by Julier Pass which helps to filter out many traffic. This pass is kept open but very white at the top. Other access is by driving onto a train to cross the tunnel. I am not sure if the snow is an issue in St Moritz but the three skiing areas of St Moritz are between the following levels
Main Corviglia - 1750 to 2057m
Corvatch - 1870 to 3303m
Diavolezza/Lagalb 2096 to 3009
If you worry about snow with a resort having the above altitudes you have to go to Alaska for something better! Where else in the Alps you can start skiing at 1750m and come down from 3000m in eavry area you visit.
St Moritz is very modern. Drag lifts are obvious only in Corvatch but even there not wide spread as like most Swiss resort. The Swiss do not believe erecting high rise concrete blocks in their resorts. To keep the Alpine charm their resorts are not over-developed for commercial reasons thus there is not a big demand to upgrade the drag lifts. Large Swiss resorts like Zermatt, Films, Verbier etc do have modern lift systems like the Austrian, Italian and French.
You will have a job to find rude people on the St Moritz slopes.
The only bad point of the big Swiss resorts is cost. It is very hard to get accommodation for less than 100 Euro B&B whereas the same price may get you half board in Austria or Italy.
Go to Switzerland if you want to treat yourself and your partner.
I am not saying St Moritz is the best place to ski. It just stands proud among the so called expensive resorts. It doesn't have its own TV channel like Vail and Beaver Creek or a train taking you to the top of a slope in Zernmatt (the St Moritz trains only take you to the bottom lift stations) or resort workers handing out coffee when you about to enter a chairlift in Aspen but overall it is a beautiful place not yet trashed by a big infulx of visitors. I think the relatively difficult access has preserved this resort to keep its tradional Alpine charm intact.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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saikee, other than drving over the Julier in a snowstorm with summer tyres on I've never really had any difficulties getting there! But I do agree with the rest of your assessment
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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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Steilhang,
The point I make here is if one drives then before reaching St Moritz at the far end there are other bigger and better linked resorts on the way
From the Swiss side
Flims/Laax/Fadera
Arosa
Savognin
Davos
Kloster
From the Austrian side
St Anton/Zurs/Lech
Ischgl/Samnaun
Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis
From the Italian side
Livigno (via a single-lane tunnel)
The majority of the resorts before St Moritz are better if one goes there only for the skiing.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for all the advise! We have made our decision and booked our trip to St Moritz! super excited now. Any must dos/ things to avoid in St Moritz? Are there ski lockers at the slopes? I think our hotel is not too close to the ski lifts so would be good if there was a place to store skis.
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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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Don't use ski lockers myself so can't remember if there were facilities available.
The trains can get you to Corviglia and Diavolezza/Lagalb but to reach Corvatch the only public transport is the bus.
The biggest area Corviglia straddles St Moritz Bad, St Moritz Dorf and Celerina. The last appears to be a mainly residential area. St Moritz Dorf is where the night life locates. The main street is fairly low down where it is fully lined with designer shops selling all sort of luxurious goods. You need to spend the evening walking around there, say after a nice dinner, to appreciate St Moritz.
Some of the mountain restaurants are really nice and you can't get a cheap meal there but affordable eating places are plentiful.
I could be wrong but I don't think St Moritz is a place for extreme skiers so the official ski routes should be pretty safe, Due to time I didn't attempt the famous glacier run from the top of Diavolezza. The route takes you down to a train station and restaurant. Both Diavolezza and Lagalb are served by a cable car with only one chairlift at the Diavolezza side so skiing there is pretty much like off piste. Diavolezza and Lagalb are on the opposite sides of the same valley reached by buses and trains. You can ski from the former to the latter and take the bus back.
Corvatch is linked to St Moritz Bad by a bus ride in one direction. It is an extensive area in its own right and can be accessed through Suriej and Furtschellas. We didn't use the bus service (as we drove in our own car) the piste map seems to suggest only the buses from Sureij go back to ST Moritz.
We found Corviglia most enjoyable. The food was excellent. The snow was top notch. There were no competitors for space. We didn't feel anybody would run into us (which we could feel the risk when skiing at Livigno) The area is pretty wide and the black runs were moderately easy. It all added up to a very relaxing skiing experience.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| luwern wrote: |
| Any must dos/ things to avoid in St Moritz? Are there ski lockers at the slopes? I think our hotel is not too close to the ski lifts so would be good if there was a place to store skis. |
Can't think of anything to avoid in St Moritz, unless you count the lovely shops for you wallet!
Ski Lockers. Yes, you can store your ski at the bottom of the the train that goes up to Corviglia. That's also the same place you get on the bus if you're going to other areas. So it's a convineitn location. If you hotel is a distance away, you can also store your boots there and walk back on more comfortable shoes.
For off-piste, there're plenty everywhere you can see. On cloudy/whiteout days, Corvatch will be your best bet since there're fair amount of good skiing below the tree line. I'm told you can also go THROUGH the forest, unusual for Switzerland. Lagalb and Diavolezza has fairly obvious off-piste.
The ski route off the top of Diavolezza: it's very scenic and un-pisted. But it's on a glacier so you're adviced to stay on the marked route. Problem being, that's bumped up by too many skiers skiing on them. It's still worth doing at least once, more if snow condition is good. My suggestion is do it as the last run of the day. The run ends at a train station. Great for take the train straight back to your hotel. Not so great if you're hoping to get back to the mountain for more skiing.
There're actually quite a few well-known and well-published off-piste routes. But to do it without guide, you'd better be relatively comfortable in back country travel and avi risk avoidance.
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