The glamourous ski resort of St Moritz

St Moritz is quite a popular and famous ski resort in Switzerland, known as a very exclusive and fancy place. We somehow landed up there without really understanding what we were signing up for. It was a bit pricier than other ski resorts that we have been to, but we could not figure out why! The slopes there were definitely more wider and less crowded. And the snow and weather was great when we went. But I don’t think that’s it what drives its price tag. But what that is, I still haven’t figured out!

Getting there and back

We took a flight to Zurich and drove about 3 hours to St Moritz. While going, it snowed in London as well as Zurich, and much more heavily all the way till St Moritz. Our flight had got delayed while taking off from London, so we got pretty late by the time we rented the cars and were on our way to St Moritz. It was dark all the way, so we couldn’t really see anything around. But of course we could make out the small cute villages we drove through, the high mountains around us, and everything covered in white all around - am sure it would look stunning during the day.

It also kept snowing during the night, so we had to put snow chains on the way. We of course had no clue how to do that, but when we stopped on the side of the road, a few guys there realised too that we had no clue and offered to help us out!! It turned out as a life saver for us as the last 1-1.5 hours of travel was through narrow roads ascending the mountains, covered with up to a feet of snow and it would have been tough to drive without snow chains. In fact once we reached our airbnb in St Moritz, our car did get stuck in 2-3 feet of snow right next to our place. Thankfully we were able to get it out, but still we were awed by the amount of snow all around.

Drive back through Swiss Alps

On the way back, we drove during light hours and saw the pretty Swiss Alps countryside. We passed through loads of small villages, some huge valleys and passes, huge lakes and high snow covered mountains and forests - they all made for mesmerising views. Everything was covered with snow and looked totally heavenly and calm. Also part of Zurich town which runs all along the lake was twinkling by the time we reached Zurich and looked scintillating and christmas-ey.

Slopes and skiing

The slopes at St Moritz are amazing. They are a lot easier than other resorts, very gentle and much much wider. So it felt so much easier skiing there as a beginner. Also when we were there, there were quite less crowds. It might have been because it was snowing the first two days, or because it’s an expensive resort. But it was very easy to practice and learn skiing, and enjoy it all along 😊.

Around St Moritz, there is lot of cross-country skiing and we saw a few people coming back with their cross-country skis in the afternoons. There is a lot of off piste skiing too and it seemed not too dangerous around here given the lack of trees on the top of the mountains. In fact, we saw two people coming down a mountain off-piste from one of the gondolas and it looked so stunning. Seeing a small dot moving at fast speed down a mountain and creating a zig-zag track in the snow as it comes down. It was a priceless moment, something I have seen many times on television but for the first time in real.

The peaks

The first day it was cloudy and there were lots of moguls. And a lot of the lifts on the top of the mountains were closed. The second day it was snowing a lot and very foggy, cloudy and windy the whole day making it tough to see. But the slopes and the snow that day was amazing to snow on. It even made it possible for me to try red and blue slopes, it was so good. And the last two days, it was sunny the whole day giving us some fabulous panoramic views of the high mountains around, of the lake and villages in the valley and an airport far off. The sunny days were colder than the others but overall, the weather was never too cold.

Just limited to St Moritz, the length of ski slopes felt little less than resorts like Kitzbuhel and St Anton. But apparently, there are a few other resorts just 15-20 mins bus rides away which have a lot more kms of runs. The slopes at St Moritz have lot of gondolas, funiculars and lifts running, but I found the infrastructure there a bit dated. Also, the main gondolas and funicular have 10-15 minute gaps between each of them. Which took a lot of time to get moving and also meant that each of them was filled up to capacity before it would move. And they had no place to sit inside either! The places to eat on the slopes are also just about ok. They all served average and high cost food. So I am still wondering why it is so pricey!

The slopes

But altogether, I loved the resort and totally enjoyed skiing there. The views from the top of the valley and lake were impressive. As well as the mountains all around. And with the sun above, and skiing at top speeds down steep slopes, it actually felt like I was in fast-track heaven 😜. We skied for 4 days, every day from 10 am - 4pm, with a break for lunch and skiing directly back to our airbnb. I did some very small spells of off-piste (while connecting between runs not connected) and it was amazing given the fresh snow. So all in all, a great experience.

The village and around

St Moritz from the top

The twin villages of St Moritz Dorf and St Moritz Bad are located around a lake, which right now was frozen. It was a charming resort, with a couple of high-rises but mostly small wooden alpine houses. And they all looked very cosy and cute, covered with snow all over. We went to the city centre one day after skiing and were surprised to see it all dead. There weren’t a lot of restaurants and clubs open as you would expect in a ski resort. But there were loads of high end brands everywhere, so clearly people shopped here but didn’t really party. We did see a lot of people in fur coats and dressed expensively though. The lake was frozen right now but might be fun for water sports in summer. And there were a few places to visit and activities to do around the place. But honestly, I still wonder why its such an expensive resort, someone please help me figure that out!

Accommodation

Our airbnb was a huge apartment in the village of St Moritz - Bad, located very near the lift. It was amazingly convenient to just walk to the lift and the ski slopes whenever you wanted to get out in the morning. In fact, we even skied to the front of our gate in the evenings. There was a small rivulet flowing right in front with a little bridge. And small icebergs floating in the water. And on the other side of our apartment, we could see the well-lighted and expensive Kempinski hotel. So it was quite cosy and picturesque all around, and a very good location.


All in all, turned out to be a great skiing weekend, with great weather, inviting slopes, huge improvements in skiing skills and no big mess-ups. Yay for St Moritz!!