Skiing & Snowboarding Diavolezza-Lagalb
The Powderhounds love Diavolezza Lagalb because the skiing & snowboarding lifts are simple, and the terrain is all about unfettered freeride & powder skiing. It is an 'inbounds backcountry' ski resort in the truest sense of the description. Whilst the notion of 'inbounds backcountry' may not be for everyone, Diavolezza & Lagalb still has something for everyone!! It makes for a wonderful outing on any ski holiday to St Moritz,
If you are NOT into off-piste skiing or snowboarding, then Diavolezza-Lagalb should still appeal as a train-based day trip taking in the views, riding the long piste trails & eating a fine lunch. If, on the other hand you ARE into riding the off-piste - giddy up - you have arrived in heaven. The mountain is however not generally suitable for novices and beginners. Only intermediates or above should ‘apply’ to ski these mountains.
All terrain in the resort is treeless (except for some lower down on Diavolezza) with a northerly aspect (Diavolezza: north-east & Lagalb: north-west!) and above 2,000m altitude. The exit of the Morteratsch glacier run is at 1,900m altitude, below the level of the lowest lift and requires the train to return up to the gondola.
Piste terrain is limited to 35km of trails for intermediates & advanced riders but the 790 to 913 metres of skiable vertical make them worthy of a super-schoom. Average length of descent is around 5km, but the glacier run (an ungroomed route ) is 10km.
Whilst super-steep terrain can be found off-piste on both mountains, generally the pitch is comfortably below 40o and super-fun. The underlying substrate is incredibly rocky (and sharp). Be aware of the potential to hit a ‘shark’ in the off-piste terrain. You won’t be the first to damage a ski here, and definitely won’t be the last either. Hopefully you don’t damage any part of your body. Take care!
Diavolezza & Lagalb Skiing Highlights
A few of the skiing highlights at Diavolezza Lagalb include the following:
- Stay overnight in the Berghaus Diavolezza at the top of the Diavolezza cable car. Get up early, watch the sunrise kiss the peaks of Piz Palü and Bellavista, then ski the entire mountain (on or off-piste depending on conditions) BEFORE the cable car starts. Be in line for first cable car up and repeat the performance before anyone else- yee har!
- If the glacier run to Morteratsch is open, do it! Opportunites to ski glaciers are becoming less & less. The mountain and glacier scenery is fantastic, particularly where the Pers glacier meet the Morteratsch glacier. Taking a train back to a resort after a run is always fun too! See below for further info on the glacier run.
- Take some time to explore the region’s sidecountry terrain. Aside from a host of options just off the piste trails, the Val Arlas from the top of Diavolezza and Val Minor below Lagalb hold loads of adventure and fresh lines.
- After descending the piste trails on Lagalb at warp factor 10, get back up to the top and have a proper sit-down lunch at the summit restaurant. Perhaps take the easy way down to the base afterwards!
Ski Lifts
Effectively two cable cars, one chairlift & four piste trails above the tree line, Diavolezza - Lagalb are simple mountains. The Diavolezzafirn chairlift (on Diavolezza) goes to the highest lifted point at over 3,000m altitude. A small beginner rope tow is delightfully positioned under the Diavolezza cable car near the base station. It is free for anyone to use allowing for novices & children to ski to do some learning in a location not otherwise suited to it. A surface conveyor helps to connect skiers going from Diavolezza to Lagalb, but you will still have to walk across the road!
Snow & Weather
With the resort's altitude above 2,000m, snow quality & quantity on Diavolezza & Lagalb is usually excellent. Split across two separate mountains on differing aspects, combined with the Engadin's already cold winter climate, allows dry powder snow to be found days after the last storm.
Weather can be fierce in the ski resort with wind funnelled through the Bernina Pass. Trees & landmarks are lacking, so in low-visibility stay away from here & head to Corvatsch for skiing or Tirano ........ for a fabulous Italian lunch! Glorious on a cold clear day though, get up early and feel the crisp cold air in your lungs...
Season Opening Dates
Despite being on the same lift pass, Diavolezza and Lagalb have quite different season opening & closing dates.
For Diavolezza, the cable car starts with a short autumn season for the public on weekends and Wednesdays from mid-October. Despite running on the other days of the week, the lift & piste trails are only open for ski racers. The cable car closes again in late-November. It fully opens for the winter season in mid-December all the way through to early May.
At Lagalb, the winter season is from mid-December to late April.
Lift Pass
All the St Moritz resorts are part of a dynamic lift pass price system determined by demand on any given day. Whilst there is a price ceiling which will be paid at the ticket windows (which is very hard to get any info on, so who knows what it is!), on days of low demand lift ticket prices can be more than 45% cheaper when pre-purchased online.
The ‘Upper Engadin’ lift pass provides access to all the St Moritz resorts, whilst passes for each individual resort can also be bought at a slightly reduced rate (or significantly reduced rate in the case of Diavolezza Lagalb!). IMPORTANT - the 'Upper Engadin' lift pass also includes all local public transport (incl. trains & buses) for free between all of the ski areas included in the pass. Reason enough to get one!
As mentioned earlier, the handle tow at the base of Diavolezza is free for anyone to use.
Trail Maps
The simple yet clear trail map of the area will suffice for most of the resort's exploration, including the Morteratsch glacier run. Beyond the obvious, you will either need a guide or a better map!
Check out the ski trail map for Diavolezza Lagalb below.
For a broader overview of the region including St Moritz, Corvatsch and the local train system see below for the regional resorts map.
On-Piste Terrain
On-piste terrain is limited to less than a handful of long groomed trails on either mountain for a total of around 35km. Uninterrupted skiable vertical of between 790m (Lagalb) and 880m (Diavolezza) is enough that skiing them is serious fun though. We found Lagalb had the better fall-line piste, particularly right under the cable car. Despite two of the piste trails having black (advanced) ratings (one on each mountain), they are appropriate for intermediates, with only a few short, but manageable, steeper sections. Trail lengths tend to be around 5km, unless one is hanging around the upper-mountain Diavolezzafirn quad chairlift, in which case they are around 1km long over 220m vertical.
Off-Piste & Freeride & Backcountry Terrain
Both Diavolezza and Lagalb has abundant off-piste & freeride opportunities. Indeed, these mountains are all about the off-piste. We had no trouble finding fresh lines with no prior knowledge of the ski resort. Unless one has superior local knowledge, we don’t recommend skiing off-piste here in low visibility.
For backcountry explorations, Val Arlas off Diavolezza (accessed via either the spur off Saas Queder or the saddle between Saas Quedar & Piz Trovat) and Val Minor of Lagalb provide ample options. For experts, the entire 360o off the Lagalb summit is skiable (dependent on snow conditions of course!). An interesting Lagalb descent of the sunny south-aspect can be done called the La Rösa. It ends up below the Bernina Pass near La Motta and requires a shuttle back to the lift. Either park a car down there (if you can) or book the shuttle (costs a few CHF/person & must be pre-booked). Enquire at the ticket office about the shuttle.
Glacier Skiing
A major feature at Diavolezza is the glacier ski route along the Pers & Morteratsch Glaciers. It provides a wonderful ski experience if not tracked out. Gorgeous snow plus breathtaking mountain & glacier features in the upper reaches combine with a silence that is uncommon in most parts of western Europe. Like the superb Taschachtal Variate at Austria’s Pitztal Glacier, the Morteratsch mainly differs in being ‘marked’ & ‘secured’ providing an opportunity for good intermediate skiers to experience the glacier in relative safety. A short section of steeper advanced terrain can be managed easily by most. The lower valley section is quite flat & snow-boarders may not enjoy themselves! The entire route will take between 45min to 1hr for most groups. The exit is near the Morteratsch railway station providing a comfortable, stress-free return to Diavolezza via the Bernina Express train from St Moritz.