cool.so i know where to go (next season, unfortunatelay )

Does anyone have any tips for Davos or Klosters?

In particular, can anyone recommend any (relatively easy) blue slopes in Davos or Klosters? Thanks!

If you are going for the day it is not worth the extra drive on to Davos and back again at night. The big cabin in Klosters takes you to the same area as Davos. However the connection it by a double T bar.

The start at Davos can be a bit daunting and if it is to be Davos the Jabobshorn side has wider and easier slopes.

The decent into Davos on the Parsan side is a (not very) Black run. The decent to Klosters is great, but a red.

It's supposed to be snowing this weekend in Davos, right? Maybe it won't be so crowded. Seems the Swiss prefer the sun, which is beyond me. Good luck!!

VERBIER 6-10 FEB.

A little late for my report, but you might say better late than never.

Fresh snow had fallen for the previous couple of days so the conditions were good apart from very poor visibilty for an hour or so on the 6th.
For the rest of the week the weather was fantastic, no snow fall, but fantastic blue skies.

The que's for the Gondola's from the town (Medran) are quite lengthy early morning but move on at a resonable pace so no more than a 5 minute wait and if you start out at say 10:30 rather than when the lifts start then there were no que's.

I skied La Choux, Les Ruinettes and Attelas and found that the longest wait was no more than 5 minutes.

The pistes were in very good condition most of the day, getting a bit soft by 3:30 to 4pm however the follwoing day they were back in top condition so very well maintained.

By Sunday there were a 3 or 4 thin spots further down but nothing that was causing any problems and there was plenty of snow all the way down to the car parks.

guys, what is the actual snow situation at flumserberg like? has anyone been last couple of days? i have heard from saas fee, that on the slope people rested on the grass...so would be nice if i could get some info about the situation there...

Same question from us - keen to get 2 or 3 more weekends in before the end of the season, probably at Flumserberg, but anxious that time is ticking, and snow is melting...

Can't give you a complete answer 'cos I don't ski but we're just under the snow line and we've had snow and rain the last few days so i imagine there's plenty of fresh snow up top.

The sun has just come out and it's a good forecast for tomorrow so i guess it'll be busy. Enjoy

Flims/Laax Sat 15th March

Lovely weather.
OK the snow lower than 2000 metre's has turned pretty slushy, the runs down to Plaun are still open but be aware that there are mountains of slushy icey snow as you come down. The end of the 40 (where it hits the narrow road over the bridge) was particularly bad. higher up though the snow was brilliant, looks like they have had a fresh dump and above 2000m the sun hadn't melted it. There was still a fair amount of fresh powder to ride, a lot of it untracked.

The flims side around Nagels was too busy, the queue to go up the chair life was massive. The piste itself (blue run forget the number) was pretty clear but the queue to move onwards at the bottom put me off.
If you go on a week day though when its emptier you can do a pretty good circular route there, up to La scala (sp?) and then back down to Nagels and around again. Good wide piste's and high enough to have great snow with plenty of opportunity to dive off into the powder.

They also had a band playing on Sat."Pink Sugar" oldest member must have been 15, but they played 3 sets and a lot of Status Quo....top banana.

If there is no more snow up there I think it will get pretty thin and icey on the lower slopes and you may have to head up towards the Glacier.

http://www.myswitzerland.com/wispo_i.../432_KARTE.jpg
Piste plan

Just got back from an awesome long weekend at St Anton (Austria) and thought I'd give it a plug. It's a bit far for a day trip but similar distance to davos; 2.30 hrs by car, 3hrs by the Alberg Express (bus from ZH airport) or I guess similar time by train.
Beginners and nervous intermediates will probably find the pistes at Lech (just down the road, covered on the same pass) more fun and advanced will enjoy the endless lift accessed off piste which is v.extensive at all the main areas.
other key benefits for the place; nice atmosphere even non skiers can amuse themselves for a weekend,an extensive, modern, lift system able to cope well even on an easter weekend plus really quiet areas (Rendl, Stuben) and it'll stay open for a good while yet. The nightlife - loud!
The ski season isn't over yet!

Flims, Briel 22-23rd March

I loved both the places. The views coming down to Nagans in Flims were fabulous to say the least. It had snowed heavily last week and the weather specially on Saturday was perfect. Breil is a smaller resort down the same side but its very nice to spend a day there with it getting the highest snow of the region. There are much less boarders there as well which gives it a different feel. The spring season is due to begin from the 28th in Flims when the prices of the day pass will reduce further so will most likely be going there again ( couldn't see a lot of pistes in Flims, specially up the glacier vorab because of the bad weather on Sunday ). I strongly recommend these places for the vastness and beauty of snow they had to offer. ( or maybe it was just this super snowy weekend).

I feel my heckles rising..justify your comment sir, or kindly step outside like a gentleman.

Hoch Ybrig - 24th March

Amazing amount of snow, both on piste and off. Off piste it was pretty much over my knees and was the best snow I have ever ridden.
On piste wasn't so good, I guess the large amount of snow had made it difficult to groom the piste and consequentially it was thick and banked all over, making it difficult sometimes to distinguish on from off piste.

I think Hoch Ybrig could quite easily replace Flums for me as my favourite place, its harder to get to (no train) which means its emptier, the ride up to the runs is about 5mins compared to almost 30mins at Flums and the limited number of slopes (no real learner pistes) is a bonus if you have passed the learner stage and get frustrated with beginner schlange's dominating the slopes. The views are no where near as spectacular but the off piste potential is brilliant and there are plenty of restaurants which means the nightmare queue for lunch I normally experience at Flums isn't a problem here.

The runs are more challenging but they are limited in number, only 3 chair lifts once you are up there and about 10 red runs, and as boarder the highest peak isn't the best place to go...long slow flat runs.

I went to St Anton in Austria on Thursday and came back last night. It is still only 2.5 hours by train.

After a meter of snow on Friday, then a perfect day on Saturday, I found myself thinking, "this is what it is all about".

This season I have visited Zermatt, Davos, St Moritz, Andermatt, and St Anton (3 times) totaling approximately 26 days. I have to say that Saturday was the best day of them all.

The terrain in St Anton is unsurpassed, as is the Apres ski.

So: I am a skier, the whole mountain was good (for intermediate to very advanced). The lifts are sensational. Many of them, and mostly chairlifts. I am not so good with cable cars.

Elevation: Base/Village: 1,304 m (4,278 ft); Top: 2,811 m (9,222 ft). Stuben: Base: 1,407 m (4,616 ft); Top: 2,600 m (8,530 ft)
Vertical: 1,350 m (4,428 ft). Stuben 1,207 m (3,960 ft)
Longest Run: 10.2 km (6.3 mi); Valluga to St. Anton
Terrain: 280 km (174 mi) of downhill runs in region; 39% beginner (blue), 50% intermediate (red), 31% advanced and expert (black) Plus 180 km (105 mi) of deep snow runs
Skiing Circus: St. Anton am Arlberg-St. Christoph-Stuben; Lech, Zürs, Klösterle, Sonnenkopf
Lifts: 85 (Arlberg Ski Area)
Types: 10 gondolas, 39 chair lifts 36 T-bars. New Galzigbahn looks like a ferris wheel with 28 bubbles
Lift Capacity: 123,600 p/h
Ski Season: Late November-late April or beginning of May
Cross Country: 40 km (25 mi) in total: Stanzertal 24.5 km, Ferwall 10 km, St. Christoph 2.5 km, Ganderau 3km., Arlberg region has 66 km (41 mi)
Ski School: At both St. Anton and Stuben
Mountain Restaurants: 18
Other Winter Activities: Curling; hiking; ice skating; indoor and outdoor swimming; indoor tennis, sauna, snowboarding; hiking, tobogganing, squash, horse-drawn sleigh, paragliding
Après-Ski: Ski museum; 15 cafes, 8 ice bars, 3 discos, 8 bars

I skied Titlis/Engelberg last weekend and the snow is still fabulous. You can still ski down to the village, and the snow on the upper and middle sections is really excellent. It's worthwhile getting there early (or late) to get up the top quickly, but I was surprised how quiet it was for a glorious Saturday's skiing. One local told me that people generally considered the skiing season finished, even with these great ski conditions still available. Should be fresh snow too, for this weekend.

Anyone been to Andermatt? Can it be done as a day trip by public transport? From my experience, believe the train is two hours but not sure how to get up the mountain from there, if that adds significant time?

Also, what is the level, I am intermediate maybe an advanced intermediate, I can handle all red runs and an occasional black if not to narrow.

^^^^^^
At the train station in Andermatt you can get on another train to go up to Oberalppass (maybe a 15 minute train ride). From there, you have access to some good intermediate terrain and can ski down to Sedrun. After skiing there, you take the chair/t-bars back up to Oberalppass, get back on the train heading back to Andermatt and get off at the next station, Natschen, ski around here for a bit and then you can ski all the way back down to Andermatt.

The other option is to get off the train in Andermatt and walk across town to the Gemsstock tram and go skiing up there. Very good terrain on the Gemsstock with lot's of off-piste options if you are so inclined.

Definitely doable as a day trip. Enjoy.

From where? You're in Lucerne, prior post was from Zurich (extra two hour round trip).

We've made the day trip from Zurich. Probably easier with car, but there is a 2 hour connection from ZH HB, so it is possible by public transport too.

So you're saying it isn't possible to sit on a train for 2 hours, ski a full day, and then sit on a train for 2 more hours? I've made many skiing trips which have included more commute time than that. Definitely doable.

Lenzerheide, 14-Dec.
Lenzerheide is one of our favourite places to go skiing in Switzerland: Close to Zurich, a very good network of blue pistes, reds as well, not packed with snowboarders (like Flims-Laax) and generally not busy at all, pistes perfectly groomed. As written in other posts, take the Staetzerhorn-side, better than the Rothorn side.
Other plus points: virtually no drag-lifts (lots of fast 4-seater chair lifts) and not crowded with tourists who go to the more well known places. Tip : park your car at Val Sporz parking - very close to the chair lift which brings you straight into the highest part of the ski area. To find it: when driving into Lenzerheide village, after about 20m turn right and downward (at the big watch/juwelry shop) and drive straight up for about 500m.