Ski resort in SZ/GR with easy blue slopes and also some black and red slopes

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Hi everyone,

I have been living in CH for a year and a half and this is my first post in EF!

I have read many threads about ski resorts near Zürich, but I still need some customized advice. I friend of mind wants to come visit me to go skiing (snowboarding in his case) and I am looking at different resorts to see where we should go.

What I am looking for is something with the following characteristics:

- Easy blue slopes for me. I went to a blue slope a month ago for the first time, in Brunni. I can ski for the whole day in the easy one there without falling, provided that the snow is in good condition, but I tried yesterday in Hoch Ybrig and I still found it too difficult for me.

- My friend does not mind if he has to go on some blue slopes, but he wants to go on reds also and can manage black slopes as well.

- Given that the snow is not very reliable this year, some place where we can have these two types of slopes at a decent height would be desirable.

- Also, it would be nice if we could be in the same resort and in a closeby area, so that we can have lunch together, park in one place that is convenient for both of us, etc, etc. For instance, Lenzerheide is huge and it would not be ideal if he is in one corner of the resort and I am somewhere too far from there.

- Finally, considering where I live, I have a list of resorts where we can go and be back home on the same day: Brunni, Hoch-Ybrig, Pizol, Flumserberg, Braunwald, Elm, Toggenburg, Mythenregion, Flims-Laax-Falera, Lenzerheide, Tschiertschen and Davos-Klosters (Jakobshorn, Rinerhorn, Parsenn, Schatzalp, Madrisa).

- We might go in weekend or weekdays, so a not so crowded place and an access road with not too many curves would be nice to have but not mandatory.

Maybe this is too much to ask, but is there any specific (or 2, 3) that can be suitable for us?

Thanks a lot!

2
IMHO - Switzerland doesn't appear to be overly blessed with "easy" blues - IE wide gentle slopes. 2 that I can think of which will have a suitable variety of pistes.

Davos-Parsenn: 6, 11 (easiest) and 15 from the Davos side. 40/41 from the Klosters side.

Arosa : Plattenhorn is fantastic but you'd need to get the Hornliexpress to get onto it via a blue run. Other Tschuggen is well covered by blue runs.

3
What about Stoos?

4
Brilliant for the friend - rubbish for the OP (IMHO). The "blue" is short and gets very busy

5
As note Davos is very good but the return trip to the town is long. So allow plenty of time e.g. if you are tired then plan to come away sooner.

In Arosa the level is easy to intermediate. Be prepared for the return being direct into the town and a bit scary - I fell on to my behind the first time.

Simon

6
Boredom might be the spur to try the next level up.

Have just read OP again, the added condition of not too curvy access does not necessarily include steep.

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That is for the "access road". It might be tempting to suggest that the OP is looking for the impossible - I've never driven to a resort without curves!

Train to Arosa/Davos would be my suggestion.

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I have heard that http://www.mythenregion.ch/winter/ti...s/teilgebiete/ is a good place with easy blues. It is also relatively inexpensive. 45 CHF for the ski pass for the day for the entire region.

I haven't been myself yet but it is worth checking out.

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As an aside to your actual question - have you taken any lessons to help you improve? I would normally expect to be able to progress a non-faller from easy to more challenging blues with a single 2-hour lesson, so you might consider investing in some instruction.

10
Fully agree with this ^^^^

I'll be doing 2 days of half tuition in a few weeks to get me back on planks after a 23 year hiatus (apart from 1 days 12 seasons ago). I'm also going to have a second snowboarding lesson - I had 1 lesson 12 seasons ago

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Wow, thanks a lot, so many answers in such a short period of time!

So, yes, you can forget about the "free of curves access road". We'll go by car and mine is not very powerful, but we will manage if necessary.

Regarding taking private lessons, I will certainly do it, but maybe in the long blue slope in Brunni, where it is cheaper than what I have seen in other more famous resorts (unless I get some recommendations here ).

So, Davos Parsenn so far seems like the only candidate? I had read in other posts that Flims/Laax, Jakobshorn or Madrisa could also be go candidates? (at least for me, not sure about my friend...)

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I don't recommend Flims simply because it is so bloody expensive - they crank their prices each year and it has hit a price point now which I think it just taking the piss - especially if you add in parking.

Saying that it does has have some nice blue runs: Nagens and the Mutta Rotunda are nice and wide. You can also go up Crap Sion and over to Vorab via piste 43 - although I find this can be quite cambered. Once at Vorab piste 41 is nice back down again. The blue of the glacier has never really floated by boat. From Vorab piste 20 crosses nicely across back Nagens.

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For this level of blue run improvements we'd normally choose to teach in the Gerschnialp area of Engelberg, where a day ticket costs just 24 chf . Long drag lift with straight pistes on either side and several get-off points including a very steep section if you go all the way up, plus a couple more runs down through trees to a button lift and a restaurant.

And it's never crowded, so absolutely ideal for maximising skiing and learning time.

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To the extent that any road in Switzerland is without curves, I guess both Pizol and Flums would qualify. Simply because you can get to both from normal valley level.

Klosters is not remotely difficult either.

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I have done my first S there

just to remember that there is only Tbars there (Gerschnialp )

16
I can vouch for this! You can drive up to the slopes of Ibergeregg and it has a nice mix of slopes. I can also recommend Sattel

17
Some parts of Mythenregion are actually accessible from Brunni, so I might go there some day before the season ends, but that might be a bit small for my friend.

Regarding Engelberg, I will think about going there to improve my skills, although Brunni and Amden are actually so much closer to where I live.

Btw, I see no big fans of places like Braunwald or Elm (at least for the original purpose of the post) but, are there any opinions on Lenzerheide?

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My personal perferred place for piste skiing. Partially because it's only 50 minutes to drive for me. Has a decent misture of pistes of all shades. Snow has a tendancy to be a little on the hard side because of the reliance on snow cannons - although I must also confess I've not been there this year yet.

Everything links in quite well, the only issue in meeting up is if one of you is in Arosa.

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One T bar, one button and one cable tow, in fact.

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Lenzerheide is great! One of my favourite places to ski.

Lots of nice, easy blue slopes that even a terrible skier like me can manage