Davos / Klosters
(part of my guide to skiing the alps)
Davos is a modern, relatively large Swiss ski town in the Graubünden region. It's easily reachable by train from Zürich in about two hours, changing trains once in Landquart. Lots of modern hotels and shops, plenty of buses to get around. Klosters is the other notable town in this ski area, but it's less of a destination than Davos: you'll probably just pass through it on your way to the slopes.
Five separate mountains are included in this region, some of which are accessible from Davos and some from Klosters. From Davos, you can reach Parsenn and Jakobshorn, both of which have great powder and runs: try them both. Parsenn is the biggest mountain in the area, accessible from both Davos and Klosters. Some runs at Parsenn actually drop you in the remote towns of Saas and Küblis, from which you can take regular trains back to Davos.
In January, our most memorable descent ran through steep cattle fields and farmhouses above the village of Saas. From the base of the Schifer gondola at Parsenn, we started taking piste 56 toward Küblis (trail map), dropping off the main run after about 5 minutes. A 1500' descent ensued through untracked waist-deep powder, as we jumped over old fences and passed by farmhouses, not quite sure where we were headed. At the bottom, we were trapped by a small river, which we crossed easily enough in a shallow rocky section; it would probably have been too swollen in the late season. A short hike along the river led us on a path to the train station at Saas, about 15 miles down the valley from Davos.
On another weekend in early March, we suffered through lashing storms. In North America, it's easy to find refuge from fog and wind by skiing the trees; the Alps seldom offer such luxuries, with most terrain above the treeline. We found a few interesting turns in the trees below Schwarzalp, cutting the switchbacks around piste 49 in the Parsenn area. Not surprisingly, we ended up a few kilometers from the nearest ski lift: easy to do in such vast ski areas.
The next day at Jakobshorn was a bit clearer. We revisited a few great runs in the trees between the Fuxägufer and Jakobshornbahn lifts (trailmap), catching a few hikers by surprise as we sped across their path in a powdery blur. All pure bliss, except one unfortunate run which led to a drainage blocked every fifty meters by rock walls. Good luck avoiding it: I believe it's the minor shaded valley that begins directly below the letters "lp" in the word "Ischalp" on the map.
Even more entertaining was a run below the Clavadeler Alp restaurant. We tried to loosely follow piste 10, enjoying the nearby trees, but stuck to the fall line as the piste swung sharply to the right. The turns were glorious, but we ended up at a road some 5 or 10 kilometers outside of town. Yet another brief hike led us to the bus stop at Clavadel, where we waited no more than 10 minutes for an easy ride back to Davos.
Check out Pistehors for detailed notes on off-piste routes the Davos - Klosters area.
Davos is a modern, relatively large Swiss ski town in the Graubünden region. It's easily reachable by train from Zürich in about two hours, changing trains once in Landquart. Lots of modern hotels and shops, plenty of buses to get around. Klosters is the other notable town in this ski area, but it's less of a destination than Davos: you'll probably just pass through it on your way to the slopes.Five separate mountains are included in this region, some of which are accessible from Davos and some from Klosters. From Davos, you can reach Parsenn and Jakobshorn, both of which have great powder and runs: try them both. Parsenn is the biggest mountain in the area, accessible from both Davos and Klosters. Some runs at Parsenn actually drop you in the remote towns of Saas and Küblis, from which you can take regular trains back to Davos.In January, our most memorable descent ran through steep cattle fields and farmhouses above the village of Saas. From the base of the Schifer gondola at Parsenn, we started taking piste 56 toward Küblis (trail map), dropping off the main run after about 5 minutes. A 1500' descent ensued through untracked waist-deep powder, as we jumped over old fences and passed by farmhouses, not quite sure where we were headed. At the bottom, we were trapped by a small river, which we crossed easily enough in a shallow rocky section; it would probably have been too swollen in the late season. A short hike along the river led us on a path to the train station at Saas, about 15 miles down the valley from Davos.On another weekend in early March, we suffered through lashing storms. In North America, it's easy to find refuge from fog and wind by skiing the trees; the Alps seldom offer such luxuries, with most terrain above the treeline. We found a few interesting turns in the trees below Schwarzalp, cutting the switchbacks around piste 49 in the Parsenn area. Not surprisingly, we ended up a few kilometers from the nearest ski lift: easy to do in such vast ski areas.The next day at Jakobshorn was a bit clearer. We revisited a few great runs in the trees between the Fuxägufer and Jakobshornbahn lifts (trailmap), catching a few hikers by surprise as we sped across their path in a powdery blur. All pure bliss, except one unfortunate run which led to a drainage blocked every fifty meters by rock walls. Good luck avoiding it: I believe it's the minor shaded valley that begins directly below the letters "lp" in the word "Ischalp" on the map.Even more entertaining was a run below the Clavadeler Alp restaurant. We tried to loosely follow piste 10, enjoying the nearby trees, but stuck to the fall line as the piste swung sharply to the right. The turns were glorious, but we ended up at a road some 5 or 10 kilometers outside of town. Yet another brief hike led us to the bus stop at Clavadel, where we waited no more than 10 minutes for an easy ride back to Davos.Check out Pistehors for detailed notes on off-piste routes the Davos - Klosters area.
1/23/2006
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