Skiing St. Moritz, Switzerland

St. Moritz is class.  Five-star hotels, designer boutiques, haute cuisine and elegant cafes beckon movie stars, royalty and jet-setters. Many arrive at the nearby airport in their private jets. Claudia Schiffer, Liz Hurley, Kate Moss and Robert De Niro are said to be regulars at the King’s Club, the town’s “in” celebrity haunt. But St. Moritz is also serious sports – downhill and cross-country skiing, ski jumping, snowshoeing, tobogganing, ice skating, curling, snow kiting, horseracing and polo on a frozen lake, mountain hiking in both winter and summer, plus a host of other warm weather activities.  Not all who come to enjoy these activities are super rich.  As one ski instructor said, “Once you’ve skied its slopes, you realize there’s more to St. Moritz than ritz.”

There are two kinds of guests who frequent St. Moritz, mountain guide Christine Salis told me last winter.  “Some love glamour, expensive places, champagne, caviar… but others don’t show it off.  And, there are plenty of simple people, lots of them Swiss, who rent an apartment and cook for themselves.  “I am for nature”, she added, and don’t need luxury.”

I neither needed nor could afford luxury during previous visits to St. Moritz. Last year I spent a week at Club Med there where I met many devoted fans of the resort. Colette, from France, has been a St. Moritz regular for 40 years. Downhill skiing is now too fast for her, she said, so she skis cross-country and snowshoes.  Another cross country skier, who has been visiting for 20 years, called St. Moritz “the best in Europe” for that sport. “The Swiss keep the trails in beautiful condition.”  Gerlinde from Germany comes for the downhill skiing.  “‘There are few beginners on the slopes which are very well groomed; and few young, crazy snow boarders,” she said.   Her son Tobias, who skied with the expert class at Club Med, finds the slopes “well maintained, not so crowded, with vast off-piste possibilities.”

I agree with all of the above and have always been passionate about this mountain paradise.   St. Moritz is divided into two parts:  St. Moritz Bad, the original spa center of mineral springs which is now a cluster of high rises, and St. Moritz Dorf, the main town with the swish hotels and shops. The two are about a mile apart.

The mountains offer four ski areas, but Corviglia and Corvatsch are the favorites.  From St. Moritz Dorf, a mountain train chugs to a mid station and the slopes of Corviglia. From there a variety of runs radiate in all directions, and the Piz Nair cable car soars to the highest point on the mountain (at 10,000+ ft). From St. Moritz Bad, a cable car ascends to the Signal chairlift. Slopes there connect to those radiating from the Corviglia hub.

Corvatsch, the other major ski area, is a short bus ride down the valley from either part of St. Moritz with skiing and snowboarding for all levels, from beginner trails to long, fast intermediate trails. Challenging steep descents, both on and off piste, keep experts happy. On previous visits to St. Moritz when snow was scarce I skied Corvatsch as its slopes are at a higher elevation, hence better snow.  It even has a glacier with year-round snow cover.

Before my Club Med week, I spent a few days devoted to other activities, namely hiking and snowshoeing. Snowshoeing has surged in popularity in recent years and I was eager to give it a try.  It’s easy and a fabulous way to experience nature and get great exercise; and there’s no waiting in lift lines.  Our guide Christine drove outside of town to an area near the bottom of the Morteratsch glacier for our trek.  I followed her through a valley of deep snow, trying to stay in her tracks.  It was hard to concentrate on my feet when I wanted to focus on the fantastic mountains surrounding us in this white paradise. The squeaks of the snowshoes on the snow reminded me to look down.  It was strenuous, and I was slow. We never made it to the glacier terminus, but it was a rewarding experience nonetheless.

Christine made it fascinating, frequently stopping to point out curiosities of nature.  I learned about rabbit footprints.  The big footprint (rear leg) precedes the smaller front print when the rabbit hops.  “They have three to four litters per year,” she said.  Mother rabbits hide each baby in a different place as a safety measure against predators, she explained.  She told me about the different types of pine trees, and the other animals in this habitat:  deer, marmots and chamois.

Christine also guided me at lunch. We enjoyed a welcome break at the Morteratsch Hotel Restaurant, my chance to try some Engadin specials.  She recommended Veltliner Pizzoccheri, buckwheat pasta, or Bundner Capuns, dumplings wrapped in chard. I went for the former, smothered in a rich cheese sauce. Hearty fare, but I felt I had earned it.  She ordered the latter and let me taste—yummy.

The trek with Christine was not on a prepared track although those abound around St. Moritz and the going will be a lot easier.  For our afternoon outing we rode the Muottas Muragl cable car, located outside of town.  From the top (8,058 feet), you can soar down a four-kilometer long toboggan run, follow a snowshoe trail or saunter along the high mountain Philosopher’s Path.  You will not need quotations from famous philosophers to get inspired by the surrounding natural magnificence, but signs along the route post gems of wisdom (in three languages) from the likes of Thomas Mann,  Friedrich Nietzsche, Hermann Hesse … many of whom visited Engadin. There are benches along the route, too, perfect for taking a break amidst the splendor.  We passed a group who popped a champagne cork to toast the mountains or perhaps the philosophers, who knows.   Some lounged in the sun.  Others took selfies.

There are many more splendid winter walking opportunities around St. Moritz and the three lakes in the Engadin Valley.  St. Moritz’s frozen lake, the St. Moritzersee, offers a bonanza of winter action on the ice, including horseracing, polo, golf, a cross-country race and cricket.   During my visit I watched both a daytime polo match and a nighttime trotting race, fun events on the lake with enthusiastic crowds.

Johannes Badrutt, whose name still graces one of the most famous five-star hotels, is credited with St. Moritz’s winter fame. In September 1864 he invited four summer visitors from Britain to visit in winter, and bet that if they didn’t like it, he’d pay their travel costs.  If they liked it, they’d be guests at his hotel and could stay as long as they liked. Badrutt, a crafty Swiss, figured even if he lost his bet, the guests’ bar bill would cover his costs.  The group came at Christmas, stayed until Easter, and are said to be the first winter tourists in the Alps.

St. Moritz’s popularity as a summer health resort is much, much older, however. Since 1500 BC, when the Druidic Celts passed through, people have been making a pilgrimage here to take the healing waters from its mineral springs. The Romans had a settlement in St. Moritz, and there is a historical reference to the town in 1139.  The Renaissance physician and alchemist Paracelsus described the health-giving properties of the St. Moritz springs back in 1537.  My husband and I spent several summer days in St. Moritz a few years ago.  After a strenuous bike ride in the nearby mountains, we enjoyed a mountain hike, a leisurely bike ride around neighboring lakes and a day trip to a nearby valley. St. Moritz in summer is a perfect base for outdoor activities in this dazzling region.

The town is a hiker’s paradise with all types of hikes possible, from leisurely strolls to a rock climbing adventure.  You can ride a cable car to mountain peaks, such as Piz Nair, Corvatsch and Diavolezza, each at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet, and set off on trails from the top. You can also just follow a path from the town up into the mountains.  The Schellenvrsil Trail, a short 45-minute walk, leads to Heidi’s hut, a hut used for filming a movie about the fictional Heidi. In addition to hiking and biking, today’s summer visitors can sail, windsurf, kite surf, fish, in line skate, ride horses, paraglide, hang glide and even go canyoning or rafting.

St. Moritz is in the Swiss canton of Grisons (Graubünden) where the native language is Romansh, a 2,000-year-old language.  It developed from the Latin spoken by the Romans and the Rhaetian language of the Engadin valley in this part of the country. Today some 50,000 Swiss, with their own culture, stories and songs, speak the language. Most, however, speak German as well and English is widely spoken.

Combine a visit to St. Moritz with an unforgettable train ride on Switzerland’s legendary Glacier Express.   The town can be the beginning or end of this journey which winds its way through stupendous scenery.   I relished this experience years ago.  This time I traveled to the resort on regular trains and also enjoyed some great views – as well as the country’s excellent rail system.  Train travel in Switzerland is the best:  helpful personnel, trains on time — not to mention the views.

“St Moritz has always had a reputation as a rich and elegant resort yet it’s no more expensive than any other Swiss resort,” a ski instructor once told me. It also attracts sports enthusiasts who appreciate its top rate facilities and stunning mountain setting. Count me among the fans.