St Moritz - The Slopes
St Moritz is full of well-groomed pistes and immaculately turned out skiers on scenic Engadine terrain.
The St Moritz mountains roll gently out around the high-altitude surrounding peaks. Typically above the tree line, the area directly above the town is the Corviglia sector, overlooked by Piz Nair up at 3055m. These predominantly sunny runs fan out across the mountain with pistes down to both resort bases and neighbouring Celerina. The other main area is higher still, with the lifts rising up to 3305m, just under the peak of Piz Corvatsch. You need a bus or car to reach the lift base but you can ski back to Bad from here. Diavolezza and Lagalb are smaller but interesting mountains less than half an hour away by bus.
On the pistes, the challenges for strong skiers are limited to the occasional true black nestling among a flattering coterie of reds. Many of the reds could arguably be classified blue. The most challenging trails are to be found in Diavolezza and Lagalb: check out the 850m vertical mogul drop on Minor under the Lagalb cable-car.
In a resort where image and looking good is all-important, the slopes flatter all but the most ungainly intermediate skiers. The pistes are well-groomed and provide the perfect setting for laid-back cruising. The different areas mean a real sense of travelling around the surrounding peaks, although sadly you cannot do so without catching the occasional bus or car. The best area is arguably Corvatsch. Finish the day with the 6km Hahnensee run back to St Moritz Bad, wonderful in good snow conditions and one of the gentlest black runs in the Alps.
St Moritz is not an ideal place to learn to ski or snowboard. Besides the fact that you need to look good, the topography of the steep-sided valley means that there are no gentle nursery-style slopes at resort level except on the wings of the resort at Celerina. Although the intermediate slopes are generally gentle, they always have a tricky bit to catch the beginner out.
Off the piste, strong skiers and riders are looked after with impeccable hospitality. Most people have the decency to leave the free ride terrain well alone, leaving plenty of fresh tracks long after a snowfall. The toughest off-piste runs are down from the Corvatsch and Nair peaks, but there is also good terrain in the Diavolezza and Lagalb sectors.
The main freestyle action takes place in the Furtschellas terrain park on the Corvatsch side, big on man-made jumps, natural cornices and powder dumps. These north-facing slopes hold their snow well but the half-pipe is actually on the other side of the valley in Corviglia. There are several snowboard schools and the après-ski scene is slowly adapting to make room for the freestyle ethic.
The main drawback to the lift system is the spread-out nature of the ski areas. Once you are in your specific area, however, the modern lifts are fast and effective. The only troubles happen on the old cable-cars, although these are not normally major delays. The free bus service between ski areas is reasonably effective.
You can only buy weekly passes for the entire Engadine Valley area but you can obtain half-day and day passes for the individual areas.
This is the place to kit your children out in true Alpine glamour. There are no less than four dedicated fashion shops aimed squarely at the children's market. KidsTown have two outlets but there is also the appropriately-name Jet Set Kids and Maison Rita Kindermode.
