(Picture by: Sebastien Toutant)
Laax’s campaign ‘Happy Up’ stands for the feeling of happiness experienced during a ski and snowboarding holiday in Laax.
No wonder, because Laax has the largest fully-linked ski area in Graubünden at 235km of piste. It links the villages of Flims, Laax and Falera. Some 70% of the Laax slopes are between 2,000 and 3,000 metres, making it one of the most snow-sure in the Alps. Laax has long been recognised as a snow sure destination with the Laax base station at 1,100m and the Vorab Glacier at 3,018m.
The high altitude lifts also mean a large vertical opens up, again one of the biggest you’ll find anywhere, providing some of the world’s longest trails – up to 17km (11 miles) long.
Laax is Switzerland’s leading freestyle winter sports resort and is located just 90 minutes from Zürich and easily reachable with the Laax Shuttle from Zurich Airport
Best For Freestyle and Freeride
Laax is one of the leading freestyle-resorts in Europe, containing four snow parks, Europe’s largest half pipe and a new freestyle slope. Snowboarders and freeriders love the enormous terrain parks and halfpipes on the glacier and Crap Sogn Gion.
The first European indoor-base, the Freestyle Academy, is also here, where you can practice your moves before you get to the mountain!
Excitement is also growing in Laax as preparations are underway for the 2014 Burton European Open. Scheduled for January 13-19, 2014 this season’s Burton European Open will be the last contest in Europe before the Winter Olympic Games, therefore the last chance for many riders to qualify for Sochi 2014.
Presented by MINI and held in Laax for the 10th consecutive year, the Burton European Open is Europe’s most prestigious snowboard event and features every year more than 300 riders coming from all over the world.
Cool Lifts
The plus.laax.com offer is recommended, providing day and lift tickets for the best prices …and what lifts! Last season the resort installed a swish new chairlift designed by famed German car designer Porsche no less!
The new six-seater chairlift will run from Treis Palas to Crap Masegn. Along with a cool look thanks to the efforts of the Porsche Design Studios and a pull-down weather protection hood, the individual chairs on the new lifts are reportedly to be able to rotate so that people can look out sideways to admire the scenery without needing to trouble to tilt their heads.
Plenty For Beginners Too
For beginners, there is ‘Laax for Beginners’. This includes 4 hours of skiing or snowboarding lessons, one day lift ticket, equipment to rent and lunch at the top of the mountain.
Laax has great terrain for beginners with easy to use lifts and wide gentle slopes. The ski school offers a range of especially tailored courses which should have you progressing on to the extensive blue graded terrain. The modern lifts, including easy to use magic carpets, gondolas and cable cars, makes getting back up the slopes – one of the trickiest parts of learning to ski – a doddle.
And for More Experienced Skiers Who Don’t Need the Parks
With 45 blue and red runs covering more than 130km (80 miles), Laax offers many attractions for the recreational skier. The Curnius and Foppa sectors provide gentler terrain but, most experienced skiers will delight in the long red and blue lifts, served by a state of the art high speed chair and gondola lift network. The La Siala bowl and Grauberg Valley areas are particularly good.
Highly regarded among advanced skiers, particularly for its freeride terrain, on piste highlights at Laax, include the downhill from Vorab to Alp Ruschein, described as “ski kilometres (four miles) of pure joy.” The World Cup Descent from Crap down to Laax also offers its own special challenges as does the black descending from Cassons Grat to Naraus and, at the end of the day, the long descent through the trees down from Nagens.
Apres Ski and Dining Out
Staying in Laax means you have a dozen different resort villages to choose from in the valley below. However the liveliest nightlife is in the slopeside locations of Laax itself where the Riders Palace and CrapBar are usually very busy. There are more than 90 places to eat spread across the valley in Flims, Falera, Laax and other resorts, ranging from pizzerias and creperies through to high calibre gourmet establishments. As well as Alpine cuisine there are Chinese, French and Japanese choices. The Pizzeria Cristallina is a popular choice in Laax as is the self-explanatory Burgers. At the gourmet end of the market, options in Laax itself include the Mulania and Straussennest and there’s a bigger choice in nearby Flims.