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© copyright Penny Kendall
Engelberg / Ski area
Brunni is reached from the eastern edge of town by cable car – convenient for many central hotels – but has just a handful of runs served by old lifts; for gentle sunny skiing or tree skiing on bad weather days it’s ideal though limited in extent with a maximum altitude of just 2040 metres. The major ski region on the Trubsee/Titlis side of the valley, is reached from the base station, two minutes from town centre by a free shuttle bus or by a (level) fifteen-minute walk. This disjointed start is mirrored halfway up the mountain at Trubsee, where the lift system splits.The Trubsee – a lake at 1,800 metres above a rocky escarpment - is traversed by chairlift in both directions to prevent the need for a lengthy pole-push. The high point to the west is the Jochstock, 2,564 metres, reached by two more chairs and giving access to predominantly red runs, well above the tree line. Also to this side, descending from the lake plateau, are red and blue back-to-village runs which pass a major cross country ski circuit and modest beginner/snowtube area halfway down, at the foot of the escarpment, before continuing through trees to the base station. Continuing directly upwards from Trubsee, the summit of the Klein Titlis is reached by two consecutive cable car rides.
The top lift – the Rotair - features the world’s first rotating cabins (or at least, the floors rotate), giving everyone within sight of a window a 360-degree view on each trip. All the routes on both the top and middle sections are red runs, with the exception of one black piste and several huge off piste routes, some of them on the Titlis glacier. For strong intermediate and advanced skiers, the high pistes are the main area of interest in good weather while the off piste routes are big enough, and pass through sufficiently challenging terrain to make them a major undertaking, leaving the piste far behind. Halfway between the summit and Trubsee at around two and a half thousand metres is the traverse that leads from the top of the Rindertitlis chairlift to the start of the Laub, Engelberg’s most famous off piste run: it’s as though God took a huge, broad valley floor and tipped it up to give a perfect, constant thirty-five degree pitch for 1,200 vertical north-facing metres, as wide as several football fields, unimpeded by rock or vegetation and frequently covered in powder snow. ‘Yeah baby’, to use the technical term!
But to those in the know, the Laub is just the tip of the iceberg, the tourist route. The aim of Engelberg’s powder hunters is to experience every one of the even longer, infinitely more varied descents from the very top. If you have any off piste pretensions, then whatever else you budget for when visiting Engelberg, a guide should be at the top of the list.
Engelberg
| Base | 3,445 ft (1,050 m) |
| Summit | 9,934 ft (3,028 m) |
| Elevation | 6,489 ft (1,978 m) |
| Snowmaking | |
| Ski area | |
| Beginner | 30 % |
| Intermediate | 60 % |
| Advanced | 10 % |
| Number of trails | 22 |
| Longest trail | 7 mi (12 km) |
| Snowfall | 177 inch (450 cm) |
| Season start | early Nov |
| Season end | early May |
Rental shops
Stöckli
Rent & Service center
Residenz an der Aa, CH-6390 Engelberg
Phone: +41 (0)41 637 04 44
Fax: +41 (0)41 637 04 45
E-mail: engelberg@stoeckli.ch
Swiss-made Stöckli skis have something of a cult following and the dedicated Stöckli centre is the ideal place to try/buy or just rent for a week.
Titlis Rent Station
Talstation Titlis Rotair, CH-6390 Engelberg
Phone: +41 (0)41 638 00 00
Fax: +41 (0)41 638 00 01
E-mail: info@titlis-rent.ch
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