Of the great ski resort success stories of the 21st century, none can rival Switzerland’s magnificent LAAX.
It’s not just that the ski area completely reinvented itself to create one of the biggest and best ski areas in the Alps, it’s how it did it! LAAX has positioned itself as the coolest ski area in the Alps, with a holistic modern-urban mountain concept making it THE must-visit destination for freestyle skiers and snowboarders in particular. It focused early not just on the growing freestyle ski and snowboarding market though, but also the importance of ensuring all its actions put the climate first, with an initiative it has called Greenstyle.
© Philipp Ruggli
But LAAX isn’t just for freestylers and those who want to do all they can for the environment. This is also one of Switzerland’s largest ski areas, spanning across over 224 kilometres of slopes, with fast, comfortable state-of-the-art lifts (including the amazing new world-first, on-demand “FlemXpress” gondola lift) to whisk you to the top of the runs. Those lifts climb to snowsure glacier terrain peaking at 3,018m and opening up a huge lift-served vertical. Active families will especially appreciate the great range of terrain for all tastes and abilities.
Europe’s Top Freestyle Ski Resort
LAAX is famed as the top European resort for freestyle skiing and snowboarding. It’s home to the world’s largest halfpipe as well as a minipipe, an Olympic-sized kicker line and no less than five snow parks for all tastes and abilities.
© Philipp Ruggli
The LAAX OPEN a world-renowned freestyle competition and an official FIS Freeski & Snowboard World Cup are staged here every January.
It’s also home to the world-famous LAAX Freestyle Academy, an indoor hall that focuses on all things freestyle year-round. The original Academy opened nearly 15 years ago, but this autumn an all-new, much larger building has opened with the very latest amenities.
“LAAX has been a place of pilgrimage for freestyle sports enthusiasts since the 1980s when we championed snowboarding while most other resorts still hadn’t come on board with the emerging sport. But freestyle wouldn’t be freestyle and LAAX wouldn’t be LAAX without sustained, further development and the courage to innovate. LAAX’s new and improved Freestyle Academy reinforces our position as the top European destination for freestyle, both in winter and summer sports,” says Reto Poltera, Head of Freestyle at LAAX.
The Brand New LAAX Freestyle Academy
As with many things, LAAX was a pioneer of year-round, indoor freestyle halls where anyone can learn and hone their freestyle skills with expert guidance and the aid of airbags and trampolines. Since LAAX opened their original Freestyle Academy in 2010, more than a dozen destinations around the world have copied the idea.
Now though an all-new LAAX Freestyle Academy has opened after two years of work. The new state-of-the-art academy for skateboarding, parkour and all-round freestyle, allows guests to practice their tricks on the Academy’s trampolines and air bag with strap-on skis or snowboards and use the 360-degree cameras to track their progress, before taking their skills to the mountain to recreate those tricks on the snow.
The new LAAX Freestyle Academy covers 2,000 square metres, half as big again as the 1,300 square metres footprint of the original academy. New features include a Fivesquare trampoline equipped with that 360-degree camera system and video analysis. In addition, the skate bowl has doubled in size, there’s also an expanded parkour zone with a jumping tower and airbag, a café and a Vans store.
“The vibe that prevails on the mountains, where kids can hit the slopes alongside their idols, then sit down next to them for a drink at Caffè NoName, is also felt in the Academy. After all, this is also the motto of the Freestyle Academy: Freestyle is for everyone,” adds Reto.
Team GB winter sports athletes, including BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2023, Mia Brookes, as well as the ten-time World Cup title holder, Swiss freestyle skier Andri Ragettli are amongst those who are based in LAAX to make the most of these tops of the range facilities, on and off the snow and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.
Children over six years old, families, teenagers and adults alike are all welcome to experience the Academy, and any ability from complete first-timers is catered for. Prices start at 30CHF (£29) for an hour for non-members.
LAAX OPEN’s Big 1-0
The LAAX OPEN is one of the world’s great celebrations of freestyle snow sport and this winter it celebrates its 10th birthday, hosting a Freestyle festival with FIS Snowboard & Freeski World Cup from 14-18 January 2025.
© Andri RAGETTLI
The LAAX OPEN is one of the world’s great celebrations of freestyle snow sport and this winter it celebrates its 10th birthday, hosting a Freestyle festival with FIS Snowboard & Freeski World Cup from 14-18 January 2025.
© Philipp Ruggli
The competition’s roots really go back to the 1980s, but in the past decade in particular the LAAX OPEN, has truly established itself as a globally unique freestyle event. It brings together all facets of freestyle culture, perfectly integrated. It’s a short distance to the ship-shaped contest locations, the magnificent mountain views, the sustainable accommodations, the party locations, the live stage, the superpipe, slopestyle, snow parks, slopes and the parks!
The result is a truly harmonious festival where the audience is just as happy as the pro riders and artists is where everyone feels welcome.
Greenstyle
The company that runs LAAX decided long ago that it had a big responsibility to care for the environment for skiers and snowboarders, for the local population and for future generations. They created a programme called Greenstyle and put it at the heart of everything they do. Of course, there is the basic ideal to Reduce. Reuse. Recycle but there are much more ambitious objectives too including working to no longer use fossil fuels and supplying the entire company with 100% renewable energy.
© Philipp Ruggli
The company has made many initiatives over the years to further Greenstyle objectives. They include, most recently with the construction of the new Freestyle Academy, the entire building process aimed to reduce, reuse, and recycle ensuring that everything that could be recycled from the previous Academy was reused in the new hall.
The Amazing FlemXpress Lift
Always innovators, always putting the environment first with their Greenstyle philosophy, LAAX spent more than 15 years planning their incredible new FlemXpress gondola lift.
They even had to come up with a whole new type of lift, a world-first. The technology is called a ‘Rope-Taxi’ which essentially means the cabins arrive when you call for them, rather than wasting energy by constantly circulating empty when not needed.
© Philipp Ruggli
After all the planning work began on the new lift in June 2022 and the first two sections of five planned were unveiled at the start of the 2023-24 season. This winter a further two sections (Startgels-Segnes and Segnes-Nagens Sura) will open with the last part, Segnes-Cassons due to be completed by next summer 2025.
You can follow construction via the video construction diary or on the project website flemxpress.ch
Not Only Skiing
LAAX knows that these days lots of people visit winter resorts with no plans to ski or snowboard, or just to do that for a part of their holiday. So there’s loads to off the slopes too.
Whether you’re a culture buff, foodie, looking for some spa treatments or retail therapy or an adrenaline junkie looking for a new hobby, the vast array of activities and attractions in LAAX will provide a thrill for every type of visitor.
Some of the options include paragliding, exploring the local museums, or even stargazing at the Mirasteilas Observatory. The world’s longest treetop walk, three brilliant toboggan runs and 62 kilometres of double-track cross-country ski trails are also here.
There are around 100km of winter hiking trails in the snowy forests with differing lengths and levels of challenge. The options include the 10km long LAAX culinary trail which provides breathtaking views of the Rhine gorge, stopping off to enjoy each course along the way.
The LAAX region is also one of the country’s top spots for paragliders with ideal flying conditions caused by the dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the mountain range. Visitors can soar around the mountain peaks between 2,500-3,000 metre altitudes enjoying birds-eye views of the slopes. First-timers are welcome with experienced paraglider pilots steering the way whilst frequent gliders can go solo. There’s even the option of a ski/fly combo, taking off and landing on skis.
Culture lovers and those with a thirst for knowledge will have plenty to explore in LAAX as the region is home to many museums, libraries and exhibitions. In addition, the trendy Riders Hotel at LAAX baes station regularly hosts photo exhibitions from local photographers, hosts artist residencies, stages concerts and much more besides. .
© Philipp Ruggli
As LAAX is located at over 1,200 metres above sea level it is one of the best destinations in Europe to see the constellations, making a great change for star-starved Brits from heavily light-polluted cities. After skiing all day you can get back on the slopes at night and enjoy a ride-along in a snow groomer where you can see the stars as well as watch the incredible job the groomers do preparing the slopes for the next day.
The site is also home to a 1.6-tonne Cassegrain telescope: the ultimate spotting tool for Asteroids, comets and satellites, which frequently supplies NASA with its findings.
LAAX, with its unique freestyle culture and consistent focus on sustainable tourism, is easy to reach from Zurich. In just over two hours you can reach it by public transportation, which is always reliable and on time in Switzerland. It’s a multifaceted resort destination with a huge and fabulous ski area and a wide range of outdoor adventures with something for everyone in the midst of some of Switzerland’s most breathtaking mountain landscapes. Is this the winter you visit?
Main Image © LAAX