Worldwide Ski Resorts • Switzerland • Davos
Overview
Davos was one of the very first purpose built ski resorts to be developed. Originally run as a popular health spa, it was realised in the early 1930s that a growing interest in skiing could prove lucrative and a nursery slope was established together with some primitive lifts. The resort has gradually grown over the years to become an unfortunately somewhat ugly town of grey buildings with two main centres and a somewhat depressing feel to it.
Accommodation is plentiful and all tastes and budgets are well catered for between the many hotels and apartment blocks and there are also some excellent restaurants and bars to be found. The rather unprepossessing appearance of the town is more than compensated by the magnificent surrounding scenery. Furthermore, the people are friendly and since the introduction of some new lift equipment, the notorious Davos queues have been greatly reduced.
Profile
The resort is situated at 1550m and has some of the highest pisted slopes in Switzerland. The snow record is fairly good, although the lower slopes are prone to lack of cover and it is often necessary to finish the day with a ride on the lift back to the town. It is said that you can ski a different mountain every day for a week and there is plenty to attract skiers and snowboarders of all abilities, with some excellent blacks and top quality off piste opportunities for the experts.
Intermediates of all levels will also find a wealth of slopes to keep them busy all week and novices have a choice of nursery slopes and plenty of progression runs to aspire to. The ski and snowboarding schools have earned a very good name and English speaking instructors are the norm. As an added attraction, Davos is next door to Klosters — favoured by the Royals — and the two resorts share some slopes, so there is always the chance of bumping into a crowned head.
Mountain Information
Davos has 310m of pistes that extend from 2845m down to 810 m. There are 50 lifts and although many of these are the old fashioned T bars, the resort has invested heavily in improving and replacing much of the equipment, significantly improving the speed, comfort and efficiency.
The slopes are famously well groomed and can be unusually quiet, particularly on the areas furthest from the town. The Parsenn area provides memorable skiing with long, reasonably easy red runs that extend from between 10 and 12 km and although these sometimes become a bit steep and lumpy towards the end they should be well within the scope of the reasonably confident intermediate. Snowboarders tend to head for the Jakobshorn area where the best terrain park is situated. Mountain restaurants are plentiful, although those situated on the lower slopes receive the best reviews.
Apres Ski
This is a quiet town. While there are lots of bars and clubs to choose from, don’t expect a riotous time.
Snowboarders congregate at bars near the snowboarder hotels at the foot of Jakobshorn.
Swiss Resort Guide
Resort Information • Davos
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Resort Height | 1543m |
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Top Station | 2823m |
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Bottom Station | 1543m |
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Vertical Descent | 1280m |
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Drag Lifts | 20 |
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Chair Lifts | 6 |
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High Capacity | 10 |
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Opening Dates | Nov - April |
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Rating Expert | 7 |
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Rating Intermediate | 8 |
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Rating Beginner | 6 |
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Apres Ski Rating | 10 |
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Snow Reliability | 9 |
