ACCESS: Easy flight into Zurich, followed by a train to Chur and finally a bus to Flims. Very high quality services but as with all things Swiss, you pay for it. We booked everything with SBB and whilst the transfer windows seemed tight (<5m!), everything worked like clockwork. Once in Flims, there were relatively frequent buses between the various villages. Note that no one seemed to pay for the local buses.
Terrain: This place is huge! Given it’s open nature, the mind is blown by how far the infrastructure runs, from the multiple towns and valleys all the way to the glaciers. In our 4 days, we found many flowing blues, long thigh-burning valley runs but minimal heavy terrain on or off piste. Notably, we visited in the low tide of 2023 and anything below mid-mountain was grass. We scouted some nice terrain for where there was snow. The upper mountain had some fun off-piste, particularly around the glacier. However, most of the upper mountain was rather flat, with the exception of a run that would be proper steep but short.
Park: Obviously Laax is known for park, and we were not disappointed. There was a small 3 feature line serviced by a t-bar next to galaaxy which would serve beginners well. Immediately below the tram, there was two pipes (22 and 18ft), and a stacked pro line. These were served by a t-bar half way, or you could venture further down to the quad with a myriad of M-XL features to play on. This was an absolutely superb park, and by far the best I have seen in Europe so far. Bonus points for some quality bar seating at the top of the pipe.
Off piste: As mentioned, whilst we were limited in our exploration, it seemed there were numerous options in a good season. Noteably, most of the fun terrain would appear to be on the mid to lower mountain, with the upper mountain being mostly rolling hills. We explored a few but struggled with speed due to the flatness and slushy snow. We didn’t get to ride the free ride zones due to low snow closures.
Piste: plenty of piste around to suit all ability. One annoying thing of note was that skiers here seemed to enjoy very wide turns, which on some of the tighter runs called for some ducking and weaving.
Food: a great variety of hits across the mountain, each with excellent views and vibe. Numerous DJs or live music at many venues. Drinks were well priced whilst food was Swiss priced. We were very impressed with the apres vibe on mountain.
VALUE: Expensive lifts for Europe but I think good value. I’ve never seen this many gondolas on one mountain before. Relative to American resorts of a similar size and infrastructure, Laax is excellent value for money.
APRES: Apres we’re surprisingly quiet. We had drinks at both Laax and Flims and whilst there were people around, it felt subdued relative to what we expected. Perhaps visiting during the open would provide a better vibe.
Overall: Between amazing infrastructure, world class parks and simply endless terrain, I would recommend and revisit Laax.
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Certainly one of the best!!!

Laax has huge terrain (not many trees in the steeper sections), excellent snow (2018), great accommodation (recommend the capricorn deluxe hostel), and super easy access from Zurich (2h public train+bus). I specially liked this hostel because there are private rooms if you want, the free bus passes right in front of it every 10 min or so, and the owner is super cool.

This is one of the resorts that you can stay for a month and not get bored at all, although I would come back a lot poorer since food and tickets are pricey. I paid 373 CHF for 6 days of skiing - I don't know if there are better deals for longer periods. Any meal that is not a bagel or a sandwich costs about 30 CHF, but there is a supermarket nearby if you are on a budget like me.

In the winter of 2017/18 it snowed a lot so I can't complain about the powder we got. There are plenty of great lifts/rides to choose from (from flattish to steeper), 3 freeride (not groomed) zones, plus some off-piste. It takes a little time to comprehend the dimension of it.

This is home of snowboarder Nico Muller, and I can certainly say that his backyard if a perfect training spot. I actually got to meet him and Travis Rice on my trip there! They are super chill "normal" guys.


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Laax is without a shadow of a doubt the Whistler of Switzerland, and perhaps Europe. Statistically they are very similar (number of lifts, skiable vertical, km of trails, glacier, high quality facilities - the list goes on). Knowing this, one can be prepared for the experience.

Even though the weather during our visit was, to use the technical term, blah, right from the get-go one gets the impression that Laax is in the big league. Low visibility across most of the resort couldn’t detract from the immensity of the place or the quality of the terrain, lifts & facilities. And when one popped out of the cloud layer above 2600m, we just wished there was more time to ski Laax in good viz.

Nevertheless, from the newly re-developed base area at Flims (the resort's biggest town), we ascended in comfort on the long, long journey to sheltered Plaun (Station Plaun – classy place for a drink). Another ascent is necessary before any skiing takes place - a nod to the enormity of the terrain. Heading up to the major mid mountain base of Crap Sogn Gion, a hint of the potential tree skiing at Laax is evident.

The incredible terrain parks, pipes & other man-made snow features around Crap Sogn Gion are in perfect sync with the extraordinary digitally camouflaged building which resembles a villain's lair straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Even in the gloom, the scale of Laax impressed.

Powderhounds skied the entire resort except in & around Foppa. We can attest to there being piste trails, marked routes & off piste for all levels & abilities & even skied untouched powder below the Sattel down to Lavadinas. Likely could have found more if we knew the resort better (or had some visibility down low). Skiing from the top of Vorab glacier is glorious. The best alpine terrain diversity is below La Siala. The best below tree line terrain is below Crap Sogn Gion.

The descent from La Siala to Flims is a long 13km. It hurts to try & ski it one go!

We took public transport to Laax. An easy bus trip from the superb central station at Chur, we went straight from a train & on to a bus to Flims. Awesome, efficient & cheap.

Food & drink wise, the grilled fat bratwurst at Lavadinas, the mojitos at the Tucano Bar (Nagens), hot drinks at Alp Sogn Martin hut (a haven in the whiteout) & après at Legna bar in Flims are as good as anywhere in the world. Bars at Laax base like Indy Bar are allegedly worth a look, but we were too early to get involved in the action.

As temperatures nudged -15, we were pleased to receive cold bum resuscitation on the La Siala gondola's blissfully heated seats. Such things seem an extravagance, but when cold starts seeping into your bones (particularly your bum bones) it is far from it!

Value wise, Laax is one of the most expensive ski areas in Europe. Lift passes & restaurant dining are the major hurdles. Lift passes are still way cheaper than North America and there are no resorts elsewhere in the world that are a fair comparison. Eating can be done on a budget simply by not eating meals in restaurants.

We loved Laax because of its size, but we also can see negatives with Laax because of its size. When does a place become too big? Just ask people that have been to Whistler recently!

We shall return to Laax & ski it when the sun is out & powder is plentiful. It will be worth it regardless of the financial cost.

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