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10 Best Places to go Snowboarding in Switzerland

Kimberly Williamson
Did you know that Switzerland is the birthplace for winter sports? Yes, Switzerland is one of the best places to have your skiing/snowboarding holiday.

This is no secret. Switzerland is home to some of the best slopes in the skiing and snowboarding world. Every ski/snowboard season, thousands flock in the resorts scattered all over the country. Some of these slopes are ranked the best in offering excellent skiing experience and others for their breathtaking views and beauty. If you plan on taking a ski/snowboarding holiday on a budget, there are loads of options to take advantage of in Switzerland.Use our guide to discover the 10 best places to go snowboarding in Switzerland.

1.Zermatt

Zermatt

Zermatt is one of the few places remaining in the World where you can snowboard 365 days a year. In the summer the Matterhorn glacier has 22km of pistes and a good park & pipe. In the winter it provides the starting point for a huge 2263m vertical descent back into the village.

2.Verbier

Verbier

Verbier is a world renowned name and attracts riders from all corners of the globe, well all who can afford her. Verbier is defiantly the Swiss version of Chamonix, attracting extreme snowboarders and skiers alike, but in true Swiss style and unlike Chamonix, it’s a fully polished resort with a massive modern interlinked lift system and perfectly groomed pistes. In Switzerland people are polite to the extreme and drive in the most conscientious and considerate manner, but in Verbier put them in skis add a bit of powder and all that goes to hell. This may well not be the Swiss nationals, but if you want to get some fresh tracks you best sharpen your elbows and don’t wait for your boarding partner to clear the slope, as if you hesitate a moment some nutter will leap over your head, from a rock above, and steal your line. That said the lines you get in Verbier are some of the best in Europe. Only a short traverse, from one of the many lifts, will open up into a wide and very long powder field or a steep shoot. Once the close stuff is tracked out, which is fast, get a guide and head off into some huge back county slopes.

3.Villars

Villars

Villars, in the French speaking part of Switzerland, is a simple place that sits in view of the high peaks of the Les Diablerets Glacier, where you can snowboard winter and summer. Villars is a popular place that get its fair share of visitors throughout the season. The slopes are well spread out covering the Les Chaux and Bretaye areas and linked after some careful navigation, with the base area at Les Diablerets.

Overall the place is not noted for being a hardcore destination, in fact, it’s true to say that this is a resort that favours piste loving hard boot carvers and family ski groups. However, the resort has a good attitude towards snowboarding and regularly allows its slopes to be used for various competitions.

4.Wengen

Wengen

This resort is a beautiful, calm and serene village located in one of the scenic areas in the Swiss Alps. The ski area is linked to Grindelwald and has a variety of ski terrains perfect for intermediates, beginners and experts alike. It’s amenities including restaurants and bars reel in middle-Poaged couples and young families. There are also a couple of ski schools where your kids can learn to take their firsts steps.

5.Davios

Davios

The slopes cover 6 mountains here, but most members of the one-plank world are drawn to the Jakobshorn like the famished to a fondue. It might have a little something to do with the groomers (we love the red Brama and blue Talabfahrt Gampen) – if not these, it’ll be the abundant off-piste options (the steep Teufi itinerary is a must-ride). Of course it could well be the fact that Davos has a socking great superpipe, and one of the best snowparks on the planet… In the Bolgen area at the bottom of the mountain you’ll find one of the largest half pipes in Europe, a regular host of the O’Neill Evolution competition it’s floodlit on a couple of nights a week for some after-hours shredding. Head to the top, and the JatzPark’s four increasingly difficult lines of kickers and rails await. To appreciate the rest of the area, pop over to the bordercrosses at Madrisa and Parsenn or get up close and personal with the mountain on Schatzalp, where the pace is deliciously chilled.

6.Saas Few

Saas Fee

It’s a good thing there’s a snow park open in the summertime here, because one week in the winter doesn’t quite suffice. You’ll find an awesome 120m superpipe and kickers twice the size of houses in the Morenia Park, on top of other features for different abilities – and don’t forget to spare some time for the sofas and deckchairs of the Chill Zone… The slopes aren’t bad either – take your pick from the wide, well-groomed pistes like 4, 5 & 6 from Felskinn, which are ideal for getting some Swiss style injected into your carvers. Thanks to the Allalin glacier and the cooling effect of the surrounding 4000m+ peaks, these are some of the most snow sure slopes in Europe – a fine choice for early season, late season or even midsummer riding.

7.Crans Montana

Crans- Montana

Raise your glasses to snowboarder extraordinaire Pat Burgener: not only was he the first to land a backside triple cork 1440, he also helped to create the Adrenaline Zone here, and did a ruddy good job. A championship-sized half pipe and a boardercross are the tip of the iceberg – you’ll find 10,000 m2 of modules and rails to boot. Fanatical freeriders might favour the unparalleled panoramic views up on the glacier – that and the choice of natural itinerary routes leading through the ski area. It isn’t all big stunts and cliff drops though – the pistes are brilliant too. The Tubang red is a glorious 12km cruiser that leads from high altitude peaks to tree-lined trails, and the local Swiss Snow School have Grade-A tuition for fledgling riders.

8.St.Mortiz

St.Mortiz

While some things in St M are invite-only, a humble lift ticket’s your ‘Access All Areas’ pass to the important stuff: there’s an ocean of terrain here (350km to be precise), and it’s yours to surf. Newbies will find a wealth of blues from the Salastrains lift (Munt da San Murezzan’s great for linking those turns). At the other end of the scale you can test yourself on the black World Cup run and the speedy ride from the Fuorcla Grischa chairlift in the Corviglia area. Variety’s the spice of freestyle life here: Corviglia’s Crowland Snowpark is split into an easy and medium parks and a fun slope, Corvatsche’s offering has beginner, medium and pro lines, a half pipe AND a bag jump and there’s another one in Zuoz, including a boardercross, three kickers, a range of rails and a fun box. Day trips over to Livigno in Italy are also doable, where the terrain’s so good it often hosts the Burton European Open.

9.Murren

Murren

Mürren is the stuff Warren Miller films are made of. The drop off the Schilthorn is a classic, and after a dump there’s an unholy amount of powder to play in. Slap bang in the centre of the area is the Blumental bowl, where you’ll have a blast as you dodge the rocks and jump the drops before re-joining the piste, hopping on the lift and starting all over again. A heli-trip to the 3692m Aebniflue might be the only way to up the ante – it leads to one of the longest descents in the Alps, and that’s a pretty mean feat. There’s also a sterling selection of groomers ranging from cruisy paths like blue #20 to pitchy reds like #15, and the Skyline Snowpark has beginner, advanced and expert lines to shred until the cows come home.

10.Nendaz

Nendaz

Access to the same cracking ski area, but without all of Verbier’s razzmatazz, this laid-back sister resort is a bonnie base for boarders. A big attraction is the access to kind blues, which dip in and out of the pockets of trees. The one from the Alpage drag lift is an ego-boosting cruise for newbies, or a great spot for the more advanced to practice their riding switch. Up the tempo on the red by the Plan du Fou drag, for a blast down evenly pitched rollers. Experts will have a field day on stand-out blacks like Les Fontaines, which is topped only by the magnificent freeriding potential from Dent du Nendaz, Mont Gond and the mighty Mont Fort. On the Jean-Pierre piste, the snow park seems to have grown every time we return here, with new wooden features giving it a natural feel and a snowcross to rack up the MPH.

 
 
 

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