I was impressed with Scuol. It has everything one should expect in a Swiss ski resort & more: • Loads of perfect groomers for beginners & intermediates. • Fantastic valley trails to interesting villages. • Plentiful untracked off-piste terrain on powder days. • A majority of terrain on sunny slopes above a snow-sure 2,000m altitude. • A fine lift system that also provides easy access to the backcountry. • A typically Swiss range of non-ski activities. • Wonderful accessibility for disabled skiers. • And a village that has both modern & ancient elements, including a nearby castle & mineral springs aplenty. • Perfectly accessible by train and/or bus. Combine it all with a beautiful location on the Inn River, and all the elements of ‘paradise found’ are nearly met.
Advertising itself as a ‘family’ ski resort, it does an admirable job of that. But it so much more than just a family ski destination. By no means a death-defying experts ski area, it still has enough of everything to satisfy everyone.
Aside from the valley trails (and a massive lower mountain off-piste terrain sector), Scuol is snow-sure with nearly all of its terrain above 2,000m elevation.
For powder hunters first tracks are all best from the Jonvrai base, where three chairlifts all ascend in various directions. Your challenge is to beat the feisty locals to first tracks on the short, but steep off-piste under the chair from the top of Mot da Ri (2,583m), and then from the top of Salaniva (2,710m) dropping off piste #19-20 or the top of #17 (Mot) to skiers right. The Salaniva sector is huge and has absolutely heaps of open alpine freeride options. One of the best is to take the T-bar up to Champatsch (2,783m), then traverse hard to skiers right all the way to a small col and then descend into Jonvrai by whichever route takes your fancy. The zone below the traverse line back into the bottom of the T-bar is a nice, safe lower angle bowl with a huge amount of fresh lines available.
On a powder day, the valley trail down to the village of Sent (Traumpiste #33) is an absolute peach (sweet and tasty!) plus accessible to all. Low-angle powder beside the groomer is delicious, an interesting hut provides libations halfway, and then the ending is a delightful 10min stroll down to the village centre. Time it right to meet the bus back to Scuol train station for a quick turnaround back up to the skiing.
The Ftan valley descent is less dramatic, but more snow assured. Makes a fine warm up run in the morning. Avoid the eatery near the lift base as it is a shocker, particularly if busy. A hotel & small café are lower down in the village if you are desperate to eat, or head back up the lift to the mountain hut at Prui (a better option). A sledding trail also makes the descent to Ftan; something everyone should do at least once in their lives (sledding/sledging/rodelbahn/tobogganing that is).
From Motta Naluns down to Scuol is rated as an intermediate piste (#1), but during our visit, there were several signs redesignating it as ‘only for expert skiers & snowboarders’. This was mainly due to some icy & marginal sections that were destroyed by ski traffic very quickly every day (even when it had 50cm of fresh snow on it). Despite the signs, I saw an instructor bring a group of novice kids down it (carnage!) and several families that after reading the sign and pondering the options, decided that their beginner children were expert enough, resulting in yet more carnage. Why people do this when there is a perfectly good gondola for downloading is beyond me. That valley trail to Scuol, situated at 1,250m altitude and facing south, is the resort’s biggest weakness, plus its relative lack of sheltered, below tree-line terrain in times of poor visibility. Changes in snowfall patterns into the future will only make it worse. The trail to Sent (1,430m) is a little more secure due to it being a slightly higher elevation snow-making covered road for the last part of the descent. The trail to Ftan (1,684m) is the most snow-sure due to its higher elevation, hence the sledding trail is in the vicinity.
Scuol is the terminus of a Rhätische Bahn railway line that easily links to Zurich airport, plus other Graubünden ski resorts like Davos, Klosters & St Moritz (to name a few). The bus network also links to Samnaun directly, and then with one connection on the Swiss-Austrian border, to Landeck-Zams & Nauders in Austria, plus Malles in Italy. Local buses in Scuol run everywhere connecting the villages & hotels to the train station situated only 200m from the gondola lift base. The buses are mostly free, with the exception of the line to Samnaun beyond the village of Sent.
On any given day, the only real lift line will be at the first chairlift at Nalons where everyone comes off the gondola. It clears quite quickly and then you can expect no further lines.
I stayed in a lovely guesthouse a the far end of Scuol township. The Garni Alpenrose - Grusaida provided all I needed at an affordable price. It was within a short stroll of two bus stops. Catching a free ski bus was required to get to & from the ski lifts, but it was a short & efficient journey. The centre of town and the thermal pool was a 10 minute walk from the guesthouse. There is plenty of accommodation close to the ski resort base & train station, including a very popular, modern 'youth' hostel. A range of hotels up to 4-stars, including some fascinating historic ones, are peppered in and around the town, with most linked to the ski resort by the wonderful bus system.
Scuol is nearly completely unknown to the ‘English’ speaking world, and that is a shame. Like Savognin, it is a very Swiss ski resort, and what that means is outside of weekends & Swiss School holidays, it is deserted. That is as good a reason as any to visit and drink in the beauty of this gorgeous ski resort. Add in fresh snow and paradise is found.
For more info on the pros & cons of this ski resort, see our Scuol Overview page.
