Flims - Laax

(part of my guide to skiing the alps)

Flims and Laax are neighboring ski towns in the western part of the Graubünden region, about two hours from Zürich via public transport. Frequent trains to Chur connect directly to waiting PostAuto buses. Traffic can get snarled on weekends, which makes the lack of a train unfortunate, but it's well worth the hassle: Laax is hands-down our favorite place to ski in eastern Switzerland on a powder day.


Both Flims and Laax are relatively small towns, with only a few restaurants, bars, and clubs. If you're lucky enough to meet a local, you might discover that they speak Romansh, one of Switzerland's four official languages. Fewer than 70,000 people can understand it, but it's well-loved by the Swiss as part of their national identity.

The après ski scene is fun, of course, but we didn't find much serious nightlife apart from a mashup hostel/hotel/bar/club called the Riders' Palace in Laax. It's clearly marketed at the huge crowds of snowboarders for whom Flims-Laax is a major destination: their rooms feature bunk beds, Sony PlayStations, and video projectors. No joke.

More important, of course, is the mountain itself. While the snowboard kiddies dork around playing video games, you'll be hopping deep powder turns all around the mountain. 6300' vertical feet, 11 gondolas and trams, and the usual sense of vastness that one finds skiing in the Alps.

On our first visit, the two most attractive lifts were closed all weekend, but we found plenty of waist-deep powder all around the lower mountain, even under the central Crap Sogn Gion six-pack chairlift (trailmap). Stay far to the skiers' left of the chairlift as you enter the trees for some of our favorite turns and jumps (see photo). On limited-visibility days, forests like these are your best bet, but the avalanche risk remains: be prepared.

On our next visit, we had a great run down Cassons, 5200' above the town of Flims. Gorgeous cliffs tower over a continuously steep 2700' wide face, which looked as if it would remain untracked for days. Lines can be long, but it's probably worth the wait on a powder day.


The best pure snow quality, however, was to be found near a marked off-piste descent, number 74 on the map. Coming down from Nagens, you end up skiers' right of the major cliff band; keep high and far to the right for fluffy happiness. Alternatively, take the Grauberg tram up and ski down piste number 10 past Segneshütte. Head towards the tram tower on the right side of the piste, and you can drop down the left side of the aforementioned cliff band. Stay in the trees below the bowl if you like, or cut right anytime to rejoin number 74.

Finally, if there's fresh snow, you should head up to the Vorab glacier for two classic descents. First, drop over the saddle towards Alp Ruschein along piste 35, but quickly traverse skiers' right into a huge, mellow bowl. After picking a fresh line down, keep skiers' right of the piste and zip through rolling hills to the bottom. 4,100' beautiful vertical feet, but be warned that the lift back up to Crap Masegn is painfully slow.


Even more exciting is the Vorab Pign, a small peak below the Vorab Glacier. Follow piste 35 to the saddle again, but hike up the ridge for 10 minutes to catch both the spectacular views and the fresh turns down ski route 77. For the lazy, skip the hike by skiing a few meters below the saddle and then traversing high and left below Vorab Pign: the wind and rocks make it seem a bit treacherous, but the snow quality made it an easy crossing for us. Continuing around to the ridge allows you to drop in a bit below where route 77 is marked on the map, and the snow was even better here.

One final recommendation: if you have time, definitely try eating at La Vacca, a campy-looking steakhouse up on the mountain at Plaun. It's hard to miss: a giant Native American teepee replete with cowhide benches and cowboy waiters. The food is remarkably excellent, as is the atmosphere surreal.