Engelberg Skiing & Snowboarding
Engelberg-Titlis is 'world class big mountain skiing' in the truest sense of the words. Skiing Engelberg resort is a full on, big mountain adventure for everyone, on or off piste! The 2000m skiable vertical is imposing enough........... and then you ski it. The off-piste freeride terrain can be super intimidating to the uninitiated. Even on the more popular routes (i.e. Laub), avalanche danger & crevasses on the glaciers are ever present. If intending to tackle the ‘Big 5’, Engelberg is best sampled (at first anyway) with a guide.
Check out the ski trail map for Engelberg below.
For those not interested in chasing powder, Engelberg's topography means it has an awkward & disjointed arrangement of lifts & piste trails. After half a day it makes enough sense. Even new skiers will feel a sense of adventure as trails wind down valleys to the base. The beginner areas are somewhat cut off from the rest of the terrain up higher. The best area for beginners isn't even in the main resort, but near the town on a sunny slope above the historic Kloster (monastery) in the ski area called Klostermatte. Above it, the Brunni ski area consists of a small amount of mixed piste trails on about 440m of skiable vertical accessible via cable car, plus a return ski route back to the outskirts of the village.
Engelberg Skiing Highlights
Whilst skiing powder ALWAYS takes priority, tick off the following when at Engelberg.
- For first-timers to the resort (but strong intermediate or better skiers & boarders) start with the quick ‘Ski Tour of Titlis’. Take the gondola up to Trübsee (noting the broad face of the Laub) on the left as you get higher). Take the next gondola to Stand, then the Rotair cable car to Klein Titlis, noting the Steinberg glacier terrain below you on the way up. Check out the Cliff Walk and Ice Cave before clicking into skis or board and heading down. Go via the base of the Ice Flyer chair and the Glacier lift T-bar all the way to Stand and onward to Trübsee and the mid-station of the Trübsee Hopper chair. Take the chair (noting the exit from the Sulz freeride zone on the left) and then the next two chairs up to Jochstock. From Jochstock, descend to Engstlenalp (noting the terrain of the Steintäli on skiers left all the way down) and take the chair back up to Joch Pass. From Jochpass, descend all the way via Untertruebsee back into Engelberg. Now decide what you liked best, go back up and do it. Tired! You need to get fitter for the days ahead!
- Ski the high glaciers on Titlis early in the morning for some cold, dry snow superfine turns against a fabulous back drop of endless mountain peaks. Get a guide if heading off-piste if you are unsure.
- Ski the longest on-piste trail combination non-stop from the of Jochstock, to the valley base - a distance of 9km and vertical drop of 1,500m.
- Attempt to ski the entire vertical without using any connecting ski lifts from Klein Titlis at 3,028m all the way down to Engelberg base at 1,050m. It requires descents both on and off-piste riding, including the Laub. Only for advanced freeriders. Leg liquification guaranteed.
- Explore the Big 5 freeride zones. Three can be done without a guide (Laub, Steintäli & Sulz); one is probably best done with a guide(Steinberg); and one is definitely with a guide (Galtiberg).
- For a different perspective on the mountain, take the cable up to the Brunni ski area in the morning as the sun hits Titlis. Ride all the piste trails then do the ‘adventure return’ via the ski route from Ristis toward Engelberg.
- Toward the end of the day, start a 6km long après ski run involving at least three bars (or four) and only one lift. The start is the Iglu Bar near the mid-station of the Trübsee Hopper chairlift. Enjoy the interior or sit outside and soak in the surrounding glacier & mountain splendour. Take the chairlift to the Alpstübl, stop for another brew, or just continue to ski the valley to Untertrübsee. In the shadows of the cliffs, the restaurant bar is a typical family run mountain hut experience with a different view of the mountains and town. Lastly, continue you long slide down to the village lift base and finish in the ‘The Chalet’, a quintessential Engelberg haunt.
Ski Lifts
Engelberg's ski lifts are an intriguing mix of old, new & downright gob-smacking. Several ancient cable cars throughout the valley appear to have more to do with summer & winter walking than skiing. In the Titlis ski area, surface lifts appropriately serve beginner areas, whilst modern chairs & gondolas, plus the iconic (& gob-smacking) Titlis Rotair cable car provide the uphill oomph for the rest. if you want to ride this classic, better do it fast as it is going to be replaced in the coming seasons.
Replacement of the painfully slow Engstlenalp chair was completed for season 2020, improving movement for beginners on-piste & freeriders coming down into the area. Two new chairs plus a terrain expansion are in the wings for below the Schafberg peak, but whether they eventuate is another thing!
Lift Passes
There are several lift pass options at Engelberg. For most ski visitors, the only lift pass of interest is the Destination Pass that covers all of the ski areas (Titlis, Brunni & Fürenalp). This pass is dynamically priced when purchased online, and savings of over 16CHF per pass are possible. For beginner skiers, the Trübsee pass for all the lower ski lifts on Titlis is good value. For absolute novices, the Klostermatte area near the centre of town has very cheap passes, but is impacted by warmer weather. The more extensive Brunni area has its own standalone pass for its wider diversity of terrain and may appeal if the weather on Titlis is feral.
Snow & Weather
Engelberg is renowned for freak storms pewking heaps of fresh snow on the 3,239m Titlis. With an average upper mountain snowfall of over 10m, the snow quality tends to be excellent on & off piste making the upper mountain sector of Engelberg one of Europe's most sure ski resorts. Upper mountain snowpack depths during winter typically are up to 600cm (6m or nearly 20ft).
The upper mountain can be subjected to some extreme weather during winter storms but is amazing when the sun comes out. Note that inversions can make it seem cloudy up above when in the village, but Titlis may well be in glorious sunshine - always check the web cams!
Off-Piste Freeride & Backcountry
As a bucket list item, Engelberg is all about the monstrous, & classically Swiss Alps, freeride descents in & around the looming summit of Titlis. The major areas are referred to as the Big 5 by some and include both obvious & not so obvious routes on the mountain.
See the Engelberg freeride route map below.
The Laub is obvious (even if its entry isn't!) as the massive, beautifully pitched & avalanche-prone slope viewed to lookers left on the gondola up to the mid-mountain at Trübsee. The Steinberg is obvious when viewed from the Rotair cable car up to Titlis, as are the many crevasses in the glacier! The Steintäli is straight forward from the top of Jochstock and can be scoped from the Engstlenalp lift. The Sulz, also accessed from the Jochstock, is easy enough for anyone with freeride experience but is harder to scope out than the aforementioned. And finally the last of the Big 5 is the Galtiberg. Impossible to scope out and quite a long technical descent, the only way to do it is with a guide.
Skiing & snowboarding the off-piste at Engelberg has hazards exponentially greater than many other ski areas in the Alps, simply due to the combination of topography, wind & snow. Venturing into it is not for the inexperienced unless one is with a guide. Indeed, even if experienced, a local guide on some routes is mandatory (i.e. Galtiberg). Search & book a guide with our partner providers on our Engelberg Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
