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

So, finally, 3 friends instead of one are coming and one of them is very into Laax, so I guess we will go there no matter what.

I was checking the itinerary from dodgyken and apparently the pistes have different numbers now. There are no 20 nor 41, no blue slope on Vorab Gletscher and the straight connection from Vorab to Nagens doesn't seem to exist anymore.

Just one more thing, are the blue slopes from Crap Sogn Gion to Falera or near Flims Dorf easier than the others?

Thanks again!

Update on piste numbers: http://live.laax.com/?page=slopes

Vorab to Nagens is 29 into 24 - but you're right on the Glacier. Piste 28 off the top of La Sciala is relatively narrow and people tend to carry a good chunk of speed on it - avoid weaving and skiing 2 a breast.

The low pistes won't have the greatest of snow conditions.

Please don't hate me but due to accommodation requirements we are finally going to Davos.

Thank you for all your recommendations, especially useful now the description of the blue pistes in Parsenn -6, 11, 15... and maybe 3??-. Just one more final question: I have read that Klosters Madrisa is easier for beginners. Is that much easier as compared to the blue slopes mentioned before in Parsenn or to other mountains in the resort?

Thank you again for your patience!

Yes and no - the trickiest part of Parsenn (for begginers) is the start out of the main lifts - both back side get really cut up and has a steep section - the front side just a steeper start (although I think there is now a traverse to the left for an easy start to the blue).

HOWEVER the blue off to the right from the backside is a great piste for beginners. It is wide enough to manage turns - has flatter sections and then some undulations towards the bottom.

Parsenn also give the more advanced skiers with you chance to try some longer runs.

Just to clarify: backside are 3 and 6, being 6 the easiest to the right and frontside are 11, 15 and 42, but not 40 or 41. Is that right?

From here - http://www.bergfex.com/davos-parsenn/panorama/

6,11,15

6 = Frontside

15 = Backside

11 = the one I really like (as mentioned before)

Thanks again!!

I have a new resort to add - MALBUN!!

You'll need a car and the 6-seat chairlift doesn't open until 9am (if you are beginner DO NOT use the 4 seat lift - the top is black) - but it is superb for beginners. The lift opens onto a large flat area and the run splits into multiple blue pistes and some red sections. There are some short narrow sections but most are wide.

It is also cheap - 32/47 for half/full day - and free parking.

We arrived around 0830 - left at 1230 on a half day card - clocking 19 runs and 38km of skiing.

Yeah, Lenzerheide has some nice and steep red / blacks.

Actually, if Flumserberg wasn't such a busy resort I'd recommend it wholeheartedly - it fits exactly your needs. Problem is it's full of ski schools on the weekend.

Yeah, Lenzerheide has some nice and steep red / blacks.

Actually, if Flumserberg wasn't such a busy resort I'd recommend it wholeheartedly - it fits exactly your needs. Problem is it's full of ski schools on the weekend. Lots of long blue and red runs and really nice black runs! Close to ZH, road access, etc. It's very nice when it's not so busy.

Thank you everyone for your feedback. Flumserberg is really close to where I live but having seen how busy Brunni and Hoch-Ybrig are on weekends, I would only try Flumserberg on a weekday. Maybe next year if I keep accumulating holidays.

Malbun sounds good, I might try it before the season ends.

Finally we went to Davos and I really enjoyed it. Saturday was dreadful: there was no visibility or whatsoever (well, enough to see the orange marks to guesstimate the steepness of the slope and also to see people, but the rest was all a plain white picture). We did mainly 11 and 15 that morning. One of my friends went back home as soon as she saw the cut-up beginning of the slope. The second fell all the time in the first run and she gave up after that. So only 3 of us where skiing for the rest of the day and it was actually a lot of fun, skiing faster than usual because you don't fear what you cannot see, and because it was not bumpy for the heavy snowfall. Skiing by feeling rather by seeing. Then my friends went to some other red slopes and I tried number 6 also (and number 3 the day after, too short and easy I would say).

Weather on Sunday was pretty sunny above the clouds and still cold (-13oC), so we had the chance to repeat on the same slopes and see where we had actually been the day before. The only problem was that the lift down to Davos was out of service at the end of the day and they suggested me to take the black 7 down to the city. I chose to ski to Gotschna instead and take the gondola down to Klosters and the train back to Davos. An interesting weekend for sure.

I second this after yesterday! Though you can cope without a car - it's 2 hrs from Zurich, change at Sargans for bus to Vaduz, then Postbus up to Malbun Bergbahn.

There is a very, very flat and wide blue run serviced by T bar lifts which we were forced to check out when the Föhn stopped the chair lifts - but it gets busy.

6 chair lift opens onto a nice wide blue which splits into several blue and red options.

4 seat lift - agree with Ken, although the map suggests the red run starts from the top, the top is definitely black and actually harder (less wide, same steepness) than the other dedicated black! It's a fun black though when the conditions are good.

On the other side, there is a 4 seat lift leading to a nice hut with OK food and friendly service. One scenic red run (felt more like a blue, narrow but not very steep) which then opens into three wider red pistes and leads down through the village. We were unlucky yesterday in that the Föhn stopped the lifts... but on the other hand, because we were the last up, the entire top to bottom red run from the restaurant were just for us and the wind had pushed fresh snow all over the piste... stunning. Rest of the runs were also quite empty too after the lifts restarted.

Late to the thread, but I think Jakobshorn in Davos is easier than Parsenn. There's enough to keep novices and intermediate skiers interested and it's easy to get up and down to. The Abfahrtspiste has one really steep and narrow bit but other than that you can ski all the way back down to Davos Platz easily enough.

Parsenn is really nice (I was there yesterday actually) but there aren't that many blues, and what there are seem to be steeper than the ones on the Jakobshorn side. You can't ski down to Klosters without going on reds either (or a black if you're heading to Davos Dorf).

I would add another vote for Davos/Parsenn. I recently skied there (fantastic conditions after recent snows) with a mixed ability group and there was enough variety to keep everyone happy. With all of the cablecars, gondolas and lifts you can pick and choose what you want to ski and can easily separate on the mountain and reunite later if you want to ski different areas.

Also, I liked Madrisa for skiing with my son, who is just learning. Some easy blues near the bottom with wide gentle pitstes and some reds up higher, with only short steep pitches. Overall, I would say it would less intimidating than Parsenn but also less diverse in terms of terrain.

I liked Davos as well. I have only been to the blue slopes in Parsenn and blue/red/black in Madrisa and I really enjoyed it. Wide slopes, not so many people as in Hoch-Ybrig or Brunni, not so challenging at the beginning as Elm.

I will try Lenzerheide/Arosa next year but, for next weekend, since I can do reds already and the "easy" black that goes from Madrisa to Klosters, I wanted to know if any of you knows how difficult the blacks in Parsenn are (i.e. Pistes 1 and 2 from Weissfluhgipfel, 7 and 13 down to Davos and a small part of piste 11 that looked pretty steep to me when I was there the last time) or, just in case we go there, in Jakobshorn (1, 5, 7).