Grindelwald or Laax: the same gentle skiing, a very different week
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
Grindelwald and Laax are both Swiss, both have low villages, 1,034 and 1,100 metres, and both run December to April. On the hill they are closer than their reputations suggest: each has one of the smallest shares of steep piste of any resort we cover, and 55 to 57 kilometres of blue and easier skiing.
What separates them is everything around the skiing, and one number on it. Grindelwald is postcard pretty and traditional, under the north face of the Eiger. Laax is modern, youthful and design led, a freestyle resort first. And Laax's skiing reaches 472 metres higher. The numbers, then what they mean.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Grindelwald | Laax |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,034 m | 1,100 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,496 m | 2,968 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 | Flims Laax Falera, linked: 176 km of piste, marketed as 216 km with 40 km of ski route |
| Piste we measure around the village | 132 km | 124 km |
| Blue and easier | 55.4 km, 42% of the piste | 57.4 km, 46% of the piste |
| Black | 19 km | 11.9 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 3.3 km | 27.7 km |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 15% | 14% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 42% | 37% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 59% | 72% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Zurich or Geneva | Zurich |
Three rows matter: the top of the skiing, the share above 1,800 metres and the itinerary. On each, Laax is well ahead. On easy piste and steep share, the two are level. Grindelwald has the black.
Size: level on piste, and both counted honestly
Laax markets 216 kilometres. That is exactly 176 kilometres of piste plus 40 of ski route, so both numbers are honest; they count different things. The 176 is one linked area.
From Grindelwald's own lifts you can reach 150 kilometres. The pass says 211, but that includes Mürren and the Schilthorn, which are not joined to Grindelwald by lift. What you do reach comes in two faces: First, the sunny side above the village, and Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen across the valley, shared with Wengen and reached by the Eiger Express or the Männlichen gondola. Trains and gondolas tie it together rather than one web of chairlifts.
Our own measurement of the piste around each village puts them level: 132 kilometres at Grindelwald, 124 at Laax. Neither will run out on a normal week.
Altitude: Laax's skiing goes 472 metres higher
The villages are 66 metres apart. The skiing is not. Laax's skiing tops out at 2,968 metres by our measure, Grindelwald's at 2,496.
55 km blue and easier 42%57 km red 43%19 km black 14%
57 km blue and easier 46%55 km red 44%12 km black 10%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Grindelwald 3.3 km, Laax 28 km.
Laax counts as snow sure on our measure: 72 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,968. Grindelwald sits right on the line of our test, with 59 percent above 1,800 and a measured top just short of the 2,500 metre bar, so we leave that call open. Higher up the gap widens: 41 percent of Laax's piste is above 2,200 metres, against 9 percent at Grindelwald. Half of Laax's piste is above 2,127 metres, and half of Grindelwald's below 1,872. Nobody can promise snow, but if you are travelling early or late in the season, Laax keeps far more of its skiing high.
The skiing: equally kind, with different stretches at the top
Both grade the Swiss way, so the shares compare fairly. Each is gentle: 15 percent of Grindelwald's piste is steeper than one in four and 14 percent of Laax's, the third smallest share of the 55 resorts we cover, against 26 at a typical resort we cover. Grindelwald has 42 percent of its piste gentler than 15 percent, the third biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover. Laax has 37. On easy kilometres they are level, 55.4 against 57.4.
55 km blue and easier 42%57 km red 43%19 km black 14%
57 km blue and easier 46%55 km red 44%12 km black 10%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Grindelwald 3.3 km, Laax 28 km.
Where they part is the stretch for a stronger skier. Grindelwald has 19 kilometres of black, including 2.9 of double black, against 11.9 at Laax. Laax answers with 27.7 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover and the sixth most of all 55 we cover. Grindelwald has 3.3. If your strongest skier wants ungroomed lines inside the resort, Laax is the one. If they want marked black runs, it is Grindelwald.
Who each one actually suits
Grindelwald suits families with young children, couples, multi generational groups and anyone travelling with a non skier. The Eiger stands right above the village, the railway to the Jungfraujoch gives the non skiers a day they will remember, and there is sledging and winter walking besides. You can arrive by mountain railway into the village and never need a car. Evenings are relaxed rather than loud: sun terraces as the lifts close, then a warm bar and dinner.
Laax suits a different crowd. We describe it as modern and youthful, a design led resort and a freestyle mecca, and we tag it upmarket. We list it for snowboarding, freestyle and design. It suits snowboarders, freestyle skiers, anyone who wants a modern resort with some style to it, and stronger skiers who would rather have itinerary than black. A group looking for chalet charm and a traditional village is better off at Grindelwald.
The bit nobody tells you
Laax's name is freestyle, and it is easy to assume the mountain underneath is built for experts. It is not. Measured from the gradient, Laax's blues average 14.4 percent, its reds 19.5 and its blacks 25.5. Grindelwald's, which our own guide pitches at beginners and intermediates, are 13.5, 18.3 and 25.3. Both sit under the Swiss averages of 15.0, 19.9 and 26.7.
These are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so take them as a guide to how the week feels, not a verdict on any one run. But on that guide, the two mountains ski almost the same. The freestyle is an extra at Laax, not a requirement. If nobody in your group is there for it, the higher skiing and the joined up area still count.
So, which one
the view is part of the reason, someone in the party will not ski, your children are young, or you want a traditional village and a train into the village. Also if your strongest skier wants marked black runs.
you snowboard or ski freestyle, you want the skiing higher and the area joined up, or your stronger skiers want the itinerary. Also if a modern, design led resort appeals more than a chalet village.
It skis as gently as Grindelwald, has as much easy piste, keeps far more of it above 1,800 metres, and joins it all up. Grindelwald is the right answer when the Eiger, or the people who will not be skiing, decide it, and for plenty of families they should.