ST MORITZ
Ski & Snowboard Resort Review
The world famous elite and glamorous resort of St Moritz, SWITZERLAND is located in the upper Engadine Valley Region. The sun shines an average of 320 days a year at St Moritz yet it never seems to affect the deep dry powder snow that falls all winter season.
St Moritz Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
The terrain at St Moritz is spread over 3 main areas Corviglia; Corvatsch and Pontresenia /Diavolezza.
The 3 areas cover over 350 kilometres of skiing and snowboarding terrain all accessible on the one hands free Engadine Ski Pass. Free shuttle buses link the areas together.
Expect cliff drops and tight chutes leading into open powder filled bowls, endless linking groomed trails and gentle beginner terrain. The St Moritz lift system is hi-tech and efficient with on mountain maintenance excellent.
Whilst the majority of the groomed trails in St Moritz are best suited to intermediates there is more than enough terrain for advanced skiers and snowboarders. You could spend weeks off piste and not cover all the terrain.
Corviglia Skiing and Snowboarding
Rising above the town of St Moritz Corviglia boasts the largest skiing and snowboarding area in the Engadine Region.
Corviglia has an expansive network of long linked trails cutting through wide powder fields, a world renowned Ski School and 14 mountain restaurants and snow bars on the pistes.
A long scenic ride in the Piz Nair Cable Car from Corviglia transports snowriders to the Piz Nair Area. From the 10,000+ feet Piz Nair Peak challenging and steep winding trails lead down back towards St Moritz. This area is best suited to advanced and confident intermediate skiers and snowboarders.
Corviglia's extensive off piste in-bounds terrain provides cliff drops, natural gullies and open powder fields most of which require little or no hiking to access. Days after a snowfall the large variety of terrain ensures plenty of opportunities for fresh tracks.
Corvatsch Skiing and Snowboarding
Corvatsch is a short bus ride down the valley from the town of St Moritz. The skiing and snowboarding terrain is suitable for all levels with gentle beginner trails on the lower mountain areas, long fast intermediate groomed trails on the upper areas and challenging steep descents both on and off piste for the advanced skiers and snowboarders.
The Corvatsch Glacier is a highlight with its long winding trails leading down from the Corvatsch Bergstation.
Corvatsch is lift linked to the neighbouring ski area of Furtschellas which offers more intermediate and beginner terrain.
Every Friday Corvatsch has Snow Night. From 7pm to 1.40am there is skiing and snowboarding on the longest floodlit trail in Switzerland 4.2 kilometres in length. The Murtel Restaurant remains open for refreshments and meals.
Pontresenia / Diavolezza Skiing and Snowboarding
The Pontresenia /Diavolezza are is split into 2 sections; Bernina-Lagalb and Bernina-Diavolezza.
Bernina-Lagalb Skiing and Snowboarding
The Bernina-Lagalb Area has a single Cable Car transporting skiers and snowboarders to the top of the Piz Lagalb Peak.
The off piste adventure Tour La Rosa begins at the Piz Lagalb Peak. Head off piste into steep powder terrain heading all the way down the valley to the base area.
Bernina-Lagalb has two very long groomed intermediate trails and one advanced marked groomed trail.
Bernina-Diavolezza Skiing and Snowboarding
The Bernina-Diavolezza Area is a glacier landscape suitable for all levels.
The long run down the 10 kilometre Diavolezza-Morteratsch Glacier unmarked piste is sensational. Guides are available for hire to lead groups down the glacier.
From the top Cable Car station chose from advanced or intermediate marked groomed trails great for carving fast turns.
The lower mountain trails can be enjoyed by beginners and families. In busy peak periods there are fewer crowds in the Diavolezza Area than at the Corvatsch or Corviglia Areas.
Other Activities at St Moritz
Off the slopes St Moritz never seems short of an activity.The huge frozen lake Lej da San Murezzan attracts constant attention hosting international events such as horse and greyhound racing and cricket, golf and polo competitions throughout the winter season.
The lake has walking and cross country trails on and around it and is lovely for an afternoon stroll.
Some other activities available at St Moritz include snow shoeing, tobogganing, ice skating, ice curling, hang gliding and playing winter golf.
Indoors play tennis or mini golf, go swimming, take a cooking class, watch a movie in the old style cinema or get a spa treatment.
The Cresta Run at St Moritz
The famous bobsled Cresta Run is located on the edge of the St Moritz town. It is the ultimate adrenaline kick. Visitors can choose to either watch teams practice and fly by at 140km per hour or pay to have a guided race down themselves.
St Moritz Shopping
Designer shops line the narrow cobbled streets in St Moritz. The shops cater for visitors every need from a cheap pair of snowboard gloves to the latest must have fashion accessory. Bogner Sport, Helly Hanson, Bulgari, Chanel and Prada are just a few of the hundreds of sports and designer shops at St Moritz.
Browse the ski and snowboard shops, fashion boutiques, children’s fashion shops, homeware stores, gift and souvenir shops, pharmacies and beauty stores, art galleries and photography shops and eyewear shops.
St Moritz has well stocked grocery markets, butchers, delicious chocolate shops, patisseries and wine stores.
St Moritz Restaurants
St Moritz has a wide variety of excellent restaurants with cuisine ranging from classic Swiss, to seafood, grills, Greek, Chinese, Italian, Mediterranean, Pizzerias and even Australian at the Roo Bar.
Restaurant Chesa Pirani is in the nearby village of La Punt a 10 minute drive from St Moritz. The restaurant is in an old farmhouse built in 1750. It has 2 Michelin stars and is best known for its 5 course saffron menu which includes saffron spaghetti with lobster.
The Bella Vista Italian Restaurant serves speciality pastas and delicious wood fired pizzas.
For traditional fondue or raclette go to Restaurant Le Carnotzet in St Moritz Bad, they use only the best cheeses and ingredients.
Couples may enjoy the romantic atmosphere of Restaurant Meierei located on the far side of the lake looking up into the St Moritz town. Choose to stroll to the restaurant or take a horse drawn sleigh.
Nightlife at St Moritz
St Moritz has numerous bars and discos. The Waldhaus Hotel’s whiskey bar is one of the largest whiskey bars in the world with over 2,500 bottles of rare and unusual whiskeys.
The Cascade Bar has an après ski cocktail happy hour and great live music. Bobby's Pub has pool tables remaining open late every night.
Vivai Dance Club is the most popular dance club in St Moritz with DJs and live music each night.
Kings Club nightclub open until dawn and have diverse music.
For a more civilised evening head to the rlaxed atmosphere at the Piano Bar the oldest cocktail bar in St Moritz.
Wine lovers go to La Cantinetta for wine tastings from around the globe.
More About St Moritz
Your St Moritz Ski & Snowboard Resort Reviews
P Morris, New Zealand. March 2006 I was a European snow virgin before I went to St Moritz, friends had told me how awesome Europe was but I didn't think it would be much better than in the US. I was so wrong. St Moritz has everything you want, huge mountains spread over miles and miles, the ability to hike anywhere and ride anything without patrollers taking your ticket away. A really efficient resort, everything runs like clockwork, I think that's because of the money spent there. At night the town never sleeps, pubs turn into dance clubs and you can party until dawn.
A. Cobb, Australia. Jan 2006 St Moritz is one of the most perfect resorts in Switzerland. It's glitz and glamor all the way. As soon as you head up the hill from the station you notice the cobbled street is lined with 5 star hotels and designer boutiques. We didn't have the budget to stay at one of the many 5 star hotels but that didn't stop us from renting a lovely apartment in the middle of town. We would have only been a 5 minute walk to the funicular train. The town is beautiful, I loved exploring the streets, looking at the shops and the hotel foyers and stopping to taste chocolates and pastries from the patisseries and chocolate shops. The town overlooks a lake that freezes in winter and you can walk on it, we often went for a stroll after skiing and walked around it along with locals walking their dogs and exercising their horses. We also watched the bob sledding one afternoon, the track is just on the edge of town, I would recommend anyone who goes to St Moritz to go and check it out, they go so fast! The old cinema is a classic too, they still have an intermission, it's in an old theatre, teenagers sit downstairs and adults sit upstairs, it's all very regal! The skiing is great, a lot of it is intermediate but it is very spread out. There are 4 areas; From the town center the ski area of Corvigila is above you, you can ski directly home after a day on the mountain. The cable car taking you to the top of Piz Nair is a good way to start the day off. It takes you to the highest point and from there you can chose where to next. The trails are mainly intermediate to very advanced with lots of off piste. (there's also a cable car that goes from St Moritz Bad (south) that goes half way up the mountain, it's there for all the people staying in Bad and further down the valley at the other little villages). Corvatsch was not one of my ideal ski areas, I found it a little too intermediate and beginner. You can get a good run down after catching 2 cable cars to the top but I always thought it was a bit over crowded. There seem to be heaps of families with small children there. The Diavolezza area is amazing, its pretty much just 2 cable cars taking you to 2 different areas with a couple of trails leading the way back down, the good confident skiers and boarders just make there own way down, I think it is the most extreme skiing in the area. The other area is Zuoz, we only spent about 1 hour there, it's very beginner, it would actually be a good place to learn to ski. It also took a little while to get there on the bus. All the areas apart from Corvigila requires you to catch a bus to, the bus is free with a ski pass and in typical Swiss style is always on time. Overall St Moritz is wonderful, it has an atmosphere you have to go to experience, the people are really friendly and helpful, the weather was great when we went there, I'm not sure how the town manages it but it seemed to snow only at night time and then be sunny all day. St Moritz you have my 'number one tick of approval'!
Alison Liddell, Australia. March 2006 St Moritz in Switzerland is the most amazing place. The skiing is wonderful and the town is so beautiful. You could wander around for hours and people watch if you don’t ski. The outfits are stunning - especially the fur coats, worn by the men as well as the women! There is horse racing on the lake too which is fascinating. It sure is something special.
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