Stoos is a bizarre skiing area but with a breathtaking upper mountain zone that would be the envy of many a ski resort. Aside from its world-record holding funicular with rotating 'cabins', Stoos has some fine skiing & mountain hüttes but also has a tangle of awkward connections that detract markedly from the ski experience.
North-aspect terrain is a blessing, but snow quantity looks questionable. Not the highest ski area in the world by a long way (tops out at 1,935m), it does have a solid 600m of skiable vertical and the terrain looks interesting enough to be worth a sniff on a powder day. It is a genuine shame that the terrain is split in two and getting between one and the other is an exercise in WTF!
We visited on a busy weekend in late January. Car parks were full, the village was heaving with visitors, skiing on the Fronalpstock side was hectic, but skiing on the Klingenstock side was hard & fast with few others daring its slopes.
Driving down from Zurich was straight forward enough until Schwyz whereafter the road gets interesting as it winds up through the town square and narrow lanes to the other side of town. At the funicular base, the infrastructure is huge. A massive multi-level car park sticks out like a sore thumb. It was full by the time I arrived, and I had to go up high in the top car park opposite the main terminal. All parking costs too, we hate that! Access down was via some stairs to the road and across to the funicular terminal.
The ride on the funicular was anticlimactic due to the valley being socked in and views being limited. As the track steepens visibility was negligible and then it enters a tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel onto the alpine plateau was wonderful into bright sunshine.
Exiting the lift terminal a reasonable question is where do I go next? My first descent was all about getting a funicular photo but ended up highlighting a typical issue at Stoos. Heading down a short run to a surface tow that really goes nowhere! To connect to Fronalpstock I needed to skate around the bottom of the new hotel (Stoos Lodge) to use a rope tow to gain a small rise. Then down a narrow groomer replete with falling beginners alongside a conveyor, before skating uphill slightly to the base of the chairlift. Anyway ...... you get the idea that the funicular<->village<->ski lifts/slopes interface here is awkward & complex. I'm sure someone enjoys plopping around on multiple rope tows/surface conveyors/ T-bars to go from one side to the other but me not so much. Suppose I could have just gritted the teeth and skated everywhere ...... next time perhaps. And that will stop me whining about it; or will it? I'm sure first-time visitors here will continually make wrong turns when skiing between the two sectors. Don't feel too bad. So did I. After skiing several hundred different ski resorts across the world, you'd think I'd know better, so it begs the question, is it you Stoos, and not me after all?
From either peak, the views down and across Lake Lucerne (a.k.a. Vierwaldstättersee) are simply stunning. Fronalpstock has the better viewpoints.
Ski wise, Klingenstock has serious pistes in the upper half, and accesses some tasty off-piste as well. Certainly the 'go to' side of the ski area on a freshie day. The Fronalpstock side is ok up beyond the second quad chair, but the piste degrades into a narrow cat track in the lower section. Not a problem in full cover when off-piste is an option, but in light conditions it is way too hectic to be deemed safe on a busy weekend. Off-piste from the peak has potential into the valley toward Furggeli, and also through a mass of interesting rocks mid-way along the upper chairlift.
A few mountain hüttes look the goods at Stoos. I stopped off at the simple, but totally worthwhile Waldhüttli on the Klingenstock side. I was fascinated by the outdoor pissoir next to the outdoor seating. A simple arrangement that I must confess was unable to use given the families sitting nearby. Wanting to take a photo of the arrangement from the outside, I got absolutely sprung by a user 'mid-stream' as I took the photo. See it in this review (photo number 20) - he is clearly not amused, but perhaps taking a piss like this in front of everyone having lunch is not the best idea either? Oh well, smile & wave, smile & wave.... Elsewhere, the Mosi-Bar was pumping at the lower end of the village that afternoon, and we suspect this IS the place to be for après ski entertainment.
I can recommend Stoos for a daytrip in good weather to check out its bizarreness, or maybe to stay a night or two in the village as well, but not much beyond that. Anywhere in the village looks like it would be just fine for an overnight stay. Remember that the skiing here is limited and there are way better places in Switzerland to spend a true ski holiday. I would revisit if in the area on a powder day, or if with some fellow travellers that have never been. The lift pass with funicular included is well-priced and the whole package is worth a rubbernecking exercise and if you luck out with the snow, who knows, it might just be the greatest day ever? Alternatively going sledding here might be fun too.
See our thoughts on the resort’s pros & cons via the Stoos overview page.