St. Mo The Side Trip

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Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained

Twelve dots - that's funny.

Missed you in Europe this year RA13. You'da dug it fosho.

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Stoke Dreams 25 is queued with 6 colons in sight.

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St. Moritz is on the Ikon pass for 24-25 season...

Dag nabbit.

I could spend another 3 or 4 days there. Lots to ski.

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La Grave isn't.
;-)

But yeah, dangitall, that might actually bring the folks who never figured out that a hotel stay there gets you half price lift tickets: 47chf.

I've got some other hotels queued up for about 130chf/night.

My total cost for the St. Mo stay was less than 250chf/day ($277 US)

I'll be going back anyway for those 10 minute 800m tram laps.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5WX6ksJ5KS/

Brilliant TR.

And don't spread the vibes, i want to have more ikonless weekends in Moritz. [emoji6]

Btw. Northon: On the prices in St. Mo: if you don't have a hotel, it's fucking expensive by European Standards. 100chf lift Tickets and dynamic pricing have effectiveliy raised prices by 50% in 5 years. Not only there.... [emoji20]

And all the big Areas make a solid profit. You have to worry about the small ones like Splügen or the ones in the magic pass (season pass for 400chf that's 1 1/2 half vail day tickets ;) ).
Or Argentera with it's top 3 treesking I've ever had. RIP. ( well day Tickets were 20 euros on the weekend and 15 midweek in 2018.... so there is that [emoji6] )
Those which don't turn a profit are usually owned and cross financed by the hotel owners and the communitues. And yes some of the smaller ones vanish. Positive example: Bernhardino has reappeared.

You can buy crissolo in piemont for a few bucks because it doesn't turn a profit. ( a really symbolic price). Same area where argentera Was. The small remote places are in serious trouble. Hell, I skied arolla this year on a blue bird easter holiday day with 20 people. Granted it was midweek, not a powder day and they only have pomas ( 3000 vertical feet of them. Takes 25 minutes of leg squeezing to get to the top) to maintain but still 20 people is like 900 chf they earned that day. Probably less because half probably had the magic pass.

Another big difference: the revenue stays local and doesn't go to vail corp, so you don't have to have an absurd profit margin. All areas which are not owned by the community are usually more expensive than similar sized resorts.

Correct me if I'm wrong subtle, but isn't Arolla heavily subsidized by the CH Gov't? Did'ya run into my DE buddies there this year?

I have no idea. Local county, I'd say yes. Kanton or the whole country: I don't think that's allowed in Switzerland.

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Originally Posted by subtle plague

Brilliant TR.

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Thanks.

Fried Pork Skins Anonymous is offering discount admission rates.

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And don't spread the vibes, i want to have more ikonless weekends in Moritz. [emoji6]

Btw. Northon: On the prices in St. Mo: if you don't have a hotel, it's fucking expensive by European Standards. 100chf lift Tickets and dynamic pricing have effectiveliy raised prices by 50% in 5 years. Not only there.... [emoji20]

And all the big Areas make a solid profit. You have to worry about the small ones like Splügen or the ones in the magic pass (season pass for 400chf that's 1 1/2 half vail day tickets ;) ).
Or Argentera with it's top 3 treesking I've ever had. RIP. ( well day Tickets were 20 euros on the weekend and 15 midweek in 2018.... so there is that [emoji6] )
Those which don't turn a profit are usually owned and cross financed by the hotel owners and the communitues. And yes some of the smaller ones vanish. Positive example: Bernhardino has reappeared.

You can buy crissolo in piemont for a few bucks because it doesn't turn a profit. ( a really symbolic price). Same area where argentera Was. The small remote places are in serious trouble. Hell, I skied arolla this year on a blue bird easter holiday day with 20 people. Granted it was midweek, not a powder day and they only have pomas ( 3000 vertical feet of them. Takes 25 minutes of leg squeezing to get to the top) to maintain but still 20 people is like 900 chf they earned that day. Probably less because half probably had the magic pass.

Another big difference: the revenue stays local and doesn't go to vail corp, so you don't have to have an absurd profit margin. All areas which are not owned by the community are usually more expensive than similar sized resorts.

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I have lists of the "smaller" places I'd like to visit, lots of them with relatively easy access, returning to some.
Kids are out the door, wife is getting her knee fixed (hopefully), so maybe next year, we'll do a tour similar to what we did in 1996, but this time including Rueras, Klosters and St. Mo.

Looks like the hotel you stayed at has gone out of business.

What in the HELL did you blokes do while you were at that hotel?!?

:D

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Originally Posted by skaredshtles

Looks like the hotel you stayed at has gone out of business.

What in the HELL did you blokes do while you were at that hotel?!?
:D

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Yes, after 35 years, they've sold the building, supposedly to be a private residence. It was a really sweet spot, but I know others for about the same cost.

We did a little drinking, not really encouraged by the staff, ate excellent dinners with wine 3 nights, slept and got our 47chf per day lift tickets. 4 days: 990chf for me.
No where I know of in the North America can I begin to approach that all inclusive cost within 6 blocks of a ski lift.

I used to love Aspen, especially the few days I got to ski with Shredhead. And we had incredible times at Telluride in the oughties when we scored Camel Garden rooms for a family for $250. JH was a favorite in the 80s and 90s before the Hostel got sold. Sun Valley was a gas too. But I'm priced out of all those places.

Reply with quote works!

Happened to many places in St. Mo area... Maloja had a very affordable hotel sporting in 2014 ( like 60chf with breakfast).
2024 Owner retired ...no takers..empty building since 202?. Affordable Pizza place: gone turned into souvenir shop. A lot more: 5 star Palace hotel reopened and literally 5 New luxury holiday real estate bunkers pretending "to blend in with classic alpine architecture.".

Huh, I think I stayed there. Quirky, but cheap, is the affordable bottom falling out of CH skiing?

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Originally Posted by dunfree

Huh, I think I stayed there. Quirky, but cheap, is the affordable bottom falling out of CH skiing?

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I was in Engelberg this year. Paid less than $200/night w breakfast and dinner included. One block from the train station and exactly where you would want to be. Ski pass purchased ahead of time was $50?/day.

We're discussing the expensivest valley in CH, not the entire country.

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Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained

We're discussing the expensivest valley in CH, not the entire country.

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Gstaad and Zürich Gold coast would like a Word about expensiveness with you. [emoji6]

There are loads of "cheap" places in Switzerland. That's part of the reason I ski in the magic pass area.

AND I think traveling towards the lower Engadine it also gets cheap really quickly towards Zuoz, same with the valley below maloja towards castasegna or over the julierpass.

Glarus and Ticino skiing are also pretty out of Touch with the price race.


Edit @ beder: And 200chf lodging per Person would get me Priced out of skiing fairly quickly as a family. Engelberg is certainly not a steal [emoji6]
We had a room and half board for 4 people in New years week 22/23 for roughly 1500chf. That's 250 per day for all 4 of us. In valais at the O. But that was surprisingly low even by my Standards [emoji3] Granted it was a shared bathroom, youth hostel food and dorm style room, but it was Switzerland in the holiday season at a reasonable resort.


Im not poor by German Standards, but im not American skier ( or German Golfer) rich.

Cheapness is a relative thing.

Relative to time, yeah, CH and the rest of the ski world is getting more expensive, corporate season passes being the exception. Lodging and food in any destination ski resort worldwide are more expensive. I lament the closing of the Aurora Hotel in Andermatt where in 2011 it was 620chf for 4 days all inclusive, pre Swaris and Chedi. Engelberg always seemed to me to be on the more expensive side, although I'm sure a family room would be much less than 800chf/night at most hotels there now. Damn the refurbishment of the Hotel Terminus and the absence of the boot room purveyor.

But the point I focus on is that relative to North America, skiing in Yurp is cheaper both for day lift tickets as well as hotels, even in the glitz of St. Moritz. I'm seeing all in deals of 2700chf for a week for 2 in St. Mo 3* hotel, less than 200chf/person/day. Even with an Ikon or Epic, that's hard to do in Aspen, Vail, Whistler, JH, etc and impossible at a decent hotel including breakfast and 4 course dinners. Plus, I can say fuck Alterra and Vail while patronizing small, family owned businesses. The $800+ I save on Ikon covers the plane flight and I hope the extension of these corporate passes to Yurp backfires more widely. if more people realize this.

There if a long way to fall before relatively affordable freeride skiing disappears in the Alps.

https://www.le-castillan.com/

Anyone know the status of the Telepherique?

The list is endless. CH usually wins with the public transport but if you are willing to bus, drive or share a mini bus (under rated) Italy and parts of France tend to be cheaper.

Sent from a 6 m/s face melting thermal