Content
Davos / Off-piste
© copyright Davos Tourismus
When you’re riding the lifts on Pischa it’s easy to spot the best lines of off-piste, which lie between the three T-bars. Surprisingly it is often still possible to find untouched powder days after a snowfall.
On the front of Parsenn there are areas of off-piste to your left and right but watch out for rocks. To skier’s left it’s possible to traverse out to Dorfberg, although snowboarders have a habit of cutting lines above fellow slope users. From Parsenn mid-station there’s an unpatrolled route which descends down the side of a forest keeping to the lake side of the funicular. If the snow its good it’s often a better option than the slick black back to base.
Boarders are quick to erase any powder between the pistes on Jakobshorn.
Off the back
Jakobshorn has an off-piste route down to Teufi with a steep entry off the back of the mountain to Dischmatal. Heading south-east off the opposite side of Jakobshorn is the Mühle route. This is a popular run and you may have to head out further to find ‘clean’ powder, but be careful not to miss the way through the trees as you could end up in very steep and dense forest. Both require a bus trip or a long pole / walk back to Davos.
Rinerhorn’s off-piste run down through Waldalp starts off on skier’s right of the Hubel lift and winds down through the trees. On the other side of Rinerhorn you can round the shoulder beside the Nüllisch T-bar to an off-piste route called Leidbachtobel, where you can often find untouched powder days, even weeks after the last snowfall. It eventually joins the black Leidbachalp run along rolling meadows, past hay barns and working farms to the gondola.
Short hike
Parsenn has off-piste descents off Gemindeboden as well as the steep Diretissima. Some pitches require short hikes and others just long traverses. The areas are a complex maze of knolls, cliffs, rocks and gullies and require careful navigation; local knowledge here is invaluable.
Rinerhorn is renowned in Davos and beyond for its off-piste run from the Nullisch Grat to Sertigtal. This requires a short hike from the lift and has a steep entry. Another peak-to-valley descent on Rinerhorn is down the Marchhüereli route off the northeast side. A short hike to a broad col opens onto a wide expanse before dropping onto a steeper tree pitch and emerging into the meadows and the Nordic tracks which follow a small winding road and thundering stream through snow laden pine trees.
The Bäbi route heads further north off the back of the Rinerhorn via Sältenüeb down to Sertig valley, again joining the Nordic tracks and the post bus back to Rinerhorn base station.
Guiding in Davos
It would be a terrible waste to visit Davos as an advanced or expert skier and to stick to the groomed. Yet it’s hard to get the best out of this area without local knowledge. Many of the routes end up at remote villages, bus stops or on cross-country trails, and it can be difficult to find out where the best snow is, where the crowds aren’t and when the next bus will turn up.
Davos' local guides seem to have an uncanny knack of being able to time certain runs to coincide with bus, train and restaurant timetables. And when it all comes together the skiing is a dream, the scenery magical, the rustic restaurants idyllic and the transport links an adventure. What’s more, if you are prepared to use skins or snowshoes to climb then there is even greater off-piste potential. A skilled guide can make the off-piste seem unlimited.
Davos ski itineraries
From the Weissfluhgipfel it is possible to ski a day’s circuit to Arosa and Lenzerheide. The route heads west via Sapün, Heimeli, Langwies, Arosa, Weisshorngipfel, Tschiertschen,
Hüenerchöpf, Gürgaletsch, Parpan and Lenzerheide. From here it’s a bus ride back to Davos via Weisen and Glaris.
There are some long 18km routes to Fideris and Jenaz. Both require a climb from Kreuzweg on the Parsenn to the Strassberger Fürggli. Descending into the tiny ski village of Heuberg at 2,000m, it makes a lovely lunch spot and for a few Swiss francs you can catch a tow up Hinteregg before traversing into the woods above Fideris. From here the route emerges next to a wood mill and the railway station.
It is also possible to follow in the footsteps of Conan-Doyle on the route he took to reach Arosa, via a three to four hour climb up from Frauenkirch to the Maienfeld Furka pass and a descent through the woods and a final 30 minute walk to Arosa’s railway station for the return to Davos via Chur. A less arduous option is to ski off the back of the Parsenn via Haupter Tälli down to the railway station at Langweis on the Arosa railway.
Pischa off-piste
On Pischa there is a lovely off-piste route called Tschuggenberg which heads out to skier’s right and crosses over the road to join the Unterer Tälli path by the river. At the opposite end of Pischa the descent down Hüreli brings you down to Unteres Laret, between Klosters and Davos where you can catch the post bus back to town. If you are prepared to climb there are popular routes from Pischa over the Pischahorn down Gatschieferspitz to Auja in Klosters. Or from the Pischahorn directly down to the Vereina valley.
Boxes leftside
Navigation
Quick access
Resort shortcuts
Advertise your business on Ultimate-Ski.com
Promote your business on Ultimate-Ski.com in a full page advertisement and reach our targeted audience of skiers and snowboarders.
Boxes rightside
Search Site
Custom Search
Ski Chalet Rental
Competition
Ultimate-Ski.com and the Canadian Ski Destination Consortium are giving away a 7-day ski holiday for 2 to one of 10 great Canadian ski resorts. The winner gets to choose which resort with flights from UK courtesy of Canadian Affair.
Enter here
Enter here
Ski Insurance
