Switzerland In Focus - Discover Switzerland: Experience the Best of Switzerland - page 583

St Moritz & Graubünden
Rugged Graubünden has some truly legendary slopes. First up is super-chic St Moritz,
with 350km of groomed slopes (intermediates are in heaven), fine glacier descents and
freeride opportunities. The twin resorts of (pretty) Klosters and (popular) Davos share
320km of runs; the latter is superb for cross-country and has excellent parks and half-
pipes. Boarders also rave about the terrain parks, freeriding and après-ski scene in Laax.
Family-oriented Arosa is a scenic pick for beginners, intermediates and cross-country
fans. Want to give the crowds the slip? Celerina shares many of the slopes with St Moritz
but is low-key and has a famous bob run.
When?
The slopes buzz with skiers and boarders from mid-December until Easter. Unless you're
tied by school holidays (Christmas, February half-term and Easter), avoid them to get bet-
ter deals and avoid crowds.
Passes, Hire & Tuition
Yes, Switzerland is expensive and no, skiing is not an exception. That said, costs can be
cut by avoiding school-holiday times and choosing low-key villages over upscale resorts.
Ski passes are a hefty chunk out of your budget and will set you back around Sfr70 per
day or Sfr350 per week. Factor in around Sfr40 to Sfr70 per day for ski hire and Sfr20 for
boot hire, which can be reserved online at www.intersportrent.com . Kids' equipment is
roughly half-price.
All major resorts have ski schools, with half-day group lessons typically costing Sfr40
to Sfr50 and a full-day off-piste around Sfr100. Swiss Snowsports ( www.snowsports.ch ) has
a clickable map of 180 ski schools across the country.
Ski Run Classifications
Piste maps are available on most tourist-office websites and at the valley stations of ski
lifts; runs are colour-coded according to difficulty as follows:
Blue Indicates easy, well-groomed runs that are suitable for beginners.