Laax/Flims — Switzerland

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Flims / Laax. Photo © tourist office

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The ski resort of Laax in Switzerland comprises the three linked villages of Flims, Laax and Falera. The linked ski area is locally referred to as the Alpenarena. The villages reside in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The nearest airport is Zurich, which is about two and a half hours away.

The pistes lie on a sunny aspect at 1100m above sea level under the Crap da Flem. ‘Crap' is local dialect for ‘peak’. As you can imagine this word game has spawned a number of amusing signs and photo opportunities – the most popular being outside the ‘Crap’ Bar at the lift station!

Easy going resort

The resort is a great option for anyone wanting quiet pistes and an escape from fellow Brits. Laax has remained relatively undiscovered by UK skiers and snowboarders and only really gets busy with locals at the weekends.

That said, during the winter the resort is host to some high profile snowboard competitions including the Burton European Open, the British Ski and Snowboard Championships and the Pleasure Spring Sessions. These bring with them crowds, media and parties.

Great intermediate slopes

Whatever the weather conditions most visitors to the Alpenarena will find an appropriate challenge. The local slopes are situated around 1100m but it is possible to ski on the Vorab glacier at 3000m. The most hardened extreme skiers may struggle to find a challenge. If you're willing to forego twee reproductions of an Alpine set from ‘Heidi', Laax will reward you with great skiing, great food and a plethora of non-skiing activities.