What a fantastically fascinating place to ski. The Davos-Klosters ski region has a multi-course menu of ski areas that mostly delight in all ways, but its disjointedness can be a little frustrating on occasions. Whilst all terrain aspects are covered with every kind of on-piste & off-piste you can imagine, the Davos Klosters ski region is just not all in one interlinked mega resort, but instead is a range of smaller offerings that necessitates some critical mornings decision-making. Poor decisions which end you up at the wrong ski area for the day will rankle you for sure!

Weissfluhjoch is the centre of all things Parsenn. Six lifts, of all forms, converge on this significant highpoint, and that’s not including some surface tows that arrive nearby. 2 chairs, 2 cable cars, a gondola & funicular terminate in around this massive complex (much of which is hidden underground). And still, intriguingly, and despite all the lifts, it is still not simple to return to this point after skiing on the summit of Weissfluhgipfel.

Despite a few weeks of very warm (and occasionally wet) weather, conditions on the mountain were first class. North-facing parts of the off-piste in the high alpine zone were still skiable, and I even ventured a run right under the top cable car station at 2,817m on Weissfluhgipfel. Early on in my stay the valley trails that venture down below 1,500m altitude were clearly suffering but still doable, and a couple were closed (notably the long one to Küblis that I had intended meandering down). A fresh snowfall during the week (which I was hotly anticipating) delivered enough to make a real difference everywhere in the region. Follow ups a week would have been awesome to ride, but by then I had gone to Savognin & Scuol (which was awesome!).

For beginners progressing to bigger and better things, the highway wide groomed runs 6, 11 (& particularly) 15 are exactly what you want. It’s also hard not be impressed with the 1,100m vertical rolling intermediate pistes that descend to Schifer either side of the gondola line. You will find some wonderful lunch spots in and around the gondola base.

For off-piste freeride, the limits are as per your imagination. There are obvious lines and then there are those that require some exploration, a sense of adventure, or a local guide. Under the cable car line from Gotschnagrat is a formidable looking descent until one sees it up close and realises that in the right conditions it is quite approachable (and avalanche controlled!).

At the other locations, I took the bus to Rinerhorn and returned by train. Unless you time it to perfection, the bus wins every time! Early on a snowy morning Rinerhorn’s pistes were powder covered and deserted. Whilst best for intermediates, there are some fantastic off-piste glade skiing options and open powder bowls when the snow is deep. Had some delightful powder pistes for intermediates. Note that the highest lift is usually the last to open. Food offerings at Rinerhorn were not very good, but the bar at the lift base is nice for après drinks. I reckon there a fair bit of sidecountry terrain at Rinerhorn that would be far less tracked than in other parts of the region, but I will need to head back to explore more to confirm.

I always enjoy Jakobshorn. Easy access from Davos Platz, I skied here on an afternoon and then again first lift on a powder day. The pistes can get quite busy through the day, but I had the place to myself for quite a while on the powder morning. The alpine zone into the trees to mid-mountain is sublime. Dining wise there are some very good options on Jakobshorn. Bergrestaurant Clavadeler Alp, Jatzhütte or Bergrestaurant Châlet Güggel are all worth a look. At the bottom of the fun freeride route to Teufi, leave time for a drink or food at the friendly Restaurant Teufi.

Skied Madrisa for the first time this trip. Got there early via the train to Klosters Dorf station but was very surprised by the amount of families already heading up, or ready to go, on first lifts. It is hugely popular during holiday periods (was the last day of Swiss school holidays), but aside from the main chairlift and a couple of frontside pistes, I hardly saw anyone on the hill. Some truly pleasurable pistes here, and some fine off-piste as well. It was a balmy March day that I visited (it was 16 degrees Celsius in the valley that day!) and so the snow was soft. Pistes 6 & 7 on the backside are near perfect alpine groomers, and continuing on down the valley to the base is great. The ski route #12 from the top lift is in a huge alpine bowl that allows for fantastic powder turns (or softening crud turns for me on this day!) of a bout 750m vertical back into the resort. Be careful not to go to low before turning left. Plenty to keep the family occupied here, particularly smaller kids on the at the top of the gondola. Sustenance wise, drinks are fine on the deck of the Zügenhüttli, and lunch down at Berghaus Erika is a Madrisa ‘rite of passage’. Madrisa’s major downside is no valley trail for beginners, a download is necessary.

I do adore the number and diversity of top to bottom valley trails & ski-routes in the region. On this visit I skied lots of them, and thankfully, a few of them in powder. At Madrisa, the 1,500m vertical slide down from the highest point at Rätschenjoch down to Kloster Dorf via the Schlappintobel is simply wonderful. It was sun softened and supremely carvable when I did it. Rinerhorn’s 1,050m vertical descent from Nüllisch Grat down ‘piste’ #10 to the lift base at Glaris is a delicious exercise in diversity plus some technicality if the snow is a touch sketchy. The 1,650m vertical of on-piste excellence from Weissfluhgipfel all the way down into Klosters is an intermediate skier’s wet dream. It is just the steep section at the start and the weariness of leg muscles that may cause issues. On powder days from the top Jakobshorn the marked ski-route #14 down to Teufi is a 900m vertical leg stretcher that is both safe and easy to follow, plus has the bonus of a nice restaurant/bar at the bottom for libations (recommended) after one crosses the bridge & walks up to the bus stop. And of course there is the descent from the Mittelstation Höhenweg on Parsenn down piste #7 into Davos Dorf. At around 650m vertical, it can be extended by another 450m from the top, but that usually is in amongst the great unwashed. The lower portion is as fine a ski trail as you will find as it skirts along the funicular line and then in amongst pines down to town, although where it ends is the most odd location imaginable. Along the way there are ample opportunities to flit off into the off-piste, and then the piste finishes above street level practically on the verandah of a multi-storey apartment building. One then wanders down several flights of stairs & through laneways to get to the main road. A right turn will get you back to the Parsenn funicular base a few hundred metres away. It epitomises the strangeness of Davos as a town & ski destination, but admittedly is a whole lot of fun as a result.

I will bemoan the quality of the ski lifts at Davos-Klosters, but I still rate them a 4/5 because regardless of their age, they do an admirable job of getting you around the place without any lift lines. The number of surface tows at Rinerhorn & Madrisa may give some visitors pause, but that’s good - keeps the masses away. And one also needs to consider that the trains & buses also form a valuable part of the ‘lift’ system, allowing for the diversity of valley descents in the region.

On a stormy powder day there are a few lifts that are usually guaranteed to run and should be your ‘go to’ for first tracks. Both sections of the funicular up Parsenn, the two cable cars up to the top of Jakobshorn, and most of the lifts at Rinerhorn (upper lifts are surface tows) allow for a wealth of skiing when the weather is most foul.

Interesting too, that even though the lift infrastructure in the region is quite arcane, on a very busy mid-February, sunny Sunday, the only real lift line of any consequence was at the Totalp quad chair on Parsenn. Everywhere went quite smoothly, although I suspect the Schifer gondola would have been quite hectic after I breezed through there. Certainly gives the region a BIG tick on the uncrowded rating.

Davos, as part of the ski region, has everything a powder seeking freerider could hope for, and more. But Davos the town has all the ambiance of a downtrodden, inner city, high-rise, public housing development … but with an excessive price-tag. It never ceases to amaze me that if one can live anywhere in the mountains of Switzerland, why would you choose the town of Davos. In a hamlet outside of Davos - sure. In a village away from Davos but along the train line connecting to the region - definitely. But in Davos itself, I don’t get it. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. For all the money that allegedly oozes from the place, why does it look & feel so ……. blah! Could have written a whole lot of other descriptors there, but ‘blah’ seemed to cover it nicely. I did speak to a few locals in Davos about this and there were definitely two camps. They either love the town because of all its services & location, or they hate the town …… but love all of its services & location! Anyway, you can decide for yourself. For a short visit it is more than fine. Just don’t be expecting a cutesy Swiss Alps mountain village, because it is in reality a small city.

Klosters is a far more enjoyable proposition as a ski town, particularly if coming to the region with a family, but I’m sure there are those that would beg to differ. In the end with this ski region, it matters not where one stays because there are trains & buses going in every direction to get one in the right spot for first lifts. The journey is all part of the adventure.

As I tend to book last minute I stayed at two separate locations during my unusually lengthy visit. The first was in the village of Küblis, which is just included in the train travel with the lift pass. A delightful place, I stayed at the excellent Hotel Terminus, right on the train platform, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Request a room on the road side of the hotel, rather than rail side! The hotel has a fantastic breakfast, plus a lively bar & restaurant in the evening. Feels very Austrian in that regard, which is a good thing. The village has several supermarkets, a café and places to eat/drink including a nice pizza joint frequented by the locals more for drinking beer than eating pizza. It’s a shame the warm winter meant the valley trails down from Madrisa (to nearby Saas) and down from Schifer (all the way to Küblis) were not open. As much as I enjoy a train ride in Switzerland, skiing back to the village would have been a stellar way to end a day. Next time perhaps.

Despite my best intentions to spend a few nights in Klosters, availability at a reasonable price was scarce, so I then moved to Davos Platz and the surprisingly good Bernina Bed & Breakfast. I say surprising because I kept my expectations low, and they were pleasantly exceeded. Despite its utilitarian exterior, the spacious, quiet room with a south-facing balcony looking up to Jakobshorn would have done me for the season. Just a few minutes’ walk from Davos Platz train station & the Jakobshorn cable car, plus with a bus stop near the entrance for Parsenn & Rinerhorn, it was easy to get around. Reasonably priced too considering it was still Swiss school holidays.

It pains me to say that even though I am most interested in untracked off-piste terrain, I failed again to ski the Pischa sector. Suppose it means I’ll Have to come back in 2025. Good. I’m looking forward to it. You should visit too and sample the ski menu Davos Klosters. Travel by train and afterwards head to Scuol, Savognin, St Moritz & Lenzerheide to get the full Graubünden snow & rail experience.

See our thoughts on the pros & cons of the ski resort via the Davos-Klosters overview page.

See our video here

The main problem is that the three, medium-small skiing areas (Parsenn, Jakobshorn and Reinhorn) are not interconnected and the mobility between them is annoying and time consuming. Parking by the lifts is problematic and the best way to get around is by shuttles and buses which I found annoying.

However, if you happen to be there for skiing, best to stay as near as possible to the Parsenn cable car, as Parsenn is the largest ski site of the three. Unfortunately only advanced/expert skiers can ski all the way down back to town because of the extremely steep black runs esp. the besen binder.

At Jakobshorn also beginners and intermediate skiers can ski down but it's a much smaller site.
Even though the sun was great (not guaranteed) and there are great off piste areas, I wouldn't recommend this ski resort. It's not comparable to Kitzbuhel, SkiWelt in Austria or Les Trois Vallees in France in convenience and variety of pistes.
See our video here

We skied Davos Klosters ski resort in January 2018 and loved it. But we have a confession to make. We never really saw it!

Our visit coincided with one of the fiercest winter storms Europe has seen in many years. So, whilst we caught fleeting glimpses of blue sky and filtered sun, our general view of Davos Klosters was through yellow lens goggles in seething blizzards, white outs, blistering cold & incredible winds. What better time to judge a ski resorts worth! Despite the harsh conditions, the snow was brilliant (even if a tad avalanche prone in the off piste) and the resort coped remarkably well, running lifts every day. The beauty was that the lifts and slopes were generally deserted (even lonely).

Getting to Davos or Klosters is a cinch. Both towns have two train stations, which, together with several other stations and an excellent bus service allow easy access to accommodation and ski lifts. Klosters is still a smallish traditional town at a lower altitude than Davos, which has turned into a bloated monstrosity, defying all of one’s mental pictures prior to visiting.

A total of six different ski areas are collectively under the Davos Klosters banner and all provide multiple valley descents to different points, making every day a voyage of discovery. Three areas are directly accessible from Davos – Parsenn, Jakobshorn and Schatzalp. The 2 stage funicular on Parsenn from the centre of Davos is, like most funiculars, truly awful. Crowded even on a quiet day, once out of it everything is peachy, but many riders will need to make a return journey on it, as the only return trail directly back to Davos is a snaky black run that requires a bit of a walk back to town. This is the Davos Klosters big negative when it comes to the skiing. Everything else is in the plus side of the ledger.

Even in horrendous blizzard conditions (horrendous being all a matter of perspective – was a lot of fun!) we still achieved face shot after face shot in deep powder on the runs down from the top of Parsenn (Weissfluhgipfel 2844m)………………. until they finally closed the lift as the winds became cyclonic. Fair enough. Off to the new Furka Zipper 6 seater to ski fast intermediate piste and then eventually the 12km run to Klosters. It is possible to do over 2000m vertical valley descents on Parsenn all the way down the valley to Kueblis (Küblis).

After a brilliant lunch of traditional Grisons (Graubünden) Capuns (chard wrapped speck dumplings drowning in a divine cheese sauce) and strudel, the descent to Klosters is made all the better if one time’s it with the local train. The ski trail crosses under the rail line for the last 300m descent into Klosters. As the train approaches for the descent, the race is on. We won comfortably, skating across the bridge to the cable car as the train pulled into the Klosters Platz station. The cable car back up toward Parsenn is in two stages. The first stage serves a rollicking 600m vertical sled run. At the top of the second stage, Gotschnagrat some excellent off-piste runs are available to the adventurous back down to the mid station, or some intermediate piste on the opposite side. Piste trials (& off piste) down to the old slow Schwarzseealp chair are the pick of it for intermediates. Heading back towards Parsenn the weather grew worse and all lifts shut down. Exiting stage left we ended up in a small town called Wolfgang. A bus was waiting. With Kloster’s Madrisa ski area closed for the day due to the direction of the storm, we ventured direct to Rinerhorn on the excellent (and free with a ski pass/skis) local bus via Davos.

Rinerhorn has a different aspect and ski lift type to both Parsenn & Madrisa, so was still able to run in the storm. Surface lifts at the top of a gondola allow operation in most conditions, serving mostly easy intermediate piste. A variety of valley trails and freeride routes adds the spice to the hill. The gondola services an excellent sled run as well, which is very popular with the non-ski set. Rinerhorn also has a train station across the road (of course!).

Despite Davos not living up to the mind’s eye version, covered in snow it looks pretty enough at night. The centre of town has a fun collection of bars and restaurants and even a casino. Anyone economising on the food front can eat at the superb Migros supermarket restaurant on the cheap. All the high-end hotels have fine dining options with appropriately Swiss price tags. Davos also lives up to its reputation on the shopping front with a requisite number of watch, jewelry & clothing boutiques on the Promenade.

The next day's weather forecast was getting serious. Strong winds, driving snow and bitter cold all day, worsening in the afternoon. Four ski areas were closed leaving Jakobshorn the pick, which was good because that was our plan all along. Straight out of the train station at Davos Platz, under the rail line and into the cable, 50cm of fresh snow was piled on everything. Ascending to the summit, the crowd dwindled from about 20 people to just 6 hardy souls as the morning went on. Fresh tracks were the order of the morning. Jakobshorn has the most traditional and easy to understand terrain and lifts of the entire Davos Klosters ski area. An excellent beginner’s area and half pipe at the base near town, piste trails for all levels above the tree line, and good freeride terrain including tree skiing for advanced and experts in between. The blizzard eventually drove us into the restaurant at Bolgen Plaza for a tasty (but calorific) rösti, as the resort finally succumbed to snowmageddon. With the forecast looking grim it was time to move on.

We never sampled Pischa or Schatzalp due to time and weather constraints. Pischa looks to be very similar to the excellent Diavolezza-Lagalb on the Bernina Pass near St Moritz, but with all the skiing off piste.

Will definitely return to Davos Klosters to ski Pischa, Madrisa, the backcountry and to actually see what the place looks like when the sun shine. We do love a good blizzard though! 



See our video here