Flumserberg
(part of my guide to skiing the alps)
A small mountain just 45 minutes from Zürich, Flumserberg is not a major ski destination. However, its location makes it a nice choice for day trips and learning backcountry skills. It has ~10 legitimate ski lifts spanning 2700 vertical feet, but none of the marked runs are particularly memorable. Check out the Flash-based trailmap for an overview.
As with most resorts in the Alps, the off-piste opportunities at Flumserberg are more impressive than they first appear: much terrain exists between runs and in the nearby hills. Of course, despite having the appearance of a mellow beginner's resort, serious avalanche dangers persist if you stray from the marked runs: a slide last weekend injured three and killed one (news report in German).
From Alp Panüöl, you can walk/skin/skate 30 minutes away from the resort to Alp Fursch, whose friendly staff can tell you a bit about the nearby backcountry (and provide accommodation with full board).
The hill tends to get really crowded on weekends: two of my colleagues once found a rather long ticket line at the base station in Unterterzen. Observing the pace of the line for a few minutes, they calculated that it would take over two hours to reach the front. They turned around and drove home.
Apart from skiing, the mountain is beautifully situated on a lake called the Walensee, behind which steeply rise the beautiful Churfirsten mountains (see photos).
A small mountain just 45 minutes from Zürich, Flumserberg is not a major ski destination. However, its location makes it a nice choice for day trips and learning backcountry skills. It has ~10 legitimate ski lifts spanning 2700 vertical feet, but none of the marked runs are particularly memorable. Check out the Flash-based trailmap for an overview.As with most resorts in the Alps, the off-piste opportunities at Flumserberg are more impressive than they first appear: much terrain exists between runs and in the nearby hills. Of course, despite having the appearance of a mellow beginner's resort, serious avalanche dangers persist if you stray from the marked runs: a slide last weekend injured three and killed one (news report in German).From Alp Panüöl, you can walk/skin/skate 30 minutes away from the resort to Alp Fursch, whose friendly staff can tell you a bit about the nearby backcountry (and provide accommodation with full board).
The hill tends to get really crowded on weekends: two of my colleagues once found a rather long ticket line at the base station in Unterterzen. Observing the pace of the line for a few minutes, they calculated that it would take over two hours to reach the front. They turned around and drove home.Apart from skiing, the mountain is beautifully situated on a lake called the Walensee, behind which steeply rise the beautiful Churfirsten mountains (see photos).
1/23/2006
1 Comments:
Your entry on Flums should not put people off. Leist opens up a lot, and in high season you can ski all the way down to the lake. But you will not find any of it without a guide from the excellent ski school - perfect to make the best of a busy weekend. Weekdays its not crowded anyway. If you are a demanding high level skiier its not going to keep you happy but from beginners up to good intermediate its great.
by
Andy Burn, at 6:42 AM
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