SKIING IS ELEMENTARY IN QUAINT SWISS AROSA
We HAve Arthur Conan Doyle to thank for Arosa. He was wintering in neighbouring Davos in 1893 when he ordered some skiing ‘boards’ from norway, before hiking up the mountain with two local guides, then skiing down into Arosa.
it’s still one of the most traditional old-school Swiss ski resorts, with horse-drawn sleighs riding around the frozen lake and fondue huts everywhere.
The revamped Tschuggen Grand Hotel has bright interiors and a spa carved out of the rock and linked to the hotel by a suspended glass walkway, where nine ‘light trees’ protrude from the roof. We are here with Powder Byrne, which prides itself on helping children to fall in love with skiing.
Sure enough, our two, Maisie, six, and imogen, five, meet the wonderful PB staff in the hotel boot room in the morning, who then organise their skis, boots, gloves and goggles, feed them lunch and accompany them throughout their lessons with the local swiss ski school.
Maisie skied all day and imogen skied the mornings then played in the PB creche in the afternoon, while we took advantage of the complimentary guiding service. We even had some full days’ skiing to ourselves (including several proper lunches) before picking the children up at 4pm.
What also attracts families to Arosa is its suitability for all levels of skier and the way it has reinvented itself with a peak-topeak cable car link to neighbouring lenzerheide, tripling the size of the ski area to 225km.
Above all, Arosa and Powder Byrne have combined to achieve something rare — a truly relaxing ski holiday for parents keen to get their children whizzing down the mountain in as little time as possible.