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Flims Laax Falera, Switzerland
A splendid, spacious area with high slopes and great lifts,
just 90 minutes from Zürich airport.
Flims Laax Falera
has an impressive 137 miles of mainly intermediate slopes. The resort is
very popular with weekenders and has invested in some large-capacity lifts,
including a 3-stage gondola from Flims, a jumbo gondola from Laax and several
high-speed chair lifts. It can be very quiet during the week, and it is
virtually unknown outside the Swiss and German markets. It deserves better.
Don't be put off by the unfortunate (for English-speakers) local name for
'peak', which is 'crap'. All the mountain tops are called crap, a top après-ski
venue is the Crap Bar and the tourist office has used the slogan 'Flims
is crap' in promotions.
There are very long runs from the tops
of three different interconnected mountains, amid stunning scenery - all
ideal for adventurous intermediates. And there's plenty to play around
on in all areas. The two main drawbacks are its sunny orientation, which
can soon spoil the snow on the lower part of the mountain , and the lack
of any sense of real Alpine in the villages. Now there's a third: their
new trail map uses a unique classification system unlike any other we
have seen. Formerly black and red runs have become green (to signify 'Allround
Slope'), red now means 'Freestyle Slope', off-trail areas are shaded yellow,
black diamonds have appeared. Confused? We are.
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Trail
map
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Town map
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click
on images for full-size view
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What's
Great
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What's
Not-So-Great
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Extensive, varied slopes suitable for all but
experts
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Impressive lift system
+ Virtually liftline-free on weekdays
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Fair number of slopes above 2000m/6500ft, partly offsetting effects
of their sunny south-east orientation
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Lots of wooded runs for bad-weather days
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Just 90 minutes from Zurich airport
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Though well intentioned,
the unique trail grading system is confusing
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Sunny orientation
can cause icy or slushy slopes and shut lower runs
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Buses or long walks to lifts from much of the accommodation
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Very subdued in the evenings
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Village very spread out, which detracts from its charm
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Weekend crowds
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Content
on this page by permission from
"Where to Ski and Snowboard Worldwide"
©Chris Gill & Dave Watts |
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