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01 Arosa<br />
Lenzerheide<br />
<strong>The</strong> ski area of Arosa Lenzerheide comprises two<br />
resorts linked by the Urdenbahn – a cable car that was<br />
installed in 2014, creating a whole new world of winter<br />
opportunities. Skiers can now get from the Hörnli in<br />
Arosa to the Urdenfürggli in Lenzerheide via a fiveminute<br />
ride over the Urdental valley. Together, the<br />
resorts offer 225km of stunning ski runs. <strong>The</strong> views<br />
from the Weisshorn peak in Arosa are remarkable,<br />
while the 360° panoramas from the top of the<br />
Parpaner Rothorn in Lenzerheide look out over more<br />
than 1,000 Alpine summits. Arosa Lenzerheide boasts<br />
an enviable number of sunny days, too, and Swiss<br />
tennis ace Roger Federer even has a chalet in the<br />
hamlet of Valbella on the outskirts of Lenzerheide.<br />
Switzerland is a country<br />
covered in mountains.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Swiss Alps make up<br />
a remarkable 65 per cent<br />
(26,835 sq km) of the<br />
nation. Not the worst<br />
ratio for adventure, we<br />
think you’ll agree.<br />
Skiing and snowboarding<br />
Where steep means steep<br />
Thanks to Arosa Lenzerheide’s<br />
225km of pistes, there’s a little<br />
bit of everything here. For<br />
beginners, there are wide pistes<br />
and rolling hills aplenty; for<br />
those who prefer to spend their<br />
holiday up in the air, or jibbing<br />
boxes and rails, there are four<br />
terrain parks spread across the<br />
resort; and experts can enjoy an<br />
impressive 28km of pisted black<br />
terrain. <strong>The</strong> crown jewel of all<br />
this is the Silvano Beltrametti<br />
World Cup slope. Starting at the<br />
Mottahütte and ending in the<br />
village of Parpan, it measures<br />
2.45km, dropping 727m in the<br />
process. With an average<br />
gradient of 31 per cent – and<br />
slanting by as much as 65 per<br />
cent at points – the thigh-burner<br />
is one of the steepest courses on<br />
the downhill World Cup circuit,<br />
and one of the toughest pisted<br />
runs on the planet. For the less<br />
vertically inclined, special nighttime<br />
skiing options give the<br />
resort a starry-eyed edge. On<br />
nights when there’s a full moon,<br />
skiers can get a sundowner and<br />
dinner at well above 2,500m<br />
before skiing down beneath the<br />
Alpine moonlight – watching out<br />
for snow werewolves, of course...<br />
STUART KENNY<br />
114 THE RED BULLETIN
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