All white now
Ski novice Laura Millar finds guaranteed snow and Michelin-starred meals at a stylish Swiss resort in the heart of Graubunden
Learn to ski in Arosa, Switzerland
If there’s anywhere better to experience what savvy winter holidaymakers have known for decades – the unparalleled joy of trying to, well, keep one’s skis parallel – I’d like to know about it. I’ve headed to Arosa, possibly one of Switzerland’s best-kept secrets, to learn how to whizz down a mountain on two narrow bits of metal and fibreglass, and as terrifying as that sounds to me, if you have to start anywhere, this is the place. A tiny hamlet with an out-of-season population of around 3,000, Arosa sits in the heart of a valley in the canton of Graubunden, surrounded by looming, jagged mountains. Getting there involves flying to Zurich, travelling south by train to the town of Chur, then taking a dinky little bright red locomotive which chugs you up, higher and higher, passing trickling streams, snow-topped
You won’t be intimidated by hordes of people confidently zipping past you
chalets, and even the odd gambolling deer on your way up to nearly 1,800m.
Just beyond the peaks are a couple of flashier resorts, including Davosklosters, but this is not the place to come to show off your bling, your furry boots or designer salopettes; it’s got a more low-key, relaxed, family vibe. The village itself is scattered with a few skiwear and hire shops, several restaurants, and, at the bottom of the slopes, a ski and snowboard school. Over the past few years it’s had consistently good snowfall – 30cm fell the day before I arrived – with December to March fairly safe bets. When you do get here, you can choose from over 225km of slopes, and 181 runs, for all levels, as Arosa is connected to neighbouring resort, Lenzerheide, by the Urdenbahn, Switzerland’s fastest cable car. You essentially get double the value for one trip – no wonder it tends to attract serious, dedicated skiers.
Arosa may be modest compared to more high-profile, celebritythronged resorts, but it has had famous visitors in the past; in 2013, a certain Kate Middleton, then five months pregnant with George, came with Prince William for a friend’s wedding. Handily, the friend’s grandfather happened to own the hotel they stayed at, the Tschuggen Grand, which is also, happily, where I’m spending the next couple of days. Named after the mountain it abuts, the building doesn’t immediately scream “alpine”. In fact, it’s a rather modern-looking, multi-storey block, which was built in the 1960s after the original structure unfortunately burned down. However, it couldn’t be more perfectly situated for the slopes; it has its own little funicular mountain railway, the Tschuggen Express, with two cabins which can sweep 12 people at a time up a further 155m to the start of some of the runs.
Even better for skiers, the Tschuggen has its own equipmentrental store right on site, where you can be fitted for boots and skis, then store them in the adjoining stonetiled locker room until you’re ready for action. And action aplenty there is, with abundant blue and red runs on the Hornli and Urdenfürggli mountains (and a few black ones for the daredevils). The advantage of this not being an overly oversubscribed resort is that if you’re a complete beginner, like me, you won’t be too intimidated – or terrified – by hordes of people constantly, and confidently,