Its cold today and it totally ignited the power of snow in me!

I was looking at some of the camera 1500m+ and its snowing.. Finally!

It is going to be my first season of snowboarding in Switzerland and I got some question.
- Anyone know a ski bus starting from Zurich?
- Where can we find coupon/rebate/aktion?
- Is it really crowded in the stations and where to go?
- I have seen the 20% from railway anything better?

Can't wait!

Bus? Why not just use the trains, like everyone else?
For what? Some shops may have pre-season sales soon, if it's kit you're looking for.
Some of them are crowded at some points of the season - you'd really need to be more specific.

Hi Ace1,

Thanks for your answers!

Well for the bus question, in the cities I used to work before there was some companies that were organizing ski trips. In the end because we were a group we payed a lot less for the tickets and transport. The bus was usually always going to different mountains.

Coupon for lift ticket prices. Sometime there's a pass that you can buy for rebates in many different ski stations.

Well I love back country skiing so I am sure Ill find somewhere that is not crowded

Yes, these buses exist. Some of them have quite good deals where you basically get the bus journey and the ski ticket for roughly the price of the ski ticket - sometimes even less. See that you live in Thalwil though - in winter the S2 is extended all the way to Unterterzen from where you go straight up to Flumserberg. Very hand indeed although can get a tad crowded.

Hi Tomberli,

What would be those bus? Do they have a website?

ty

I've not seen this, although I've heard of combined railway/ski tickets which offer some significant savings. But we always drive, and for the last few years we've had our own place in Engelberg so we get residents' discounts there.

Places like Engelberg and Flumserberg, within easy reach of the big cities, tend to be most crowded on weekends where the weather forecast a day or so in advance was predicting sunshine. So if you're not bothered by that you may find the best and less busy skiing when the forecast is not so good. And if you look out of your window in the morning and see lots of cloud, that too will put off many folks, so can be an indicator of fewer on the slopes.

Also, obviously, holiday weekends attract more day-trippers. But in any case, the busy-ness (in Engleberg, at least) is confined to the first lift up and the more populous bottleneck pistes. There are some particular off-piste areas that are well known and popular, especially with the Swedes, but with a little local knowledge it nearly always possible to avoid the crowds.

Great post!

I am starting skiing next winter. :-)

Where did you buy those tickets? Direct in the sbb offices or where?

Thanx

If you go to any ticket office or machine you can book Snow'n'Rail to get the combined discounted rail/bus and ski pass. From ticket machines the tickets are available in English so it couldn't be easier.

If you go weekends, most places get a little crowded, but I would especially give Flumserberg, Engelberg, Flims, Leukerbad and Andermatt a miss at weekends - all fabulous places to ski or snowboard on and off-piste in the week, but at weekends they tend to get bottlenecks.

Apart from that you can't go far wrong. Some of the lower resorts are going to get thin cover at the start and ends of the season, some of the higher ones can be too cold to enjoy if you are not in the sun in January and February. Most places have off-piste/back-country options, but make sure you go with someone who knows what they're doing.

Don't hold your breath, this was taken in Davos on Monday, it still looked the same yesterday when I was there again!

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