Arosa Spring Skiing: Train to the Slopes, 225km to Roam
“Why are you not in your ski gear?” the conductor asks my friend Rob with a slight smirk when he tries to show his ski pass as a valid train ticket.
Arosa by Rail: Does Your Ski Pass Get You a Free Ride?
The rumour, which my colleague was valiantly testing, was that if you had a valid ski pass, you could ride the train up the valley from Chur, Switzerland for free all the way up to the mountain resort of Arosa. Either clothing options must have been part of the small print, or the conductor was having a joke on my friend’s behalf.
Luckily Rob wasn’t forced to change in the train toilet and we were allowed on our merry way. The offer, according to Swiss trains, is that those who possess a valid ski pass for the resort can indeed make use of local rail travel to the mountains in a bid to entice people away from the car and on to public transport.
First Impressions at 1,739m
What is enticing is the view, the single gauge track winds its way up through the alpine forests, across gorges and endlessly upwards and onwards to the station at 1,739 metres up.
Situated around three hours south of Zurich, Arosa can be considered one of those resorts that the UK ski market should have earmarked in the calendar each year, however for some reason it’s less well known than Zermatt, Verbier or Saas Fee. At least for the moment. The fact that over 80% of the skiers who visit the resort are from Switzerland means it is defined as a local favourite.
A Little History on the Way Up
This hasn’t always been the case. In the seventeenth century eccentric English traveller Thomas Coryat, who rambled across Europe with one pair of shoes from his Somerset home was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Swiss inns in the Chur valley, commenting that “the diet of Switzerland is passing good in most places, and the charge is something reasonable”, others remarked that the Swiss were so trustworthy that you could ‘ride across the country with a bag of gold’ and not be accosted.
Coryat wasn’t the only early visitor to the Chur valley. Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle while wintering in neighbouring Davos in 1894 ordered some Nordic skis and conquered the Maienfelder Pass from Davos to Arosa where he ‘had luncheon’ before heading back, this time by carriage.
Doyle’s recount of the experience, and the various bits of tweed he left scattered across the mountain after the sharp rocks ripped his coat helped make Davos famous in Victorian Britain. Arosa however wasn’t picked up.
Where to Stay: Faern Altein Arosa
Looking out from the balcony of the Altein Arosa hotel, you get a sense of the Doyle’s adventurous spirit. A slew of spring showers had hit the Alps, rolls of mist and clouds pass by the imposing peaks of The Tiejer Flue, and Amselflue, making their way east, bringing fresh snow to the valley.
The Altein had originally been built as a sanatorium in the 1920s. Greco-Roman style plaster figures look down on you as you queue up for the breakfast coffee or a croissant. Faern Group, who took over the hotel and retrofitted it in 2023, looked to keep the traditional elements of the building, while updating it in other ways.
A rooftop restaurant makes the most of the panorama, taking almost the full length of the hotel, you can dine inside, or slip out into the cold Swiss night to stare at the mountains across the valley with an Aperol Spritz. Arosa is a rare ski resort in that you can hear the bell chime from across the hill marking 5pm.
The downstairs basement includes a small cinema for children, access to the pool and spa as well as a playroom with pool, pinball and games, enough to keep most children occupied for days.
Snow Sure from Early December to April
In skiing terms what Arosa offers is a season that stretches from early December all the way through to April with snow-sure conditions. I had arrived in late March to check out whether the resort could provide reliable late-season skiing.
Whether it’s sheer luck or a quirk of the local mirco-climate, but the low clouds seem to avoid the bowl that makes up Arosa’s main ski area. Whether it’s connected to the air mass rising to pass over the ridge to the west of the resort, when it does snow in Arosa it was from clouds at a higher altitude, giving the best of both worlds: a skiable afternoon of fresh snow with visibility – at least if you stick to the bowl which surrounds Arosa.
Arosa–Lenzerheide: 225km Unlocked
For those keen to venture further afield, the giant Urdenbahn lift connects two ski valleys together. This lift is what makes the ski area accessible. The huge cable car cost CHF50m to build and connects Arosa with Lenzerheide. Once the weather had cleared the following morning we took the chance to traverse the valley. The connected valley allows for a good exploration, and effectively doubles the amount of skiable piste to around 225km. Although the red’s are of the steeper variety on the Lenzerheide side, the sweep down into the valley below makes it worth it.
Peaks, Bowls and Freedom to Roam
In late March what was striking was the space and time you had on the piste. It was as if everyone in Switzerland had set an alarm that, once struck, declared the ski season over. The weather, and in particular the snow however had other ideas, and from top of the 2511m Hörnli peak an array of blues, reds and blacks allowed you to roam free in an arc from west to north. And this is exactly what we did, taking advantage of the non-existent queues to go back to the Hörnli again and again, finding lines to try the next time.
Alongside Hörnli, the Plattenhorn 2554m, the Weisshorn at 2653m and the Brüggerhorn 2447m enclosed the upper valley into its bowl shape. On the southern side some off-piste was possible, even in late season.
On his return from adventuring Coryat hung up his shoes in the church at Odcombe. Doyle went on to incorporate the Alps into his Sherlock Holmes adventures. What’s obvious is that this corner of Switzerland left an impression. After a late season ski heaven it was time to hang up my own snow boots for the season. Perhaps saving them for another trip up next season.
Fact Box
The Faern Altein is located close to the centre of Arosa in a historic building, recently fully renovated. SkiWeekends offers a 4-night weekend stay in January (Thurs-Mon) for £567pp on a half board basis or 7-nights in January for £981pp half board, not including flights to Zurich. Transfer by Swiss train from Zurich Airport to Arosa costs CHF59 (one-way, 2nd class) and can booked with SkiWeekends.
www.skiweekends.com or with Travel Switzerland. Fly between London to Zurich with SWISS from around £230 return, including baggage.
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