For the moment, the Swiss federal government has said ski resorts in Switzerland are allowed to stay open during the 2020/21 winter season (this may change!). This announcement came with the following new rules for ski resorts, which apply to the whole country.
However, individual cantons and resorts may have additional rules and restrictions, with some running at reduced capacity, some requiring pre-booking, some with restaurants closed. Some like Hoch Ybrig are only allowing people with season passes to ski there. Some cantons (specifically St. Gallen) will make another decision about staying open later in December based on Covid numbers. So before any ski day, please look at the ski resort websites to see what their current Covid measures are.
Although these measures will help reduce your risk, I know many of you are still worried and want to stay as Covid-safe as possible as you plan for ski season and holidays in Switzerland. So here are the some additional tips for reducing your risk while skiing in Switzerland during Covid-19.
1. Buy ski lift tickets online
Buying tickets online allow you to skip the ticket line, further reducing your Covid-19 risk. More and more Swiss ski resorts allow you to book lift tickets online and even offer a discount for doing so, especially if you book a few days or weeks ahead.
Usually you can load the day pass onto an old ski card (often the Keycard brand) or your Swiss Pass, as shown below. The cards have a long number printed on them that you enter when purchasing the ticket online. If you don’t have a Swiss Pass, you can order one at any full-service SBB ticket counter for free (even for children). Some resorts require a resort specific card which must be mailed to you. So best to investigate this a few days in advance.
2. Choose resorts with mostly chair lifts
Even with the 2/3 reduced capacity, some cable cars will have well over 50 people riding together, a big risk during Covid-19 even if everyone is wearing masks. Happily, it’s quite easy avoid that by picking Swiss ski resorts that rely mostly on chair lifts or small individual gondolas. Here are a few Swiss ski resorts that meet this criteria. If you have another suggestion, please leave a comment.
My top pick would be the west side of Lenzerheide (southeastern Switzerland), which relies solely on chair lifts and drag lifts. This side of the mountain also gets the morning sun, which we prefer. We particularly like the slopes near Stätzerhorn accessed from Parpan. We also like that Lenzerheide clearly lists on their website the mountain restaurants that offer take-away, so you can plan for outdoor eating. If you want to cross to the Arosa side of the resort, you have to ride a big cable car to get there. But once on the Arosa side, there are lots of runs accessed by chair lifts and individual gondola cars.
At Fiescheralp at Aletsch Arena (Valais in southern Switzerland), you ride an individual gondola car to reach the resort, then chair lifts to reach most of the runs. There is big cable car to the highest point at Eggishorn, but only a black run from up there, so not required for a fun ski day. You can ski over to the Bettmeralp area, which also uses individual gondola cars and chair lifts. But to reach Bettmeralp directly from the valley, you have to ride a large cable car.
At Toggenberg (eastern Switzerland), the Wildhaus side of the resort use only chair lifts and drag lifts, unlike the middle part to Chäserrugg (the best part of the resort) uses a funicular and large cable car. Skipping the Chäserrrugg section significantly limits your terrain options. But if you have smaller kids, you’ll have enough to do.
At the following ski areas, you take a small individual gondola to reach the resort. Then the rest of the day, you are on chair lifts and drag lifts.
At Flims/Laax (southeast Switzerland), better to start on the Films side, which uses individual gondola cars to reach the resort, unlike the Laax side, which uses a large cable car. All over the Flims side of the resort, you’ll find mostly individual gondola cars and chair lifts, but study the piste map carefully. That said, the last time I went to Laax, the line to get on that first gondola was insanely long (about 45 mins), so you’ll be in a crush of people for a long time before you spread out on the slopes.
With many smaller low elevation ski hills, you can drive directly to the slopes and use only drag and chairs lifts the whole day. Brunni Alpthal is a popular one like this in the Zürich area.
3. Reserve your spot in the cable car
The current Covid-19 rules require that big cable cars and funiculars run at 2/3 capacity and individual resorts/cantons may have stricter rules. So some ski resorts require that you make a reservation for the first ride of the day. For example, at Andermatt, you must reserve a spot on the Gemstock cable car, up to 2 days in advance. You do not have to reserve a spot for the descent at the end of the day. So check your ski resort to see if a reservation is required.
4. Eat outdoors
Lunch is one of the biggest problems during a Covid-19 ski season. Eating outside is the safest option, if not as warm and cozy as a restaurant. Many mountain restaurants have outdoor kiosks selling simple take-away meals like sausages. If restaurants are open, many have outdoor seating and sunbeds like the ones shown below (but no picnics at the restaurant). I would study the ski map the day before to find those options ahead of time. I suspect many ski areas will find ways to serve even more food outdoors during this season.
An even safer option is to bring a picnic and eat away from other people. Some resorts have picnic areas with tables out on the snow. But you might prefer to bring an insulated sit pad (like this one from Decathlon, only CHF 7) so you can sit anywhere you like on the snow without getting wet. Most ski areas have lockers or changing rooms where you can store your bag with food during the day. But expect increased demand for these as well during this season and you might find that lockers book out early in the day.
Some skiers have said they will simply arrive when the ski resort opens (usually 8:30), ski through lunch and leave around 14:00, eating snacks during the day and have a sandwich in the car on the way home. I think this is a great idea for those that really want to avoid the restaurants.
5. Make a lunch reservation
If you prefer to eat indoors, expect long lines and closures. Many restaurants have reduced capacity and the new Covid-19 rules state you can only enter the restaurant if there is an open table. Some cantons have temporarily closed all restaurants, except take-away, including those on the ski slopes. Valais restaurants are closed until at least 13.Dec 2020. Restaurants in Graubünden are closed through at least 17.Dec 2020.
So check the ski resort website to see what facilities are open so you can prepare. In areas where restaurants are closed, hotel restaurants are still open for hotel guests only. So don’t worry if you’ve booked a ski holiday.
I’m sure every restaurant will manage this differently. For example, the Laax website says that at a few of its mountain restaurants, you can order food through an app or ordering machines to reduce the movement of people through the restaurants. In any case, I would expect long lines outside the restaurant. If you want to eat indoors, I would definitely make a lunch reservation if at all possible.
6. Buy a Covid-19 neck warmer
At Swiss ski resorts, you have to wear a mask in lines, on lifts, and anywhere you are near people (like walking through the ski village). While you may be tempted to just use your regular neck warmer/buff, most do not have the right filtering material to function as a protective face mask and may not be accepted by some ski resorts. Best to bring a regular face mask to wear in addition to any other face protection you might be using for a regular ski day.
This image is from the Muntagard website that sells a Covid-19 neck warmer.
But it can be awkward to affix a normal face mask while wearing a helmet. So companies are starting to sell neck warmers that have an integrated filter or are made from an approved filtering material. Unfortunately, these are mostly on back order or not shipping yet. Here are a few options I’ve found (I’ve ordered a few and will report back):
- Buff sells a neck warmer with a removeable filter. I saw the kids version at Ochsner Sport. SportXX is selling the adult verison.
- I ordered a neck warmer with a removable filter for CHF 22.90 on Schwesternuhr, a site for medical clothing and accessories in Switzerland. The website says they are shipping now.
- Osez Clothing is selling a “winter community mask” for CHF 39 (free shipping). They promote fair business practices and sustainable materials.
- You can pre-order from Muntagard for CHF 35, which plans to ship in January.
- The Valais Tourism website is selling one but it’s currently out of stock.
Please let me know if you find other sources that I can add to this list.
7. Avoid ski shops by renting for the season
You don’t want to be milling around a crowded ski shop on a weekend. So best to rent your equipment for the season so you only have to go to the shop once. If you must rent just for the weekend, try to do it in the afternoon, not Friday night when everyone else is there. Many rental shops allow you to rent for the next day as early as noon the day before.
8. Pre-book ski school
Many ski resorts are still offering ski school with additional safety rules for Covid-19. As a sample, see the Covid ski school rules at Lenzerheide and Saas Fee. For example, anyone who has any cold symptoms (even if you are Covid negative) is not allowed in class. Some will not allow parents to linger at the drop-off/pick up zone. Some have outdoor eating arrangements for lunchtime.
To reduce your Covid-19 risk, it’s best to arrange ski school online or by phone, rather than booking in person in the ski school office with many other skiers who are booking last minute. Not only does this reduce your risk, but you’ll more likely get a spot before they are booked out. Most ski schools at big resorts speak English because they often deal with international customers. So don’t worry about that.
9. Strategically avoid crowds
With reduced capacity and the inability to travel to other countries for skiing, the Swiss ski resorts are bound to be very full this season, no matter when and where you go. But there are a few things you can do to avoid the biggest crowds.
Go early. You can avoid some of the biggest crowds by simply waking up early and getting to the resort before it opens. Yes, you’ll be waiting for the lift to open with other people like you. But most skiers arrive between 9:00 – 10:00, particularly since ski schools usually start around 10:00.
Go to smaller resorts. The big famous resorts naturally attract more people, not just because of the great slopes but because they have more holiday accommodations in the area that feed the resort. Smaller resorts with smaller ski villages tend to be less crowded.
Go on bad weather days. Unless it’s during school holidays, you’ll find the slopes less crowded on snowy, cloudy days. It’s certainly not my favorite conditions for skiing, but we’ve had lots of great powder days because we went on a snowy day while most everyone else stayed home.
Avoid train arrivals. If you are traveling by car, try to not arrive at the same time as the train, when dozens of people will be streaming off the train and into the lift line. So check the train schedule, even if you aren’t taking the train.
10. Have realistic expectations about social distancing in lift lines
Although the official rules require social distancing in lift lines, from early reports, this is not really being enforced and lift lines are basically the same as always. I’m curious to see this for myself. I hope this improves as more ski resorts open and they figure out better ways to apply the Covid-19 measures, but I’m not holding my breath.
(A small rant) This should come as no surprise to anyone who has lived in Switzerland more than 5 minutes. Lift lines here are more like herding cattle into a pen than an orderly queue. It’s a running joke how much UK and American expats complain about the Swiss not respecting queues and cutting in line at every opportunity. While it drives me crazy, my Swiss friends don’t know what I’m talking about and can’t understand my frustration at all. It’s a cultural difference, not personal or malicious. (Rant over)
So if you choose to go skiing, I think you need to expect and accept the risk of chaotic crowded lift lines or wait for vaccine.
Stay safe out there and happy skiing!
10 responses
Tanya, as always thank you for your info! Do you have a recommendation for parking if we also wanted to ski the slopes near Stätzerhorn by Parpan? Haven’t been to this area before and I’m not really clear how easy it is to get from one place to another in the valley.
Sorry for the late reply. Maybe you already figured it out. There is a big parking lot in Parpan next to the drag list. This takes up to a chair lift that accesses the Stätzerhorn area. Here’s a link to the parking on the map. I need to write a post about Lenzerheide. https://goo.gl/maps/iddt4BpSHavZydUSA
Thank you! Extremely useful information. We boarded at Laax last Tuesday and found 1) the Flims side is still closed (but probably opening soon/now) and 2) restaurants were closed for indoor eating (but you could queue at Galaxy outside for sausage, nuggets, fries, soup, etc. Outside tables, however, were blocked off, so one had to find a spot in the snow (brrrr) to eat.
Thanks for the report! Yes, in canton Graubünden the restaurants have been closed but I think they are opening again this week. Let’s hope the Flims side opens up again soon.
Could you recommend any small resorts (point 9) for small children with blue slopes?(not only kids park) thank you in advance
Brunni Alpthal is a good choice. You might find this post helpful. https://swissfamilyfun.com/ski-kids-zurich/
Hi – I believe Buff are doing filter masks too – https://www.buff.com/fi/masks.html?form=4688/
Thanks for the tip! I’ll add it to the list.
So much good information here! Thanks for writing this.
You’re very welcome!