Grindelwald or Klosters: the Eiger, or the higher snow
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
Our similarity engine puts Klosters closest to Grindelwald of all the 55 resorts we cover, and on the skiing it is easy to see why. Both are pretty, low Swiss villages that we tag as good for families. Both run December to April. And both have exactly the same share of steep piste, 15 percent, one of the smallest shares of any resort we cover.
The difference is what rises above them. Grindelwald has the Eiger and a big, gentle local area. Klosters has a smaller home area, a cable car to the Parsenn, which it shares with Davos, and skiing that goes 312 metres higher. So the question is whether you are booking for the view and the space or for the snow up high. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Grindelwald | Klosters |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,034 m | 1,191 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,496 m | 2,808 m |
| Ski area | Jungfrau Ski Region: 150 km reachable from its own lifts, 211 km on the pass including Mürren, which is not lift connected | The Parsenn, 95.5 km, shared with Davos, plus Madrisa. Davos Klosters pass: 300 km official, 224 km measured |
| Piste we measure around the village | 132 km | 97 km |
| Blue and easier | 55.4 km, 42% of the piste | 23.7 km, 24% of the piste |
| Black | 19 km | 11.7 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 3.3 km | 6.5 km |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 15% | 15% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 42% | 38% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 59% | 69% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Zurich or Geneva | Zurich |
Two rows pull in opposite directions. Grindelwald has about 35 kilometres more piste around the village by our measure, and more than twice the easy kilometres. Klosters keeps more of its skiing above 1,800 metres.
Size: Grindelwald has more skiing from its own lifts
From Grindelwald's own lifts you can reach 150 kilometres of the Jungfrau Ski Region. The pass covers 211, but that includes Mürren and the Schilthorn, which are not joined to Grindelwald by lift. The village has two faces. First, above the village, is the sunny, friendly side. Across the valley, Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen make up the bigger sector, shared with Wengen, reached by the Eiger Express from Grindelwald Grund or the Männlichen gondola. It is joined by trains and gondolas rather than one network of chairs, which suits a relaxed pace.
55 km blue and easier 42%57 km red 43%19 km black 14%
24 km blue and easier 24%62 km red 64%12 km black 12%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Grindelwald 3.3 km, Klosters 7 km.
Klosters's home skiing is the Parsenn, by the Gotschna cable car, and Madrisa. The Parsenn alone is 95.5 kilometres, shared with Davos. The wider Davos Klosters pass is sold on 300 kilometres and measures 224, across separate mountains, and the ones on the Davos side need a train, a bus or a car.
On our measurement of the piste around each village, it is 132 kilometres at Grindelwald against 97 at Klosters. For a family or a mixed group, Grindelwald has more to explore without a bus.
Altitude: Klosters's skiing sits higher
Klosters's village is 157 metres higher, at 1,191 metres, and its skiing tops out at 2,808 metres by our measure, 312 metres above Grindelwald's 2,496.
55 km blue and easier 42%57 km red 43%19 km black 14%
24 km blue and easier 24%62 km red 64%12 km black 12%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Grindelwald 3.3 km, Klosters 7 km.
Klosters counts as snow sure on our measure: 69 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,808. Grindelwald sits right on the line of our test. Its share above 1,800 metres is 59 percent, and its measured top is four metres short of the 2,500 metre bar, so we leave that call open. Nobody can promise snow at either. What the figures do say is that more of Klosters's skiing is high: 54 percent of it is above 2,000 metres, against 33 percent at Grindelwald.
The skiing: both gentle, Grindelwald has more of most kinds
Both grade the Swiss way, so the shares compare fairly, and both are gentle. Each has 15 percent of its piste steeper than one in four, against 26 at a typical resort we cover. Grindelwald has 42 percent gentler than 15 percent, the third biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover. Klosters has 38.
55 km blue and easier 42%57 km red 43%19 km black 14%
24 km blue and easier 24%62 km red 64%12 km black 12%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Grindelwald 3.3 km, Klosters 7 km.
Within that, Grindelwald simply has more. It has 55.4 kilometres of blue and easier piste against 23.7. It has 19 kilometres of black, including 2.9 of double black and the third most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, against 11.7. Klosters has the edge on marked off piste itinerary, 6.5 kilometres against 3.3.
The measured gradients agree that neither is a test. They are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so read them as how the week feels. Grindelwald's reds average 18.3 percent and its blacks 25.3, both under the Swiss averages of 19.9 and 26.7. Klosters's reds average 17.1 percent and its blacks 21.1, the gentlest of the 55 resorts we cover on both. Grindelwald's blues are the softer, 13.5 percent against 15.9.
Who each one actually suits
Grindelwald suits families with young children, couples, mixed ability groups and anyone bringing a non skier. The scenery does half the work: the Eiger north face stands right above the village. The non skiers are well looked after, with the railway up to the Jungfraujoch, long sledging runs, cleared winter walks and gondolas to ride for the view alone. The mountain railway into the village means many people never need a car. Evenings are relaxed: sun terraces as the lifts close, low lit bars, early nights if you want them. Experts chasing steep, lift linked mileage will find it tame.
Klosters suits people who want a quiet, upmarket base. We describe it as discreet and pretty, the quiet neighbour to Davos, and tag it good for families. The Davos link is its other strength: confident skiers can spend their days on the Parsenn and come back to somewhere quiet. It suits families who ski with some confidence, since there is far less easy piste on the doorstep than at Grindelwald.
The bit nobody tells you
Grindelwald's height is in the view, not the skiing. The Eiger rises to nearly 4,000 metres above the village, and it is easy to assume the skiing goes up with it. By our measure, it tops out at 2,496 metres, and only 9 percent of the piste is above 2,200 metres. Half of it is below 1,872.
At Klosters, 34 percent of the piste is above 2,200 metres, and half of it is above 2,046. If you are booking early or late in the season, or worry about a thin winter, that matters more than the postcard. If you are going in the heart of the winter with a family, it matters much less than the space and the easy piste Grindelwald gives you.
So, which one
you have beginners, young children or non skiers in the party, you want more skiing from your own lifts and more than twice the easy piste, and the view is part of why you are going. Also if you would like to arrive by train.
snow is your main worry, everyone skis with some confidence, and you want a quiet, upmarket village with the Gotschna cable car up to the Parsenn.
It gives more skiing to more of the group, keeps it every bit as gentle, and few resorts look after the people who are not skiing as well. Klosters is the right answer when the height of the skiing worries you more than the view.