DAVOS
Ski & Snowboard Resort Review
The majestic resort of Davos, SWITZERLAND is the largest mountain resort in Switzerland with the highest town in Europe.
Davos Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
Davos has some of the most varied and stimulating skiing and snowboarding terrain in Switzerland. Expect open powder fields, cliff drops, chutes and gullies, forests, endless wide groomed trails, beginner areas and well maintained terrain parks.
The Davos terrain is spread across five mountain areas all accessible all on the one hands free ski pass. The ski pass is also valid at the neighbouring resort of Klosters.
Each area has its own unique terrain making Davos one of the top skiing and snowboarding resorts in the world. The five mountain areas are;
1. Jakobshorn
2. Pischa
3. Rinerhorn
4. Parsenn
5. Madrisa
The mountain areas are supported by an excellent lift system and linked by buses operating five minutes apart throughout the day.
Jakobshorn Skiing and Snowboarding
The challenging Jakobshorn Mountain towers above the town of Davos. Jakobshorn has wide rolling terrain of varying steepness, forests, moguls and groomed interlinked long trails.
For awesome off piste runs at Jakobshorn from the top of the Jakobshornbahn Cable Car walk along the trail towards the Stadlersee Area before cutting across and taking a short hike to the top of the Jatzhorn Peak. Then reap the rewards of a really long powder run down to Teufi where a bus can be caught back to the base of Jakobshorn.
Alternatively if you do not want to hike you can drop in from the backside of the Jakobshornbahn Cable Car. Be aware that only advanced skiers and snowboarders should attempt the hike as the area is very steep.
Fantastic tree skiing and snowboarding can be had in the lower areas of the Jakobshorn Mountain around the Fuxagufer Chairlift.
Jakobshorn has a terrain park and two halfpipes next to the Jatz Junior drag lift below the restaurants. Another illuminated halfpipe is located in the base area.
The restaurants at Jakobshorn are an experience to remember. Book a double sun bed on the deck for the day at Restaurant Chalet Guggel. The restaurant has waiter service, music and sometimes an outdoor hot tub!
One of the best Ski and Snowboard Schools in Europe and the children's kindergarten is located at Bolgen; the base area of Jakobshorn.
Pischa Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
Pischa the smallest mountain in the area is a short bus ride from the town of Davos. The skiing and snowboarding is suited for intermediates and beginners with long wide well groomed trails. Due to its small size it tends to be less crowded than the other mountain areas.
Rinerhorn Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
Like Pischa Rinerhorn is not a large mountain however after a snowfall it has first-rate off piste skiing and snowboarding.
Advanced skiers and snowboarders head to the Nullisch Chairlift and enjoy off piste terrain through rolling powder fields and trees leading all the way down to the base area.
Intermediates catch the Rinerhornbahn Gondola above the tree line to access lengthy well groomed trails; some 5 kilometres in length.
Rinerhorn is a short bus ride from the town of Davos.
Parsenn Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain at Davos
The highest lift point in Davos is at Parsenn Mountain. Parsenn has challenging extreme off piste areas and the longest groomed trails in the region.
The groomed terrain below the Parsennhuttenbahn Cable Car is enjoyed by all levels. Intermediates can cruise while advanced skiers and snowboarders can have some fast GS racing turns.
From Davos Dorf catch the Parsennbahn Mountain Railway to Weissfluhjoch. Once there catch the Gipfelbahn Cable Car to the top of the Weissfluhgipfel Peak to tackle the steep north side of the peak or just stick to the groomed pistes and make your way towards Klosters.
The 14 kilometre trip from Parsenn to Klosters must be done. Advanced skiers and snowboarders could easily do the loop in a couple of hours while intermediates can make a day out of it.
Follow the Schiferbahn Gondola to the Casanna-Alp Area and look for the signs to Klosters. The terrain is mainly wide groomed trails with some short steeps and twists. As you nearer Klosters the trail narrows through the forest. There are a couple of restaurants on the way so you can stop half way for lunch and absorb the scenery.
Once in Klosters you can either catch the train back to Davos or catch the cable car back to Parsenn. The Gotschnabahn Cable Car goes to the Gotschnagrat Area where you can cut across to the Parsennbutte Area then ski or snowboard back down to Davos along side the Parsennbahn Mountain Railway.
Madrisa Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
The Madrisa Mountain faces south above Klosters Dorf. It is accessed via the Madrisabahn Gondola travelling over a stunning lake.
Like Rinerhorn it is a small mountain offering off piste skiing and snowboarding terrain and fast intermediate groomed trails and beginner zones.
The Madrisa Chairlift transports skiers and snowboarders to the top of the Ratschenjoch Area where after a short hike open powder bowls and natural gullies can be readily accessed.
Madrisa is popular with families as it receives a lot of sunshine and has gentle beginner trails. The new children’s Adventure Park introduced for the 2010 winter season has small bumps, twists and turns. Madrisa also has a snow tubing run and child friendly lifts.
Other Activities at Davos
Other activities to enjoy at Davos include paragliding, hang gliding, tobogganing, ice skating, ice curling and snow shoeing on the many walking tracks.
Indoors go swimming, play indoor golf, visit a health spa for massage and beauty therapies or go to the cinema.
Davos Shopping
The town of Davos has 150+ shops catering for all visitors requirements. There are ski and snowboard shops, high fashion clothing boutiques, shoe shops, children’s shops, gift and souvenir stores, jewellers and photography and art galleries.
The town has well stocked grocery markets, patisseries, wine stores and chocolate shops.
Davos Restaurants
Restaurants in the town of Davos serve French, Italian, Swiss, Asian and seafood cuisine.
Cheese lovers go to Cafe Schneider for delicious fondue and raclette served with local meat dishes. The Italian Da Damiano Pizzeria has wood fired pizzas and seafood specialties.
The cosy Restaurant Bündnerstübli in the Central Sporthotel serves Swiss cuisine with regional influences.
For fine dining go to the Waldhuus Restaurant at the Arabella Sheraton Hotel and the Mann & Co restaurant in the WaldHoltel.
Be sure not to bypass the exceptional patisseries selling sweet and savoury delights and the small takeaway food stores in the main street.
Davos Nightlife
The Davos nightlife is lively and vibrant with visitors from across the globe.
The snowboard hostel Hotel Bolgenschanze has a funky bar and nightclub with a happy hour every evening from 8pm to 9.30pm. It really gets firing after midnight.
The Cabanna Club is the hot spot in Davos with DJs performing all night every night.
If you feel lucky hit the Roulette or Black Jack tables at Casino Davos.
On the quieter side the Central Sporthotel has a relaxed Piano Bar with delicious cocktails. Enjoy a drink whilst emailing friends and family from the internet café C Bar.
More About Davos
Your Davos Ski & Snowboard Resort Reviews
Michael Polyak, Bonn, Germany. March 2008 The slopes are divided into 5 non-connected areas; one has to take a bus or a train to get from one to another. Three of these areas are small and can be easily done in a half-day each; only two main areas are worth staying longer time: Jakobshorn and Parsenn. Runs are mostly blue and red, suitable for a beginner/average level. There are very few black runs - an advanced/expert skier will be most probably bored after 2-3 days. Lifts are mostly old-fashioned and slow, one needs to spend quite some time to get from one place to another. Connection between various runs is mostly via long and boring blue/green traverses. Prices - both in town and on the slopes - are by far the highest we ever encountered in Europe. The town of Davos is quite ugly; Klosters has a nicer character.
Pippa Keddie, UK. Feb 2006 Well what an impression Davos has left on my friends and myself. I wasn't too sure what to expect having booked the vacation at the last minute and not really conducted much research. It turned out to be one of the most fun filled action vacations we've ever had! Think sunny snowfilled packed days, lots of eating, drinking, dancing shopping and general partying in the evenings!
Ryan Jones, USA. Feb 2006 We stayed at the Bahnhof Terminus Hotel which was directly over the road from the Jakobshorn Cable Car, the hotel package provided breakfast and dinner during which we ate like kings, so much so that often we wouldn't stop for lunch at all! There are 5 different mountains to ski on at Davos, I would have happily never left Jakobshorn, I found the pistes outstanding, however my dare devil teenage children soon devoured everything it had to offer! So off we went to the other side of the valley to the Parsenn area, which from the summit you can see across the world! We skied to Klosters, which is made famous by the english royals spending their ski vacations there every year. We are not a family of expert skiers by any means but we found that most of the pistes we encountered we could get down in some way or the other which made for good days. After a day on the mountain we would go for a wander down the main street and do some shopping and people spotting before heading back into our hotel for another feast.
Dave Mathews, UK. March 2006 PROS - endless rewards if you want to hike as well as fresh tracks to be found for days after a powder dump, top pipe and park at Jakobshorn, good lift system, so big that during holidays not too crowded, nightlife with lots of clubs and bars, easy to get to - Great resort. CONS - very few, a bit too expensive for my liking.
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195
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56 |
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Trails
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Halfpipe |
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2 |
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3 |
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Resort
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